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Danny Antonucci

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Danny Antonucci
Danny Antonucci at the 2007 Platform Festival.
Born
Daniel Edward Antonucci

(1957-02-27) February 27, 1957 (age 67)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma materSheridan College of Visual Arts
Occupation(s)Animator, director, producer, writer
Years active1971 – Present
Known for

Daniel Edward "Danny" Antonucci (born February 27, 1957) is a Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer. He is known for creating the Cartoon Network animated comedy series Ed, Edd n Eddy. He also created Lupo the Butcher, Cartoon Sushi, and The Brothers Grunt.

Antonucci dropped out of the Sheridan College of Visual Arts to take a job as an animator at Hanna-Barbera, where he worked on a number of series, including The Flintstones Comedy Hour, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Smurfs, and Richie Rich. He continued his career in Vancouver, where he worked on animated shorts and television commercials for Rocketship Limited, and created his first solo work, the animated short Lupo the Butcher. At MTV, he worked on a number of commercials, his series The Brothers Grunt, and the animation showcase program Cartoon Sushi, which he co-created with Keith Alcorn. He went on to create Ed, Edd n Eddy for Cartoon Network. In 2008, Antonucci signed to Wild Brain.

Throughout his career, Antonucci won a number of awards. Many of his commercials for Converse, ESPN, and Levi’s won a number of awards. Lupo the Butcher was a successful short and is considered to be a cult-classic. His series Ed, Edd n Eddy remains one of Cartoon Network's most successful series to date.

Biography

Early life and career

Antonucci's parents were Italian immigrants to Canada. His experiences as the child of immigrant parents deeply influenced his later work.

Antonucci attended the Sheridan College of Visual Arts but quit to take a job as an animator[1] at Canimage Production, a division of Hanna-Barbera.[2] He worked on numerous shows, including The Flintstones Comedy Hour,[2] Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Smurfs, and Richie Rich.[3]

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 Limited, animating short films and television commercials. His first effort was on the short film, Sandboxland.

International Rocketship, foundation of a.k.a. Cartoon and MTV work

Antonucci's first solo work was Lupo the Butcher, produced by International Rocketship, about a short-tempered butcher who swears at the meat he is cutting and gets extremely mad at the smallest mistakes. 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 full-fledged character on film. The short animated film screened at several film festivals, including Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in the United States.

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.

On April 1, 1994, Antonucci started an animation company named a.k.a. Cartoon, which produced the short-lived MTV series The Brothers Grunt, which began airing in 1994 and ended its run in 1995. Antonucci went on to work on MTV's Cartoon Sushi show in 1997, directing, writing and providing voices, in addition to being responsible for the title sequence of the show.

Ed, Edd n Eddy

Main article: Ed, Edd n Eddy

Feeling confined to "gross" and "edgy" work, such as his series The Brothers Grunt, Antonucci decided to produce an animated children's television show again with his company a.k.a. Cartoon.[4] He resolved, however, to ensure that the series was produced in a way similar to the cartoon styles from the 1940s to the 1970s.[4] Antonucci spent months designing the show, before trying to sell it to Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon told him that they would take the show, if they also obtained creative control. Antonucci refused to give it, and instead took the show to Cartoon Network. A deal was ultimately made for Cartoon Network to commission the show, after they agreed to let Antonucci go in his own direction.[4]

Antonucci is a strong advocate of hand-drawn animation. The wobbling animation in Ed, Edd n Eddy is an homage to the hand-drawn cartoons with a style that harkens back to cartoons of the 1940s to the 1970s.[4] To give the impression of movement, Ed, Edd n Eddy uses shimmering character outlines similar to Squigglevision.[5] The crawling lines are not nearly as active as those in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, but are still visible,[5] and Antonucci likens it to cartoons of the 1930s.[4]

According to Antonucci, the characters were based on real people in his life. The personalities of Ed, Edd, and Eddy are based on personal traits of himself, and the activities of his two sons.[6] The Eds also possess personality traits similar to The Three Stooges, whose money-making schemes and antics also invariably backfire.[7] The cul-de-sac children and the Kanker Sisters were all based on children he grew up with. Antonucci also stated that he believed it was important to add Plank, a board of wood, to the show, stating that he "thought it would be really cool to do the show with Plank taking on a character of his own" and to cause Jonny to do things he would usually never do. He also stated that Rolf is strongly based on himself and his cousins, since he was part of an immigrant family, and grew up in a first generation foreign household with different customs and ways of living.[6]

Ed, Edd n Eddy is the only A.k.a. Cartoon show to have a theatrical movie based on the animated television series. The series' finale movie, Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show aired on November 8, 2009, officially ending the series.[8] However, reruns continued to air on the network until July 1, 2011. On March 30, 2012, the series received another opportunity to air re-runs on the revived block "Cartoon Planet."[9]

