Cartoon Network Interactive

Chunky Puffs! YUM! YUM! YUM!

A Brief Exchange
With Donovan Cook

Ed, Edd n Eddy

1999-2009

Donovan Cook created 2 Stupid Dogs for Hannah Barbera in September 5, 1993. The show is known for it's excessive homage to the 1960s HB animation style and jazzy soundtrack. Another HB show called Secret Squirrel also appears in the series with Jess Harnell [Wakko] as Secret. He currently works in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is doing his own original projects. I got a hold on him on Facebook [as Aristotle Michaelangelo; look it up] and asked him some questions.

January 17, 2014 and January 30, 2014

JXP: How did you create 2 Stupid Dogs for Cartoon Network?
   DC: Aristotle - Thanks for your interest in 2 Stupid Dogs. I had recently graduated from animation school and was wanting to make some short cartoons. I saw a couple stray dogs wandering around my apartment complex. They looked very free and happy and the idea grew from there. Believe it or not, the who is sooooooo old, it was created and made BEFORE Cartoon Network existed. I developed the idea for the cartoons with a few cartoonist friends of mine and pitched it to animation studios all over Hollywood. Finally I pitched it to the old Hanna-Barbera studios and they bought it.

 

JXP: How did you hire the actors?
   DC: Hiring actors is not hard if you have money - at Hanna-Barbera I worked with a casting director to find and hire the actors.

 

JXP: Did it cost you any money?
   DC: Personally, it didn't cost me a dime - the studio paid the actors.

 

 

JXP: Why Secret Squirrel?
   DC: The original H-B Secret Squirrel from the 60's (I watched it in the 70's) was one of my favorites as a kid.

 

 

JXP: Why hire Jess, Rob and Tress? Is it an Animaniacs reason?
   DC: Jess, as Secret, is the only one of the Animaniacs that was in the regular cast. If I recall, Rob and Tress played "guest" rolls hear and there throughout the season. Had nothing to do with Animatiacs, (not even sure they were the Animaniacs yet, what year did that show premier?)

 

 

JXP: I heard that Tom Kenny (Spongebob) worked on the show. What did he play?
   DC: I know Tom pretty well but I don't remember him doing work on Secret Squirrel or 2SD… I could be wrong but I don't remember it.

 

 

JXP: Also, are you doing any animations today?
   DC: Between 2007 and 2013 I did a lot of work for Disney on the Mickey Mouse Club House tv show. Currently I'm developing some animation movies with a few different independent animation studios. I haven't done any new tv work for a little while. I'm also making a new traditional animation short on my own, but that work is going slow because I don't get to work on it every day.

 

JXP: Any tips of animation for me?
   DC: Yes - DRAW! DRAW! DRAW! Draw every day. Draw everything. Draw cartoons, draw trees, draw people you see at the mall or at school, draw animals at the zoo. Draw from life. I had some great teachers early on and they all said the same thing -- before you can really be any good at drawing, you've got to make at least 10,000 bad drawings. The more you draw, the faster you'll get those 10K bad ones behind you.

 

Second - copy other people style to learn, but don't try to make your drawings look like other people's work. I spent years trying to make my drawings look like Tim Burton's or Glen Keane's and it was a waste of time. Your own drawing style will come the more you draw. Study the artwork of the people who'e work you love, and copy it to learn from it, but let your own style develop free of that.

 

JXP: And is there a possible way for you to send me some background music of 2 Stupid Dogs by any chance? I love the jazz songs.
   DC: I'm glad you like it. I had the opportunity to have lunch with Hoyt Curtin who used to write almost all of the old HB jazzy music that inspired us in 2SD. He was super cool. Collaborated a lot with Bill Hanna. Unfortunately, I don't have any of those scores readily accessible. I'm pretty sure I have them on CD or maybe cassette tapes but they are buried deep in storage. You can find a good amount of Hoyt's stuff if you google him. https://­itunes.apple.com/us/­artist/hoyt-curtin/­id113221534

 

Also, you can try to get in touch with Guy Moon, the composer who wrote all that music for us. He may have it in his archive library. I haven't talked to him in many years but you can probably find him. http://­en.wikipedia.org/­wiki/Guy_Moon https://­www.facebook.com/­guy.moon.16?fref=ts

 

JXP: Sorry, also What did John K have to do with the cartoons? What did the credits mean tidbits of poor taste? I dont understand.
   DC: John was a friend and mentor because I had done a little work for him at Spumco on the early Ren & Stimpy show. When I got things up and running on 2SD I asked him to give me some criticism on a couple of our early storyboards. He was very generous with his time and input. I wanted to give him credit on the specific episodes that he actually touched but he didn't want to take any credits away from the artists who were part of the crew so it was his suggestion that we give him, "Tidbits of poor taste by…"

 

Stay Stupid.

 

Your pal, Donovan Cook