Animation Insider

What is your name and your current occupation?
Though I am frequently called, “Evan Gore,” I am also known as “that guy who keeps looking at me” and “that guy who writes for cartoons with his wife,” and “Mr. Scoops The Ice Cream Man.”  Why, did somebody ask about me?  I am a comedy writer first, but my entire career has made me a specialist in animated comedies for the 6-14 set.  I’ve worked mostly on Disney Channel shows, usually with partner Heather Lombard, but we also were head writers on “George of the Jungle” for Cartoon Network.  These days, I work mostly solo, and mostly at Starbucks.  No, I don’t make espressos, I write freelance; mostly for overseas clients.  This year, I’ve been doing episodes for “Pound Puppies” and “Care Bears” on The Hub, but my main gig has been Story Editor of Escape Hockey, a boys action-comedy half-hour about a average sci-fi geek kid who gets imprisoned in deep space along with the girl he loves, his bully brother, and his dog.  Each episode, he has to compete in a hockey-like game against various creatures in order to stay alive.   The show is by Spanish production companies Enne Entertainment in partnership with Imira Entertainment.  The series is part of something they call “Watch & Play,” where kids can play games integrated with the episodes.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
When you look at me, you think: “Black Entertainment Television.”  It’s not that I’m black, it’s that you’re crazy.  I was writer/producer on TWO shows for BET, “Are You Hip Hop’s Biggest Fan?” and the “On The Beat,” which were quiz shows bragging the first non-white Game Show host in America.  Holla! In my younger days, I was an actor type, a receptionist/secretary type, a waiter/bartender type… and with all that typing, becoming a writer was just the next step.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Of course I’m proud that Heather and I beat out a bunch of way more seasoned writers to get a freelance assignment in the early days of Futurama, but the show I remember most fondly was Dave The Barbarian on the Disney Channel.  It was a wickedly funny show about a barbarian named Dave with the muscles of a hero, and the heart of a needlepointer.  I also am very proud of George of the Jungle, scripts which Heather and I worked extremely hard on, and Studio B made hilarious episodes from.  It’s the funny shows I remember the best.  “Emperor’s New School” was also a very funny show, with characters so vivid, they told you what they should do.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 

Sorry animators, I did not go to film school (I know that’s a sticking point for some folks).  I got into this through comedy writing.  I majored in short-story writing in college, then in my 20s I was an actor at Second City in Chicago, then wrote sketches for corporate clients, was partners in Chicago’s “Improv Institute,” and later got my first TV job writing Continue reading