Danny Antonucci
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Danny Antonucci (born February 27, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian-based animator.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and career
Antonucci's parents were first-generation Italian immigrants to Canada. His experiences as the child of immigrant parents deeply influenced his later work.
Antonucci was fascinated by cartoons (and other animated things) as a child and spent long hours drawing and trying to figure out how the pictures 'moved.' He performed puppet shows for money, and made his first cartoon at the age of 14.
Antonucci attended the Sheridan College of Visual Arts but quit to take a job as an animator at Canimage Production, a division of Hanna-Barbera. He worked on numerous shows, including The Smurfs, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and The Flintstone Comedy Hour. It was on the latter show that he worked with animation legend Tex Avery.
Intending to move to Los Angeles in 1984 to find more work, Antonucci landed in Vancouver, British Columbia. He landed a job at International Rocketship Ltd., animating short films and television commercials. His first effort was on the short film, Sandboxland.
[edit] International Rocketship and MTV work
Antonucci's first solo work was Lupo the Butcher, produced by International Rocketship, about a knife-wielding maniac. Antonucci says the short arose out of his own frustration at having to work in children's film for so long, and to try his hand at creating a fully-fledged character on film. The short animated film screened at several film festivals in Europe, including the Berlin Film Festival, before gaining attention in the United States at Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation.
The 'Lupo' character was eventually licensed by the Converse athletic shoe company. This led to additional work, including animated commercials for Levi Strauss & Co. and MTV. In 1993, still working for International Rocketship, Antonucci did a series of short commercials for MTV which depicted several brothers on a couch grunting. MTV commissioned a series, and The Brothers Grunt began airing in August 1994.
On April 1, 1994, Antonucci started the animation company a.k.a. Cartoon, which produced 'The Brothers Grunt' series. Altogether, 45 seven-minute episodes aired before the series went off the air in 1995.
Antonucci returned to doing commercials. Antonucci worked for MTV on its short-lived Cartoon Sushi show in 1997, directing, writing and providing voices.
[edit] Ed, Edd n Eddy
But feeling pigeon-holed as an angst-ridden, 'edgy' artist, Antonucci decided to produce an animated children's television show again. He resolved, however, to ensure that the series was produced in a way similar to the classic cartoons of the 1940s. Antonucci spent months designing the show's look in a style reminiscent of the old United Productions of America (UPA) cartoons.
Seeking as wide an audience as possible, Antonucci shopped the show to Nickelodeon, which demanded creative control. Antonucci refused to give it. Antonucci then took the show to Cartoon Network, which quickly picked it up.
The show, Ed, Edd n Eddy, premiered on Cartoon Network. 'Ed, Edd n Eddy' is a Canadian-American animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by a.k.a. Cartoon for the Cartoon Network. The premise is that three pre-adolescent boys — named Ed, Edd, and Eddy (collectively known as 'the Eds') — hang around in their suburban neighborhood of Peach Creek Estates. Led by the avaricious Eddy, the other Eds get caught up in various schemes to make money off their peers. But Eddy's plans usually fail, leaving the boys in various predicaments. The characters almost never leave the neighborhood, and adults are nowhere to be seen. Occasionally, humorous (and usually untrue) references are made to Canada in the show. (Everyone in the show except Edd thought turkey basters were "Canadian squirtguns".)
According to Antonucci, plots for 'Ed, Edd n Eddy' are taken from his own memories of suburban life and what it was like to while away idle summer vacations. He also based several stories on escapades his own two children have had.
The show's visual style style harkens back to cartoons of the 1940s and 1950s. Unlike the revolving backgrounds made infamous by Hanna-Barbera, the show utilizes non-repeating solid blocks of color and simple line, similar to those utilized in backgrounds on UPA cartoons. Little detail in the artwork is evinced, unless it is something which has the attention of the characters. In interviews, Antonucci say this is because children rarely pay attention to detail.
'Ed, Edd n Eddy' was Cartoon Network's fifth Cartoon Cartoon. It first aired in 1999 and has since attracted millions of fans worldwide. Originally, there were to be only four seasons; Cartoon Network, however, ordered two more seasons of 'Ed, Edd n Eddy', bringing the series length to six seasons. There are also three holiday specials: two each for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day. As of mid-2006, the show is the longest running original cartoon on Cartoon Network.
[edit] Trivia
- Antonucci is a strong advocate of hand-drawn animation. The wobbling animation on 'Ed, Edd n Eddy' is a homage to the hand-drawn cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s.
- Danny Antonucci is married and has two children, Tex and Marlowe.
[edit] Filmography
- The Adventures Of Barfman (1971) (Director,Writer,Composer)
- Richie Rich (1980) (Animator)
- Heavy Metal (1981) (Animator)
- The Smurfs (1981) (Animator)
- The Flinstones Spin Off Tv-Series (1981-1983) (Animator)
- Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo (1979-1981) (Animator)
- International Rocketship Ltd (1984-1994) (Animator Of Short Films)
- Hooray For Sandbox Land (1984) (Lead Animator)
- Lupo The Butcher (1987) (Director,Writer,Composer)
- Mtv Ids (1989-1993) (Lead Animator,Director)
- Getting There (1991) (Animator)
- Dirty Deposits (1993) (Animator)
- Lupos Nightmare (1995) (Director,Writer,Composer)
- The Brothers Grunt (1994-1995) (Creator)
- Cartoon Sushi (1997) (Animator)
- Ed Edd 'n' Eddy (1999-present) (Creator)
[edit] External links
- http://animationbymistake.fateback.com/abm/dannytalk.html 'Chatting with Danny Antonucci,' by Kit R. R. Topp. 2003. Accessed
- Video Interview with Danny (CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE)
