WALTER LANTZ EXPLAINS EXACTLY WHAT AN ANIMATION DIRECTOR DOES

"The director has a big job and a very important one. He has to be an idea man, a gag man, an artist, have a knowledge of music and many other things." -Walter Lantz

You tell 'em, Walter. I want that on a t-shirt, or on a coffee mug.

The Walter Lantz studio (responsible for cartoons like Woody Woodpecker and Chilly Willy) closed the year I was born. I'd be triple freaked if I found out it closed the very month I was born, the very day, the very hour, the very minute, the very second. That'd be weird.

Boy, how things have changed (for me anyway). No timing sheets (there are various ways I work my timings out, usually with an animatic), not even animation paper. Nearly nine/ten years ago now, when I used to work at Passion Pictures, I used to fill out timing sheets. The last time I worked on animation paper at a desk was about four or five years ago.

In other news... I'm still ill, so no trombone for me today. I have that pounding inner ear thing going on now, where it feels like someone switched air cabin pressure on in my head, or dropped a few depth charges.

I once saw an episode of Batman The Animated Series in which Bats defeats Mr. Freeze with a flask of steaming hot chicken soup. So as a result, regardless of whether it's true or not; that the best thing for a cold is chicken soup (or so Batman tells me), I eat a lot of chicken soup when I've got a cold. I do as Batman says because I want that illness gone. No more nasty Mr. Freeze.