Channel Frederator Blog

One day, I predict that Elizabeth Ito will be designing toys we toy nerds and little kids alike will all want. I’m not sure if it will be the bunnies from HCB, or another variant version of Mister Monster, or perhaps it will be something new altogether, but you never know with Elizabeth.
The brief and very fun time I shared with Elizabeth, when we both worked at Mattel, were daily adventures. What a bizarre, weird, and interesting world, the corporate headquarters of toy making is. But enough about that.
Go Buy Mister Monster!

1. How did you come up with the idea for this film?
I had this song that I kept listening to over the summer before I made Hot Cross Bunnies. In my head, all I saw was two kids racing through a toy store, through isles, around corners… and I guess the idea was born from that. I had done some sketches while
taking a road trip up the coast of CA with my family, and that’s where the design for the bunnies came from. I just kept pushing things till it was shaped how I liked it, and kept going back to teachers and friends for feedback on what they thought of my story reel and designs. Funny enough, the final idea didn’t actually fit with the song that originally inspired it.

2 Who are some of your influences?
Jim Henson, Roald Dahl, Aardman, Looney Tunes, Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson, the guys that wrote Rocko’s Modern Life… Um… Ward Kimball, Joe Ranft, Bill Peet, sheesh, this is a hard question, I don’t want to leave out any names, but this list is going to get too long!

3. What do you do when you get stuck creatively?
I usually feel like crap when that happens, so I do whatever it takes to get myself feeling better. The best thing is talking to friends, about anything really, like bouncing ideas off of them, or even just venting. I find a lot of comfort in talking to my family, we think alike, and they really understand how I think, and are also really funny and creative, so it
helps inspire me to just be around them. Other things that help are listening to good music, usually when I hear a good song, it makes me visualize a lot of things in my head. Excercise helps, too, strangely enough. I definitely don’t do enough of that, but I find physical activity helps to get your brain moving most of the time. Sometimes I just have to force myself to draw, even if things feel like they are coming out crappy. Starting and ending are usually the
hardest parts for me. But eventually you get to a point where things start to go better, and that part is worth the pain of the beginning.

4. Chocolate Bunnies VS the Easter Bunny in a steel cage deathmatch!!! All go in, Only one will be victorious. Who will WIN?!?!
I guess that depends on how many chocolate bunnies there are. If there’s a ton of chocolate bunnies, of course they will win. But I put my money on the Easter Bunny I think, he’s got mad chops, I hear.

5. What are you working on currently?
For my own projects, I’ve got some toy designs in development. I’m also hoping to get started on a short film idea I’ve been working on, and that I’ve found funding for, and possibly some children’s books that I’d like to self publish. For my day job, I will be starting as a storyboard artist on Astroboy next week. I’m totally excited about that because I will be working with some really awesome people. And, of course, I’m excited because it’s ASTROBOY!

Thanks for spending some time with us Elizabeth!!! You Rock!!!

Channel Frederator. Yr #1 SOURCE for Cartoon News & Interviews!
One Love.
<3,
-JX!

Who Do YOU want to see On Channel Frederator?
Click here to subscribe to Channel Frederator or go to iTunes. Please send your suggestions to promotecartoons@gmail.com.

Wanna know what else is cool about Channel Frederator?!?

Seriously. If yr film or short is featured on CH.Fred, what better way to promote yrself than embedding the Fred on yr very own website, blog or myspace page? For the extreme Fredheads, there’s the ultimate “Always Fresh” embedding code.
What are you waiting for? All the cool kids are doing it. I have mine up on my Myspace Page now.
Don’t believe me? Take a look, and add me while yr at it!
Cheers!