₫i$₦€¥, or not ₫i$₦€¥

[Click on illustration to embiggen.]

There is a member of my “family” who, to this day, still wonders why I don't work for ₫i$₦€¥. Maybe one of you out there has wondered the same as well? John:cartoonist::cartoon success:₫i$₦€¥--this illustration is a perfect example of why, or why not, maybe.

These are character creations for a group I fell in with that was trying to sell a cartoon about "eco-heroes"--protectors of the environment. I had answered an ad in my local paper and stumbled across this guy and his wife in York County. I showed them my work, mostly student work, and also some early stuff from my first job. Nothing remarkable, looking back on it. Trust me, I looked at my portfolio work from that period and it was quite raw. Usually is. I guess some people develop over time, as I seem to have. At least design-wise.

If the premise of this cartoon sounds familiar, I'm sure it is. At roughly the same time, Turner was developing Captain Planet. Seemed the time had come for environmental superheroes! That was the late ’88-’89.

"Mister, we could use a man like Captain Planet again..."

I don’t have the two main characters represented here, however. The lead character was to be a funky black woman with a hairdo remarkably LIKE Captain Planet’s. Her sidekick was a muscley Dolph Lundgren type. I even made his outfit a crab shell. Why? I don’t know! I don’t have these main characters because they were taken to present in California to some animation studio heads. I may have copies hidden SOMEWHERE, but...here is where the lesson comes (and why I am not a ₫i$₦€¥ Drone):

The meeting in CA went well, we were told, but...wait for it...the people they met with were only interested in the scripts. Lesson: draw all you want, create characters, animate until you are satisfied, but what is really important is the storyline. Any schmuck can animate, but animation is done in Korea these days. In order to be a character creator/story writer, what have you, you have a pretty uphill trek, trust me. It’s like that in every business. Years of hardship until SUCCESS!

Was I discouraged? No, not really. I was just starting out in the Wonderful World of Advertising! Animation WAS an exploration for me just like any other exploration. Somehow advertising stuck. Maybe it was when one of my former employers told me that I understood marketing, and the why of what we do, like no AD he’s met before. Just paying attention, I guess. My constant curiosity as to why we do things. He may or may not have been right, but the why of anything is VERY important to me.

Sidebar: Big surprise! John wants to know why! When I was younger, I was told that I didn't respect authority. Heredity, I guess. Must've gotten it from my great grandfather. Anyway, who died and left them all boss? 2% is not a MANDATE, folks!

At any rate, though, I’m not a big fan of ₫i$₦€¥. I prefer independent animation. I remember seeing an independent animation program (foreign, if I’m not mistaken) on PBS when I was a teen. Back when there were only 4 channels and maybe a few cable access channels as well. Boy, anti-₫i$₦€¥, THAT was exciting. By the way, when I was creating characters for the “eco-heroes” project, the biggest complaint about my characters and animation was that they weren’t ₫i$₦€¥esque. that was definitely a deal breaker for me. We were going to do ₫i$₦€¥ when ₫i$₦€¥ was already doing that? Not very breakthrough or interesting if you ask me! These days anyone with Flash and a computer can animate. Thank God!

Basic premise, write a story, animate it, post. How raw and caveman can you get? The Wonderful World of ₫i$₦€¥, my thighs! my buttocks...

The basic ₫i$₦€¥ premise, btw--protagonist, love interest, annoying talking critter, and lots of product placements.

"Corporatocracy...all my skin is falling off of me...₫i$₦€¥ isn't what it used to be..."

Know why ₫i$₦€¥ bought/merged with Pixar? Because Pixar movies were outselling ₫i$₦€¥. Know why? Not the animation--₫i$₦€¥=traditional cel, Pixar=computer. Because ₫i$₦€¥'s stories weren’t as good! So, they bought 'em up! Boy, I hope ₫i$₦€¥ doesn’t ruin Pixar. Maybe not, with Steve Jobs (see: Macintosh) at or near the helm. However, if my tale is any indication, it’s quite possible ₫i$₦€¥ will ₫i$₦€¥-ize Pixar, i.e. corporately homogenize a very clever and wonderful product.

Let’s hope not.

So, let's review: Last 4 Pixar movies: Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles. Last 4 ₫i$₦€¥ movies: Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Valiant, Chicken Little, Kronk's New Groove. Enough said.

It's fair to note that ₫i$₦€¥ has pretty much owned Pixar for a while, but Pixar remained autonomous.

P.S. I have to give "Captain Planet" its props since it was the precursor to Cartoon Network, of which a few shows I am a fan. Nickelodeon, CN and the rest DO show original animation, thankfully, as well--Adult Swim anyone? Uh, not in the hot tub with you, John.