FREAK-A-CON! Thursday March 15, 2018 -- 8pm Eastern Time, 5pm Pacific Time

 
Don's miss "FREAK-A-CON," the live online virtual Comic-Convention dedicated to all things FREAKAZOID.   It's Thursday, March 15th 2018 at 5pm to 6pm Pacific time, 8pm to 9pm Eastern time.  Go to  --


              https://www.facebook.com/FreakACon/


...and Freak-Out!

FREAK OUT! A Major FREAKAZOID EVENT Coming this Fall!

The Freakazoid event of the millennium!  Coming this fall to Southern California!     Start planning your autumn now!

 

THE 7D -- New Episodes

New "Disney's THE 7D" episodes airing this coming weekend include:  

"Shapeshifter" 
Written by Paul Dini.  Directed by Alfred Gimeno.  
And guest starring Weird Al Yankovic as the nefarious arch enemy facing off against Lotta Glamour (Queen Delightful), Agent Bash (Bashful) and the entire 007D team. 
 

And yes, Hildy and Grim get in on the action as they collaborate with "Shapeshifter."

"There's A Monkey In My Hat" 
Written by Deanna Oliver and directed by Alfred Gimeno.

When Squire Peckington goes on vacation to Toucancun,  Queen Delightful gets an alternate animal advisor in her hat -- a monkey named Nanners.  Soon, all the citizens of Jollywood want a monkey is their hats, leading to chaos complicated by Hildy Gloom masquerading as the monkey advisor in Queen D's crown.

Disney's "THE 7D" Renewed for 2nd Season

We're wrapping up the 24 half hours of Season 1, and starting stories, scripts and storyboards on 39 new half hours for Season 2 of Disney's THE 7D.

FREAK-A-CON 2015! THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF FREAKAZOID IMMERSIVE WEEKEND!!

This is a BIG deal!  So big that it's taken 20 years to get the planning just right!
Along with Paul Rugg and John McCann, I'm proud to announce the following event:
THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF FREAKAZOID IMMERSIVE WEEKEND!
Coming in 2015! 

 
That's right, 2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of the premier of Steven Spielberg presents FREAKAZOID, and what better way to mark the occasion than an entire weekend of Freakazoid  workshops, panel discussions, screenings, performances and one-of-a-kind events.

Yes!  Paul Rugg -- Freakazoid himself -- John McCann and I will be welcoming a slew of special guests, and we'd like you to take part in this weekend of non-stop activities -- the kind only Freakazoid and his friends could possibly bring you. 
 
Details and schedules are coming soon.  We hope you will plan on joining us in 2015 for this entertaining and IMMERSIVE weekend!

A bear WILL ride a motorcycle!

Pull the string!

And stay tuned!!!!!

"THE 7D": The Voice Actors, Part 2

Just a few days to the Disney XD premiere of The 7D.  

But first, meet Queen Delightful and Lord Starchbottom!

Left to right:  Tom Ruegger, Leigh-Allyn Baker (Queen Delightful), Voice Director Kelly Ward, Paul Rugg (Starchbottom)

Here are two more stars in the cast:   

Leigh-Allyn Baker, star of Good Luck Charlie,  plays the beloved and whimsical ruler of Jollywood, Queen Delightful.  

Her aide-de-camp and right hand man is the panicky bureaucrat Lord Starchbottom, played by Freakazoid himself, Paul Rugg.  Paul is also one of the writers on the show.

Next up...the heavies on The 7D.  

"THE 7D": The 7 Writers

Here's a 2013 photo of the seven in-house writers for Disney's "THE 7D."  Front and center, that's our story editor, Sherri Stoner.    She is flanked by associate story editor Deanna Oliver on the left and series writer Shea Fontana on the right.  Back row, left to right:  series writers Paul Rugg, Randy Rogel, me and Roger Eschbacher.  

"The 7D" premieres on Disney XD on July 7, 2014.  

"The 7D" Premiere Date on Disney XD Has Been Set: 7/7/14

How to Write Funny Scripts for Disney's "The 7D"

In our never-ending goal to demonstrate the art of animation production, Cartoonatics is proud to present a step-by-step analysis of the script-writing process used for the upcoming animated television series, Disney's "The 7D."


Step One

To create stories for "The 7D," assemble a team of top-notch animation writers.  Since your budget is limited, offer these writers relatively low salaries but throw in attractive perqs like free bowls of breakfast cereal and unlimited elevator rides to and from the workplace lobby.

Back row:  Paul Rugg, Randy Rogel, Tom Ruegger, Roger Eschbacher.  Front row:  Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver, Shea Fontana

                                                                ************

Step Two

Once you have hired seven writers, one for each of the lead 7D characters, gather those writers together into a "think tank" (AKA "cubicle").

Each work day, the writers meet to think up funny story ideas.   This process could take quite a bit of time, anything from a few minutes to more than 26 months, depending on various factors, including budget, burned-out brain cells and distracting YouTube videos.   

                                                                ************ 



Step Three 

Once a writer comes up with an idea, he shares it with the writing team.  Whether the idea is brilliant or lame, the rest of the team is supportive and embraces the idea with enthusiasm. 