WildBrain and upcoming series

While Antonucci was working on Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show, it was announced on September 4, 2008 that he signed to WildBrain; Antonucci stated that he was "already kicking around three different ideas for his first Wildbrain project."[10] On June 11, 2013, animator Joe Murray posted a short interview with Antonucci for his class on his website, and on the end wrote: "He's currently working on a new series, so rock on."[11]

Accolades

Antonucci's first solo work Lupo the Butcher was a successful short and is considered to be a cult classic.[8] Eric Fogel, creator of Celebrity Deathmatch stated that Lupo the Butcher "opened [his] eyes to a world of animation that was strictly for grownups and inspired [him] to pursue a career path that was a bit more…..twisted."[12] Throughout his career, Antonucci received a number of awards. He worked on a number of award winning commercials for Converse, ESPN and Levi’s.[8] In 1998, for his work on Cartoon Sushi, Antonucci received a National Cartoonists Society Division Award for Television Animation. His series Ed, Edd n Eddy received several awards and nominations; For his work on the series, Antonucci won a Reuben Award for Best Television Animation in 1999[13] and a Leo Award for Best Director in an Animated Production or Series in 2000.[14] He became best known for Ed, Edd n Eddy, which with an almost 11-year run remains the longest running original Cartoon Network series and Canadian-made animated series to date.[8][15] It was also Cartoon Network's most popular series among boys ages 2–11.[16] Bob Higgins, head of Wild Brain, considered Ed, Edd n Eddy to be a "landmark in animation."[2] Joe Murray, famous for creating the animated series Rocko's Modern Life and Camp Lazlo, called Antonucci "one of the founders and mainstays of modern animation".[11]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role
1971 The Adventures of Barfman Short film
Director and writer
1981 Heavy Metal Animator
1984 Hooray for Sandbox Land Short film
Lead animator
1984 Anijam Short film
Production artist
1985 The Velveteen Rabbit Animator
1985 Rumpelstiltskin Animator
1987 Tales of the Mouse Hockey League Short film
Character designer and key animator
1987 The Chipmunk Adventure Assistant animator
1987 Lupo the Butcher Short film
Director, animator, and composer
1989 Let's Chop Soo-E Short film
Corrections artist
1994 Deadly Deposits Short film
Animator
2009 Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show Television film
Director, executive producer, co-writer

Television

Year Title Role
1980–82 The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and Scrappy Too! Animator
1980–82 The Flintstone Comedy Show Animator
1981 The Smurfs Animator
1994–95 The Brothers Grunt Creator, co-writer, director, and voice actor
1997 Cartoon Sushi Co-creator and director
1999–2009 Ed, Edd n Eddy Creator, director, executive producer, co-writer, and voice of Mr. Sun from "The Eds are Coming, the Eds are Coming"

References

  1. ^ "Danny Antonucci". Ottawa International Animation Festival. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Ball, Ryan (September 5, 2008). "Antonucci Makes Toons with W!LDBRAIN". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "Ed, Edd n Eddy TV Show Facts". Kidzworld.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e Danny Antonucci (October 10, 2006). Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Complete First Season—Interview with the Creator (DVD). Warner Home Video. Event occurs at 0:22–2:34.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  5. ^ a b Shumway, Matt; Wayne, Lamont (June 1999). "Ed, Edd n Eddy: A Unique Approach". Animation World Magazine. No. 4.3. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  6. ^ a b Danny Antonucci (October 10, 2006). Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Complete First Season—Interview with the Creator (DVD). Warner Home Video. Event occurs at 2:15–4:39.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  7. ^ Cornelius, David (April 24, 2007). "DVD Talk Review: Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy — The Complete Second Season". DVD Talk. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  8. ^ a b c d Kapko, Matt (November 16, 2009). "Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show Premiers in the U.S." Animation World Network. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  9. ^ Walton, Zach. "Cartoon Network Brings Back The Classics With Cartoon Planet". WebProNews. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  10. ^ "WildBrain pacts with Antonucci". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. September 4, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Joe Murray (June 11, 2013). "June 11, 2013". Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  12. ^ Kapko, Matt (February 5, 2010). "The Toon That Changed My Life". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  13. ^ "Animation World News: Awards". Animation World Magazine (4.3). Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  14. ^ "2000 Winners". Leo Awards. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  15. ^ Grove, Chris (September 5, 2008). "CN/D3 Unleash New Ed, Edd n Eddy Game". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  16. ^ Sarrazin, Marc-André (February 26, 2005). "Midway Enters Publishing Agreement For 3 Cartoon Network Shows". NintendoSpin.com. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
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