Fanboy and Chum Chum

Alan Chow

I first met Alan Chow when he was working on Tak and the Power of Juju and I accused him of being the guy who never flushed in the men’s room. Turns out I was wrong. (Heh. Sorry, Alan.) Here are a few quick questions with Mr Chow, performing one of the most thankless jobs in the cartoon food chain.

Frederator: Where did you grow up?

Alan: Cerritos, California.

Frederator: What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

Alan: Tom and Jerry.

Frederator: Where did you go to school and for what?

Alan: Cal State Fullerton. Major was Entertainment Art/Animation. So I’m fortunate enough to say that I’m working in the industry that I’ve always wanted to.

Frederator: How did you get your first job in the cartoon business?

Alan: My internship at Cartoon Network in summer of 2005 opened up a few doors for me. But I didn’t get a real job in the industry until January of 2007 at Film Roman. I really didn’t do anything special, other than constantly keep putting my resume out there and keeping an eye out for PA jobs. Anyone that is willing to interview you, DO IT.

Frederator: What do you do on Fanboy & Chum Chum?

Alan: Alan Chow, Production Assistant. So I get to dip my hands in a lot of aspects of production. I also get to be the butt of jokes.

Frederator: Can you name two specific responsibilities, part of the production process, the audience would never think about?

Alan: 1) Attending meetings that can take a full hour, and have nothing to do with a specific episode of Fanboy. 2) Typing in every character and every prop for every scene. So if Fanboy is in 100 scenes, I type in his name 100 times.

Frederator: Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Alan: Eric Robles, of course. And all storyboard artists/directors. And most of my friends are artists as well, so they are a huge influence in being creative and actively competitive.

Frederator: What is one thing you’ve learned along the road to get to where you are?

Alan: You should be consistent in all you do. Whether it be drawing, playing an instrument, exercising, etc… be consistent with practicing. And it’s always a good idea to smile. But not in a creepy way.

Frederator: What artist, present or past, would you most like to meet?

Alan: Chuck Jones.

Frederator: What movies are you most looking forward to this summer?

Alan: No new Batman this summer huh? I guess I’m excited for Pixar’s UP, Terminator Salvation, and Wolverine.

Thanks, Alan, for the interview and all your hard work as well.

(And thanks to Angie Polk for the interview work.)

– Eric (Homan)