                                                                ************


Step Four

The story editor quietly informs the writer that the proposed story idea is unfeasible, hackneyed, unfunny, already-been-done and rejected months ago by the network.  Other than that, it's a keeper.

                                                                ************

Step Five 

The writers resume the process of thinking up funny story ideas. 

                                                                ************  

Step Six

11 am:  Lunch Time!

                                                               ************

Step Seven 

2 pm:  The arduous story-breaking process resumes.  

                                                                ************ 

Step Eight  

Inspiration strikes!  

Unable to come up with an original idea, the team decides to do a parody of a  popular TV show or movie...but with a "7D twist!"

                                                                ************

Step Nine

The writers decide that each story will be character-driven and will feature the unique, charming, lovable, funny and friendly personalities of our seven stars:   the 7D.  

                                                                ************

Step Ten   

It's the job of the writers to make sure every story includes not only comedy and adventure, but also a warm, gentle moment that will touch the hearts of our audience. 

                                                                ************ 

Step Eleven

And if the script comes in short -- add a song.   A peppy song. 

If it's really short -- add two songs! 

                                                                ************

Step Twelve   

After an exhausting day of profound pondering and crafting fairy tales for the 21st century,  it's quitting time!  

                                                                ************  

And that's just a peek at the fast-paced process of writing cartoon comedy for the new animated TV series, Disney's "The 7D!"

Disney's "The 7D" -- Some of the Crew Members -- Part 1

For the past year or so, I've been working with an incredible team of artists, directors, writers, actors, musicians, producers and creative network execs on a new animated series called "The 7D," which will premier on Disney Junior sometime in 2014.   Here are just a few of the characters who have come together to help make this show happen...

Above:  an afternoon stroll by some of the crew, including (left to right) Paul Rugg (writer and the voice of Lord Starchbottom), Randy Rogel (series writer), Charles Visser (series director), Roger Eschbacher (writer), Deanna Oliver (series writer), Carson Kugler (storyboard artist), Kevin Frank (storyboard artist), Alfred Gimeno (series director), David Shair (storyboard revisions), Sherri Stoner (story editor and writer), Barry Caldwell (storyboard artist) and Roger Dondis (storyboard supervisor).

Lunch at the Sonora campus commissary with Kevin Michael Richardson , series composer Parry Gripp, and Emily Hart, who is the network executive on the series.  In addition to her creative input on The 7D, Emily is also Disney Junior's Executive Director of Programming. 

Series art director Frank Montagna and background designer Brad Gake.  

Writer Paul Rugg is given brilliant script notes by a visiting Amish woman.
 

Robert Hegyes: "Bobby"

Friend, comedian, actor and home town hero Bobby Hegyes passed away yesterday at the way-too-young age of 60.  

Bobby grew up in  Metuchen, N.J., and my brothers Jim and Pete and I knew him from our high school days.  I played football with Bobby on the Metuchen High team.  He was a fierce competitor and a force of nature on the field as well as off.  He caught the acting bug early and performed not only in  school productions but in "Summer Theater Under the Stars" at nearby Roosevelt Park.   Bobby pursued his education and career in acting with the same intensity and dedication that he applied to most things in his life.   

"Hey, Mr. Kotter, I got a note!"

Everyone in Metuchen was thrilled when  Bobby landed a starring role on a network TV series in 1975.   Bobby was only 24 when "Welcome Back Kotter" premiered.  He played one of the "Sweathogs," a foursome of incorrigible and wise-cracking high school students who amuse, challenge, and learn life's lessons from their beloved  mentor/teacher, Mr. Kotter.  

Bobby performed the role of Juan Epstein, a Puerto Rican Jew from a large family who had Latin good-looks and great comic timing.  His co-stars included Gabe Kaplan as Mr. Kotter, and John Travolta, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Ron Palillo as the other three sweathogs.  

 

Back in July of 2006, when I married Annie Malley, Bobby and his wife Cynthia Wylie attended the wedding.  In the wedding photo above, my brother Jim Ruegger, Bobby and Cynthia share a laugh during Paul Rugg's performance of "Manny the Uncanny."

Bobby was charismatic, infinitely likable and one-of-a-kind.  

Thanks for the laughs, Bobby.  You will be missed by your family, your friends and your fans.  

Yakko on the Warner Bros. Studio Water Tower -- 1993

To announce the premier of "Animaniacs" in September 1993, it was decided to place an inflated-balloon replica of Yakko Warner atop the water tower at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank.  This seemed like a great idea at the time.  Unfortunately, no one clued in Bob Daly, who ran the studio.  When Bob pulled up in his car that day and saw the balloon-creature sitting on top of the tower, he thought his studio was under attack by some sort of mutant Mickey Mouse.  

The balloon figure of Yakko sat on the tower for less than 12 hours.  Paul Rugg snapped this photo, which may be the only documentation of this strange day in studio history. 

"HISTERIA!" Crew Photos -- #5

More photos from "Histeria!"

Here are some of the voice actors who starred on the show.  Among them:   Maurice LaMarche, Nora Dunn, Paul Rugg, and Jim Wickline.  Also, from the recording department, blue-eyed Leslie Lamers, Kelly Foley and Andrea Romano.  

Can you correctly name each crew member in the photo?