The Fairly Odd-Blog

Director Ken Bruce

What does Fairly OddParents director Ken Bruce think about the current Iranian election turmoil or petting on the first date? I don’t know, but in this interview, we do find out a bit about his history with FOP and what he’s been doing for a prominent CG studio up north.

Frederator: Where did you grow up?

Ken: I grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I wish someone would’ve smacked me upside the head when I was a kid and told me to never take the view of the Pacific Ocean outside my bedroom window for granted. Our home also looked out over Marineland of the Pacific, a tourist mecca since 1955, where I worked selling stuffed killer whales during high school. Alas, the home of Orky and Corky is now a real estate development.

Ken, by Kelly Asbury

Frederator: When and what made you realize you wanted to go into cartoons?

Ken: The Disney films I saw as a child permanently re-wired my neocortex. Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, had a profound impact on me. Their hyper-reality, the color and fantasy truly transported me. I wanted to have some part in creating that magic as far back as age 8.

Frederator: What was your art education like? Did you go to school for animation?

Ken: There was only one art school for me, the Disney founded CalArts in Valencia, California, specifically the Character Animation program. Fairly OddParents creator Butch Hartman himself arrived there one year after I did in 1983 and director Gary Conrad and character designer Ernie Gilbert are alumni as well. Those years at CalArts were easily some of the happiest of my life. I was so enamored with working at my animation desk I recall how bathroom and meal breaks were almost an irritation and visits home for the holidays were pure torture. What could have possibly been more fun than making my own cartoons?

Ralph Eggleston’s Ken Bruce

Frederator: So why aren’t you making your own films today?

Ken: That’s the million-dollar question! I think life just got in the way. And in a way there was a feeling I’d worked through most of my demons in my student films. In the meantime I’ve put most of my hard work into the projects I’ve worked on since then, so when I get home it’s nice to relax and catch up on another episode of Survivor instead of hitting the animation desk again. Perhaps some day I’ll do a personal animation project. Sigh.

Frederator: Any big heroes of yours in the art world (or outside the art world)?

Ken: My biggest heroes were Walt Disney, of course, followed by Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Sondheim. Give me another trip to vintage Disneyland, another viewing of North by Northwest or another rendition of ‘Marry Me a Little’ any day. As for heroes I’ve had the honor of working with, Brad Bird (director Incredibles, Ratatouille) takes the cake. Brad got me my first job on his “Family Dog” episode on Amazing Stories back in 1987. My passion for film was fueled by Brad, a guy who could fetishize over individual frames of film without ever losing sight of story and character. And finally, my good friend Ralph Eggleston, art director at Pixar of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and WALL-E never ceases to blow my mind with his color sense, his panache for visual storytelling, and his all-out passion for the art form. He’s also one of the few people on the planet who can make me laugh so hard that my nose bleeds. Who says friends can’t be heroes?

Frederator: Not me. So how’d you get the job on FOP?

Ken: The moons were aligned on this one. I was just off of Invader Zim when a small opening came up on Fairly OddParents. Then director Sarah Frost was enjoying a long recuperation from what I believe was a back injury and I was asked to fill in. The pressure was intense to hit the ground running and even though I’d had plenty of experience on other shows, the animation sensibility on Fairly OddParents was so specific that there were no guarantees I’d make it through the gauntlet. Luckily director Gary Conrad showed endless patience with my onslaught of questions and all went well. As fate would have it, Sarah moved on and I moved in permanently shortly afterwards.

Frederator: Do you have a favorite OddParents episode?

Ken: Probably an early episode called ‘Pipe Down’. Timmy wishes for a little peace and quiet so the majority of the cartoon is played out in pantomime. Any student of animation knows that pantomime is the bread and butter of the art form and a considerable challenge to pull off successfully. With Dave Thomas’s exemplary boarding, however, no one need have worried. The show is a classic!

Frederator: I think “Pipe Down” is the favorite of a lot of folks, especially those in cartoons. Any examples of directing FOP at its most challenging?

Ken: Here’s a scan of one of the most complex X-sheets I ever did on FOP, for one of the most complex episodes of the recent Wishology special. Whenever there are multiple characters that’s challenge enough, but when you add in wind effects, swirling black holes, flapping capes and run cycles, well, you’re in for a long night!

An exposure sheet from Wishology, above (click through to embiggen), and the storyboard panel Ken had to work with, below.

Frederator: Any outside projects you’re working on?

Ken: Admitting to having a life outside work can get you in trouble. So no, it’s Fairly OddParents 24/7! Yay! Okay, the show did go on hiatus for a couple years so I was able to poke my nose into Pixar Animation Studios for a bit. I got to work on Pete Docter’s splendid UP and Toy Story 3. And if you promise not to tell anybody, I’m adding a little addition to my house for a little extra curricular diversion.

Frederator: I’m sure both of our readers will keep the house project a secret. But wait. What did you do on the Pixar films? And will Toy Story 3 meet my expectations (they’re high, by the way)?

Ken: I was a story artist on both UP and Toy Story 3. As for your expectations for Toy Story 3, that’s always been the big challenge for Pixar year after year. Can they keep up the winning streak? Luckily Pixar is a very director-driven studio and has a huge creative support system. I remember going to meeting after meeting to come up with ideas and was shocked to discover not a single executive or producer in sight. Will Toy Story 3 be a hit? Well, with many of the original team back on board I’m not worried at all.

Ken Bruce, making ends meet

Thanks for the work and the time to slog through this interview, Ken. We fully expect to see Cosmo and Wanda make a brief appearance in any and all future Pixar films, I should add.

– Eric