Q: So, you're not intimidated by computer animation's hold on the industry?Ī: I think it's intimidating in that those are real heavy-hitting films, and we're just a small, chugging-along movie. There are many ways to tell a story, and what's unique about animation is that there are many styles with which to tell a story. He would agree with me that it's all about what you're trying to say. Even Brad Bird (director of the computer-animated "The Incredibles") is a proponent of 2-D. Q: Do you appreciate the irony that your type of 2-D animation (hand-drawn) has flourished at a time when 3-D animation (computer) has seemingly taken over the industry?Ī: There's a lot of talk about 2-D being dead, and I hope people don't think that.
I think the movie's drawings are much superior than the TV show. The TV schedule is tight, and you don't always have a lot of time to work on your drawings. Q: Did you enjoy the movie-making process compared to TV?Ī: It was very exciting to be able to take more time to think about the story, the jokes and the drawings. You can't do a road trip adventure in a short form. Then this story idea came up that lent itself to a longer format.
He's well-meaning but he's got this goofy innocence and a lot of weird perceptions.Ī: I never wanted to do a movie because I didn't think that what we wanted to say needed to be in a movie. What's funny about him is that he's really not that hip. Is that true?Ī: Hip doesn't make him funny. Q: I've heard that you've resisted efforts to make SpongeBob a hipper character. It's not that I don't like people, but I like having my privacy. I have no real interest to be on camera or to be a celebrity. Q: For a publicity-shy guy like yourself, it must be awkward to suddenly be connected to something this famous.Ī: I make animation because I like to draw and create things. Q: But was there a moment when you realized the popularity of the character, and perhaps the merchandising of the character, was getting out of hand?Ī: I think the moment when I realized it had gotten crazy was being on a surfing trip to Baja and seeing ceramic knock-offs of SpongeBob in Tijuana. I personally like things before they get too big and get in everybody's face. If you put something out there, and everybody likes it, you have to accept that. I wouldn't want it to sound like sour grapes. We love the fact that people love the show. Q: At what point did you realize that it had become not only bigger than you expected but bigger than you wanted?Ī (laughing): It's a double-edge sword. Q: What was the ambition when you created SpongeBob?Ī: We just hoped to make some really funny shorts.
It's where I finally found a home after years of wandering. That's where I found something I really loved. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life until art school. Q: Were you invisible, or did you have friends?Ī: I had friends, but looking back, high school for me was probably as weird as it was for any kid. Q: But why were you so obsessed with having a square guy as your hero? Did it perhaps have anything to do with your own childhood?Ī: I'm sure I'm a bit of geek and a nerd now, and I probably was one back then, too. Then I started thinking about the kid-like characters played by Jerry Lewis and Laurel & Hardy, and it all just came together.
He's not an outsider, but he's sort of a weird guy. I drew a lot of sea creatures when I started, and the sponge seemed to be the oddest of all of them. The idea of drawing shrimp and starfish as cartoon animals probably started there, although SpongeBob actually was created when I was working in North Hollywood on a show called "Rocko's Modern Life."Ī: Well, I wanted to do a show about an innocent weirdo. I think I got a lot of inspiration from my years working at the Marine Institute in Dana Point. Were they friends? Yes, and they still are, but they also grew to have romantic feelings for each other.Q: I believe that SpongeBob SquarePants was born in Orange County.Ī: In some ways, I guess that's true.
We received some wonderful press in the wake of the series finale at the end of last week, and just about every piece I read got it right: Korra and Asami fell in love. "You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it," Konietzko wrote. Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, the show's creators, each released statements confirming Korra and Asami are bisexual. But beyond the network, the shows' creators also discussed their characters' sexualities.Īs GLAAD wrote in 2017, The Legend of Korra, gave its main heroines a happy ending in its 2014 finale. The discourse on queerbaiting, and networks and corporate companies using queerness for their own financial gain, is an important one and should continue.
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