Milking The Pro's - Part 1

If you're reading this newsletter, you love toons as much as I do. We made it our interests, our hobbies and/or our professions. But what exactly is out there for people who love toons? I had the opportunity to ask nearly a dozen people all over the animation spectrum the four main questions that are the crux of any good brain-tapping. In this multi- part article, professionals in and around cartoons talk about their gigs and offer input to the rest of us.

Tom Warburton is the creator of one of the top shows on Cartoon Network, "Codename: Kids Next Door."

JF: What's the hardest thing about having your own cartoon show?

TW: There's an interesting word the French use that really distills all the difficult parts of having your own cartoon show into one perfect word. Now, I don't know what that word is but it probably starts with 'le' or something else French. As for me, I like to use the Italian word "relentless" (pronounced "ri-lent-less"). Every week we're trying to make a brand new sooper double action packed and funny 11-minute movie about the Kids Next Door. You're juggling approximately 35 episodes in different stages in any given week and there's no such thing as putting it aside for a moment to think about it or really make it "perfect." Craig McCracken (creator of "Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends") once said that TV production was like having everything on a conveyor belt in front of you. You only have so much time to finesse one episode before the next one is suddenly on top of you. And the next one. And the next. And the next! So right now I'm kind of like Lucy and Ethel working on that candy-wrapping assembly line. It's hard work but if it wasn't hard then it'd be boring around here. And I hate being bored.