Herb Moore

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What is your name?

Herb Moore

 What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Pinky & The Brain, The Simpsons and lately, Phineas & Ferb… My first job was as a background clean up artist om “The Simpsons” and it soon became one of my all time favorite shows to have worked on.  I also hold extremely fond memories as a timer on “Pinky & The Brain” as well as numerous other Warner Bros. shows such as “Animaniacs,” which lead to my first Emmy nomination for Directing.  I also hold a special place in my heart for the pilot, “Smirt & Kirkle,” that I co-create with Rusty Mills for Playhouse Disney.  The experience was terrific and left a taste in my mouth for wanting to do another pilot.  Currently, I’m having a blast working as the Timing Supervisor on “Phineas & Ferb” at Disney TV Animation and it’s turning out to be another great experience that ranks right up there with the best in my career.  Yet all these great shows fall by the wayside when my kids watch one of my short animations that I’ve created, and laugh or tease me for my sense of humor.

How did you become interested in animation?
I was sitting in my apartment in Orlando, Florida, working as a boat driver at The Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World when I figured out what I wanted to do.  From that point forward nothing was going to stop me from making it to Continue reading

Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft

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What is your name and current occupation?
Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Well I suppose I will go in order and explain why…The first would be my first job in animation…the movie “Hercules” at Walt Disney Feature Animation. I had completed a 3 month training internship, and was hired on to this film to work with Supervising Animator, Brian Ferguson, on the character “Panic”. He was the one who gave me my break, and taught me so much. His love for animation was infectious and I felt so lucky to be mentored by someone with such talent.  Next would be the movie “Tarzan” also at Disney. On this film I mentored with Supervising Animator John Ripa on the character “Young Tarzan”. I had seen an animation test John had done and just knew I had to work with him. I went to his office and asked if I could assist him, and he told me yes, but under one condition… when a student of animation, or anyone seeing knowledge asked for help, that I would pass on what he had taught me. He said James Baxter had made him give that same promise and he had tried to keep it. I learned so much from John and will be forever grateful for the teaching, the time and the kindness he gave me. He was completely generous with his knowledge, and never let an opportunity for teaching pass by. This made working on the film so exhilarating for me. I will never forget it. And yes, I have tried to keep my promise.  Later I would move into television and was honored to be a part of Fred Seibert’s shorts program at Nickelodeon, “Random Cartoons”. I created two shorts..the first was “Yaki and Yumi” and the second was “Girls on the GO!”. It was an incredible experience making my own films. This is where I believe I went from being a draughtsman to a filmmaker. I completely fell in love with telling stories and the whole process of making a film. I also discovered a love for television type storytelling, and cartooning rather than animating.  And of course the show I am currently on, Phineas and Ferb. I am writing and storyboarding on the show and am also an Emmy nominated song writer too(still shocked about that)! I am really proud of the work that we are all doing on the show. I have really grown as a storyteller from watching my peers and working with some insanely talented people. I laugh every day at my job! I am surrounded by some of the funniest people I have ever met and I love the challenge of keeping up! It’s never a dull moment, and I think the fun we have with each other has a big impact on the way the show is turning out. It is fun to be on a show that is loved by so many people and I am honored to be a part of it.

How did you become interested in animation?  
My grandfather loved cartoons and drawing. He would sit down with me and draw. He always encouraged me and would patiently sit by my side and teach me little things he knew. But I feel like I was Continue reading

Eddy Houchins

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What is your name?
Eddy Houchins

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
My favorite project of all was the 2nd season CBS “Timon and Pumbaa” series that I directed for Disney Television Animation back in the mid-90’s.  At that time Judy Price still helmed CBS’s children’s programming division, and she called me in at the start of the season to “meet the new director.”
I got the word straight from her mouth tho take that show to the absolute limit, to the line of cartoon violence, innuendo, bad taste, potty humor, and sarcasm.
She said if I stepped over that line, however, she’d come down on me like a ton of bricks, but I’d better lean as far as I could over it because she was competing with a lot of
pretty “out there” stuff in those days from the competition.  Well, I knew what she wanted, I knew what Disney would accept, and I set about making those cartoons with an
energy and relish I had never felt before.  I remember calling a meeting of the entire crew after that meeting and telling them what she had ordered.  As far as we were concerned,
we now had carte-blanche from our client to make the absolute funniest, whacked-out cartoons we  could make.  I remember telling everyone, “Enjoy this, we will most likely never pass this way again.”  Prophetic words, because never again did I have the control or “hands-off” attitude from the Disney (or any other) execs and the network when creating or working on a show.
The closest thing was at Continue reading

A conversation with Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh

150609_CBOX_DanSwampyOffice.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlargeSlate has a great interview up with both Dan and Swampy and if you loved the series like I do, you’ll enjoy this article.

