User blog:Jspyster1/Old Danny Antonucci Interview - ReelWest Magazine - June/July 2000

After browsing some old Ed, Edd n Eddy fan-sites using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine I came across a link to the website of Reel West Magazine where apparently they did an interview with Danny Antonucci for their June/July issue back in 2000. Here's the link:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040805094423/http://www.reelwest.com:80/magazine/archives/vol15_2/danny_sidebar.htm

A tidbit I found interesting in the interview was how Danny stated how he thought it was cool how people and the TV executives would hate his guts for producing the weird and edgy kinda animation he enjoyed making and that he was doing it for the art -so to speak- rather than the money. After being pigeon-holed into making commercials he decided to branch out and make something a little more "kid" (read: TV network executive) friendly, and thus Ed, Edd n Eddy was conceived. E,EnE wasn't going to be a generic kid show and Danny seemed to know from past experience that there was a great chance that audiences/TV executives would hate this thing and that it could end up a financial failure. Danny didn't care about making money, he just wanted to put his art out there for all to see; failure or not. He summed it up the best:

""It’s not [about] the cash, because I wouldn’t be doing cable if it was all about money. The money is good, but you’re not talking about the big bucks. I want people to see what I’m doing. If I’m going to fail I want to fail big. If I’m going to do well I want to do well in a big way.""

Another interesting bit is when he recalled a European press conference he attended where the media hated his guts for bringing yet another North American TV program to them. Danny had to explain that E,EnE wasn't supposed to be another disposable piece of kids show fodder. He explained how they produced the show true to the old ways of the golden era of cartoons; from the story-boarding to the animation. It was a major pain to produce but in the end it was seemingly worth it, as Danny says:

""Not only do you have these cool images and this funny story and hilarious dialogue, but there is this soul. It may sound arty, but what other art form contains every other art form in one thing? Film, painting, architecture, mathematics, acting. Everything is in there.”"

Danny was committed to making E,EnE more than just some generic kid's cartoon using a combination of his love for the art of traditionally produced animation and his own twisted style; regardless of whatever the mass audiences or the business obsessed TV execs thought of him. As an aspiring animator myself, this interview really showed me the rebellious creative side of Danny Antonucci I hadn't seen before and he is truly an inspiration.

In the end, Ed, Edd n Eddy may not have been the most widely popular or heavily advertised and merchandised Cartoon Network cartoon (compare this to the PowerPuff Girls, Adventure Time, etc.) but after reading this interview... I think it's safe to say Danny Antonucci doesn't mind.

Share your thoughts below.