Author: Alexis Murray

On March 18th, 2017, LMU’s Animation Club hosted their Showrunner Panel, which turned out to be a great success! Our Animated Perspectives Professor, Sapphire Sandalo, moderated the discussion between Brandon Vietti (showrunner from Young Justice), Chris Savino (showrunner from The Loud House), and Mike Mayfield (animation director and executive producer from Mr. Pickles).

The panelists were asked a variety of questions, ranging from their how they became animation showrunners (or executive producers), how they balance the different aspects of their work, and advice for students aspiring to be showrunners. Here are some of the answers we recieved from our panelists.

1. Becoming a showrunner is more than just creating a show. As a matter of fact, Animation showrunners tend to have “many different hats,” or in other words, they manage multiple departments of production all at once. In one meeting, they may be talking with storyboard artists about various panels drawn; in the next meeting, they maybe talking to the post production team about an episode soon to air. Showrunners tend to have their days packed with different meetings with the various departments regarding their show. Sometimes, they do get to work on some animation for the episodes, but most times they are too busy with the other meetings. Executive producers have a very similar day.
2. Collaboration between showrunners, producers, directors and writers is key! Everyone wants to tell the story, and working together is the best way to get it done. Sometimes, however, when an issue with story comes up, someone will have to have the final say on what content goes in the episode and what doesn’t. Whether it is the showrunner, writer, producer, or director, it all depends on the show. Different shows will have a different way of managing content and leadership style.
3. What do showrunners and executive producers miss the most? Animating and Storyboarding. As showrunners and executive producers, a lot of their time is taken up by meetings and resolving issues in the production. This sometimes keeps them away from doing the things that brought them into the Animation Industry in the first place. That is why it is important to have your own passion projects, so you can continue doing what you want to do while still loving your career.
4. Advice for aspiring showrunners: Pitch your story to others, make sure you have strong characters and a good storyline. Stay true to yourself and your story. And finally, don’t be desperate. Talk with confidence, and make sure you give off the impression that your story will get made no matter what happens during the pitch.

These were just some of the points made during the Showrunner Panel. All the panelists gave precious advice and knowledge to all who attended, and we had plenty of fun! As part of the Animation Eboard, I hope everyone comes to our upcoming panels in 2017 and 2018, as we will have more awesome panelists and more fun!

Is unconventional beauty the new standard for beauty in animation? In the recent years, studios such as Disney, Dreamworks, LAIKA, and Cartoon Network have been tailoring more and more of their characters on screen to be more “human-like:” flawed and different from the “cookie-cutter” designs of what society thought of as “attractive” in terms of appearance.

For Walt Disney Animation Studios, their attempts at unconventional beauty have worked well given the year that each film was made. The Hunchback of Notre Dame’s (1996) Quasimodo, for example, illustrated what makes someone a “man” is not their appearance, but in their personality and compassion. With that said, Quasimodo unfortunately still didn’t end up with Esmerelda, perhaps the only reason being how the story played out in the book and play (Although Esmerelda dies in both, it is evident she falls in love with Captain Phoebus). They tried to make up for it in The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 (2002) by giving Quasimodo a girlfriend, Madellaine, but some viewers felt it didn’t completely do him justice. Well, even though he didn’t get Esmerelda by the end of the first film, he was accepted by society (and then later got Madellaine in the second film). Considering the film was made in the mid-late 90’s, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a valiant effort to make way for unconventional beauty.

Another Disney film which broke conventions in the concept of beauty was Beauty and the Beast (1991). Both main characters, Belle and Beast, portrayed differing forms of unconventional beauty. For Beast, his physical appearance and rough demeanors made him a misunderstood character who was redeemed by his ability to love someone for who they were. Yes, in the end he turned into a very handsome prince, which did take away a bit from the whole “unconventional beauty” aspect. Disney tried not to step on too many toes while challenging the concepts of beauty (being a film from 1991). Then we have Belle, who although was a gorgeous young lady, was still ostracized by her village for her love for books. Everyone called her in the song, “Belle,” “a beauty but a funny girl,” “she’s nothing like the rest of us,” “she’s strange, no question,” and “that girl is so peculiar! I wonder if she’s feeling well?” It is evident here that the concept of “beauty” portrayed by the villagers/society sees knowledge as a counter to attractive physical appearances. Therefore, Belle’s love of books in addition to her attractive appearance makes her an “unconventional beauty.”

Dreamworks also had films which challenged the standards of beauty, namely with Shrek and Fiona in the Shrek series (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010). Despite being ogres, which were considered by their world the most vile and ugly creatures who were destined to be alone, Shrek and Fiona loved each other regardless. As a matter of fact, they even had children, which had every cute personality trait a human baby would have. Shrek’s family proved beauty comes in all sizes, and true beauty and love came from accepting each other and all their quirks. Furthermore, Donkey and Dragon also portrayed very similar themes, adding the additional theme of interracial love.

Let’s not forget about LAIKA! Boxtrolls’s (2014) trolls, for example didn’t have an “attractive” physical appearance, their fun, cute, and loving nature and acceptance of Eggs exemplified their beauty came from within and reinvented what beauty meant for their world. LAIKA also created films warning against the façade of “beauty” presented by society in Coraline (2009), where Other Mother made everything physically attractive in her made-up world in order to lure children into her trap. It was the flawed characters in the real world who showed Coraline what true value and caring looked like.

Last but certainly not least, Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe (2013-present) presents characters such as Rose Quartz, a tall and well-built woman, Amethyst, a short and round young woman with a spunky attitude, and Steven, a short round young man with a heart of gold. All three characters portray physical appearences outside the normal “cookie cutter” designs of a moderately-tall-and-skinny protagonist and positive role models. These not only redefine beauty as more unconventional, viewers are able to relate to them much better due to their more realistic character designs.

Truly, these animation studios have made great impacts in making “unconventional” beauty the new standard for beauty in animation. Perhaps as time goes on, more and more films and television shows will follow in their footsteps, creating characters that are beautiful in their own unique and flawed way.