A few thoughts shamelessly stolen from Chuck Jones' Chuck Redux. Enjoy!


On Writing: "The sublimely badly written Rover Boys books [...] unwittingly taught me the primary law of writing books or films that children might read or view: never write down to anybody."

On Work: "The rules are simple. Take your work, but never yourself, seriously. Pour in the love and whatever skill you have, and it will come out."

Perspective: "In spite of the efforts of art critics, children (including myself as a child) ignore the rules of perspective. And quite rightly [...] In a Japanese painting of a city street, you can look over the fences and see what's happening, whereas perspective blocks it all out."

Comedy: "Ed Wynn undoubtedly said it best: 'Comedy is not about opening a funny door, it is about opening a door funny.' Repeat to yourself. Repeat, repeat, repeat."

Rules of Creativity: "It was the beginning of my understanding of the two primary rules of creativity. The first is that you must love what you are doing; the second is that you must be willing to do the dull and tiring work necessary to bring each creative endeavor to completion, and in that endeavor only the love should show."

Structure: "Except their skulls, all vertebrates - including men - have pretty much the same skeletons and musculoskeletal structure. Lighten or shorten a few bones, and man and bear are brothers under the skin."

Gravity: "The puppeteers taught me that gravity is what believability is all about."