As the final episode of Disney’s Phineas and Ferb airs this weekend I am proud to have been a small part of it and none of it would have been possible without Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh who were actually great bosses and did a fantastic job of bring the ‘funny’ out of everyone as we wrote and boarded the shows. I only worked on 7 of the episodes and did some revisions for the Phineas and Ferb Movie (which is how I got to be on the series full time) but everyone still let me feel like a part of the team which was a great feeling considering everyone else had two seasons under their belt. It also points to why it was so successful, because Dan and Swampy really were open to any sort of joke and they say as much in this interview.

 

From the site:

Povenmire: The reason we wanted to do several stories at once is Rocky & Bullwinkle, because that was what we grew up with. But they did it as an anthology, where they’d check in on one story and come back. The formula really came from Snuffleupagus onSesame Street, and how Big Bird had this big, furry, mastodon-type character that only he would see, and then he would, like, go to try to find other people to get them to bring them back and show them the Snuffleupagus, and then the Snuffleupagus would always …

You can read the entire article here.

Help Olivia!

4874762_1433830546.6728Oh no… Why have I not heard about this before? I worked with Olivia’s father Kyle on Phineas and Ferb… he’s an incredibly talented man, with a love for animating and storyboarding. My heart breaks for him and his family. Give your support if you can. http://www.gofundme.com/pleasehelpolivia

Olivia Esther Menke (18) of Burbank, CA, suffered a traumatic brain injury on June 6th when a Los Angeles County fire truck struck the car she was driving on Pacific Coast Highway, and she remains in the ICU in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center. Just days from graduating as Salutatorian from Providence High School in Burbank, Olivia had volunteered to take her aunt and little cousin who were in town for the graduation sightseeing in Malibu, with her brother Carl also along for the ride. Although the boys escaped serious injury, Olivia’s aunt also suffered injuries and remains hospitalized but in stable condition. As anyone who knows Olivia well could attest, she personifies care and caution, and would be devastated to think that this accident happened on her watch.

Olivia is an extremely rare young woman of character, diligence and compassion. The oldest of four children, Olivia’s innate desire to work hard and excel has been felt not only by her family through her devotion to them, but by everyone who has ever the had chance to get to know her and call her friend. A graduate of St. Finbar School in Burbank, Olivia received Providence’s Pioneer of Excellence Scholarship as an entering freshman. A merit-based award granted only to the smallest percentage of students who maintain high GPAs with test scores to match, Olivia maintained her scholarship through all four years of high school.

Shy by nature, Olivia truly blossomed during her time at Providence and constantly worked to push herself outside her comfort zone and to take advantage of every opportunity she could find to better herself. During her time at Providence High School she maintained straight A’s and was part of the Spanish Honor Society; she was a scholar-athlete, having played girls basketball and volleyball all four years, and serving as captain of the volleyball team her senior year. Olivia was an NSF member and became ASB President, working up the courage to run and becoming a polished public speaker. Desiring a career in business, Olivia was accepted to Bentley University in Waltham, MA, receiving their highest academic award—the Presidents Scholarship. She also received the Women in Leadership Scholarship as well as the Disney Scholarship.

A young woman of health, promise, ambition and excitement for her bright future, Olivia now faces the greatest challenge of her young but very accomplished life—a six-month to two-year-long recovery process to regain her brain function and physical strength. But if anyone can do it, Olivia Menke can.

http://www.gofundme.com/pleasehelpolivia

Bernie Petterson

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Bernie Petterson. Which is the condensed version of the name on my driver’s license: Stephen Bernard Petterson. I work as a storyboard artist on a children’s TV show called Phineas and Ferb. My employer is The Walt Disney Company.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?

It was all minimum wage scut work. I worked in a hotel as a “Houseboy”. I learned that hotels are very creepy places. Places that are inhabited by people who, now that they’ve found themselves in a new town where nobody knows them, will allow the meanest and most debauched parts of their personality come out. If you ever get a chance to work in a hotel, don’t.

How did you become interested in animation?
I saw a really ugly brochure in the College Resource Room at my high school. It was green with avant garde purple-ish scribbles on it, and it was the marketing material for a place called California Institute of the Arts.The brochure claimed that you could major in

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