ACNE LABS: Conquering the World's Skin Problems One Mouse At A Time

 

"Will You Wear A Mask? I Ask" performed by Mark Hamill

Check out the video of my rhyming picture book "Will You Wear A Mask?  I Ask"...a fun 4-minute video for the whole family! 

Narrated by Mark Hamill!   

And please wear a mask!  

You can find the video here:  

https://youtu.be/60lF1bLAWYA 

 

"WILL YOU WEAR A MASK? I ASK" -- Book at Amazon

 

 

 

Hey folks!  Just published a fun little rhyming picture book about wearing a mask during this COVID-19 pandemic.  It's entitled "Will You Wear A Mask?  I Ask" and it's fun for the entire family.   

You can find it for sale at Amazon... 

https://www.amazon.com/Will-You-Wear-Mask-Ask-ebook/dp/B08GF1JH2Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ruegger+kindle&qid=1598139340&sr=8-1 

 

  

 

Yakko, Wakko and Dot in Quarantine

If you need to leave the tower, be prepared!  

 

Clip from "The Premiere of Platypus Duck"

Here's a clip from the first cartoon I made -- "The Premiere of Platypus Duck."   Made it in college.  The music is composed and performed by Parker MacDonell, and that's Parker singing as well.   The entire cartoon is 11 minutes long.  

This 50-second clip was drawn mainly in colored pencil, with some inked lines on paper.  This sequence covers evolution from the dawn of time to the present day, as we see the platypus evolve.

The clip is below these images.  

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2018 From Yakko, Wakko & Dot

 

 

Yakko, Wakko and Dot

"Game of Animaniacs: Dotnerys"

Dotnerys is all about the dragons...

                                                           DOTNERYS:   
                                       Some girls got 'em, and some girls don't."

Vote Grump!

"THE 7D" Season 2 Starts in January on DisneyXD

We are in the middle of making 20 new half hours of "The 7D," slated to premier January 23, 2016 on DisneyXD.  Will keep you posted on the exact time and date.  Meanwhile, here's a heretofore-unreleased poster I smashed together from Season 1, episode 1 -- "The Littlest Giants," directed by Alfred Gimeno.   

"Animaniacs" Recording Session: April 11, 1995

I doodled the faces of Yakko, Wakko and Dot during the voice recording (and singing) session for "The Big Wrap Party" segment of Animaniacs at Monterey Post in Burbank, California, back on April 11, 1995.  Hard to believe it was 20 years ago!   

I tend to draw during almost every recording session, so these sketches aren't unusual.  What's unique about this set of doodles is that I had everyone at the session sign it.  

So, scattered around these notepad drawings of Yakko, Wakko and Dot are the signatures of just a few of the people who gave voice and sound to the "Animaniacs" series:  engineers Harry Andronis and Patrick Rodman; recording assistant Kelly Foley; casting director Leslie Lamers;  voice director Andrea Romano;  series composer and music director Richard Stone; and the voices of Yakko, Wakko and Dot, namely Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeille.  What a group!  I feel very fortunate to have worked with these great talents, and so glad to continue working with Rob, Jess and Tress, among others, on Disney's "The 7D." 

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping you have a great 2015!

Happy New Year 2015 from Big Fat New Year's Baby and Father Time -- "Histeria!"

Another Cartoonatics Milestone

"THE 7D": The Voice Actors, Part 4

Here's Kevin Michael Ricardson (the voice of Happy) with The 7D series' casting director, Abigail (Abbie) D'Andrea.

Among other casting coups for the show, Abbie booked Jimmy Weldon, the voice of "Yakky Doodle" from The Yogi Bear Show (1961), to voice the role of Whoopty Doopty Schmoodily Duck in the upcoming 7D episode entitled "Bing Bong Beans."   Jimmy, pictured below, turned 90 last December and is going stronger than ever!

   

Abbie also brought in two of our very favorite voice stars to perform in various 7D episodes:  Tress MacNeille (Duck Tales, The Simpsons, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs) and Rob Paulsen (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain).  

These are just a few of the great casting choices made by Abbie during the first season of  The 7D.  

"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 Voice Actors, Part 1

The 7D cast back when we did the pilot a couple of years ago.  That's Sleepy (Stephen Stanton), Doc (Bill Farmer), Bashful (Billy West), Grumpy (Maurice LaMarche), Happy (Kevin Michael Richardson) and Sneezy (Scott Menville).  That's me in the middle crashing the lower photo.  For the series, Dee Bradley Baker joined the cast as Dopey.  (Dee is on the far right, below.)     

Scott Menville, Maurice LaMarche, Kevin Michael Richardson, Billy West, Stephen Stanton, Billy Farmer, Dee Bradley Baker

 

In front, on the left, that's the best voice director in the business, Kelly Ward.  We're lucky to have him directing The 7D.  That's Kevin Michael Richardson next to Kelly.  In back:  Dee Bradley Baker, Scott Menville, Billy West, Stephen Stanton and me.

Additional members of our cast will be featured in the next post. 

"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 People Who Made "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs" -- Part Three

Pictured below with Yakko:  the lead film editor of both Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, Joe Gall;  and the legendary and unflappable production supervisor Kathy Page Cowan, who went on to become a producer at Warner Bros and the Hub.   I'm the one crowding the frame on the right.  Circa 1995. 
 

Greetings from "The 7D"

This promotional image for "The 7D" animated television series appeared on the cover of Kidscreen Magazine in September 2013.  To my knowledge, this cover art is the only preview image of the 7D characters released by Disney at this time.   This is a sneak peek of the actual new, revised and updated character designs that we're using in the "The 7D" series for the Seven Dwarfs.

This piece of character art was designed and drawn by series director and designer Alfred Gimeno.  The background was designed and painted by series art director Frank Montagna.

"The 7D" is deep in production and is being made at Disney Television Animation.  Disney Junior's Nancy Kanter and Emily Hart are the creative execs guiding "The 7D."   An earlier posting here indicated a premiere date, but that was incorrect.  The series premier date has not yet been announced. 

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!"