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Cartoon Network Interactive
Chunky Puffs! YUM! YUM! YUM!
Whadday say, Earl?
I say we meet the creator, JAMES FOX.
Ed, Edd n Eddy
1999-2009
June 28, 2016
JXP: What influenced you to get into the animation industry?
FOX: Good question. I remember watching animated movies and TV shows when I was very young and being determined to figure out how they were made. However, when I was a kid, there wasn’t anything available to make animation at home, you needed big cameras and light etc, so I started drawing comics from the age of about 4 and then selling them at school.
JXP: What was your first animation gig?
FOX: I started animating when I got a job at a design studio. I lied and told them I could animate. I couldn’t but I learnt REALLY quickly.
JXP: Why use Flash? Have you ever tried traditional animation or CG?
FOX: Flash was the quickest and easiest way to get Skatoony made. It;s a great application because you can treat it as a traditional animation tool or use it’s shortcuts to create quick animation sequences. Skatoony was made on a VERY low budget, so I had to be smart with how I made it.
JXP: Where did you study?
FOX: At home. I didn’t go to university. I didn’t do very well at school but it goes to prove that as long as you are determined and work hard, anything can happen.
JXP: What cartoons did you love watching as a kid?
FOX: Looney Toons (especially Daffy Duck), Scooby-Doo, Morph, DangerMouse, Snoopy.
JXP: You are the one and only co-creator of Skatoony. How was the concept formed and what caused Cartoon Network to give the show the green light?
FOX: I originally created the concept as a Webgame with a very funny guy called Brian Boyle. He left Cartoon Network and then I developed the game into a show based on two of my favourite childhood shows, The Muppet Show and Celebrity squares . The web game was hugely successful and really helped push the show to series. It took five years though, these things can sometimes take even longer.
JXP: How was Skatoony produced; from live-action filmmaking through animating in general; all of the steps? How did the kids get dunged or slimed? And how were the actors able to interact with the kids? Did they see the animated hosts or only hear them? That idea puzzled me especially with the Fernando Fernando Fernando episode where he cheated by switching bodies with the other contestants and hearing the live-action kids' voices from the cartoon bodies and vice versa. And is that really dung that they've been covered with or it some sort of mud or goo?
FOX: The process was very complicated and was developed and refined slowly over the three series. First we’d plan out an episode and part script it. Then we’d take that to the studio and record the quiz element, weaving the script into conversation with the kids using “stand-in” actors instead of cartoons. We created slime and grunge out of various pastes, mostly wallpaper paste! Then we’d take the footage back to the animation studio and build the show from the original script and the live action footage.
JXP: Where was Skatoony filmed at? And how did the kids auditioned?
FOX: We shot the live action footage in MTV in Camden. We auditioned kids from schools round the country.
JXP: What was it like working with Rupert Degas and Lewis Macleod?
FOX: Brilliant. They are hilarious and talented guys, I was very lucky to work with them.
JXP: Was The Earl modeled after Tom Jones by any chance? And so, who are Chudders and Tony modeled after?
FOX: Yeas, The Earl was a cross between Tom Jones and my old Boss from Cartoon Network. Chad was based on a comedian from my Childhood called Ronnie Corbett.
JXP: Who was your favorite Skatoony contestant; animated or not?
FOX: Fernando, Fernando, Fernando.
JXP: Did the kids ever meet you?
FOX: Yes, I met them all. I was on set for all the live action shooting. Even in India,The UAE, Canada and across Europe
JXP: Is Hoo the Gorilla's voice modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as Hedley Diddley Dee being Scottish?
FOX: Yes, HOO is based on Arnold and Hedley was Lewis McLeod being very native.
JXP: How were you able to give the kids their prizes? Did they have to pay any taxes for them?
FOX: Thats a very smart question! No they didn’t pay taxes. They were gifts so no tax is paid. They received the prize as soon as they had won.
JXP: Favorite Skatoony episode as well as Skatoony game challenge?
FOX: Hoo Flung Dung was the funniest game, but Bang on or Bogus was probably my favourite to play along with. Favourite episode…tricky. Possibly "I Spy You Quiz”.
JXP: Were there any female voice actors on the show?
FOX: Shamefully, the ONLY female VO performers were my two daughters in another of my favourite episodes called “Pre-school Problem”.
JXP: What species is Xcqankly and how do you pronounce his name?
FOX: Xcquankly is a Peruvian mind squelcher. And you have to pronounce his name differently every time you say it.
JXP: Was Fernando Fernando Fernando a sublet to racism because his appearance is similar to that of a stereotypical Mexican with the sombrero, mustache and golden tooth?
FOX: No. He was just a guy in a hat.
JXP: To your perspective, why did Skatoony end or got cancelled? The show was awesome.
FOX: I think CN spent the money on jellybeans instead of season 4. Silly people.
JXP: Years later, Marblemedia Kids has commissioned a North American reboot of Skatoony which premiered on Teletoon but was heavingly modified in terms of questions, voices and characters for the Canadian audiences such as re-casting Rupert and Lewis with Jon Wilson and James Rankin, including and mentioning characters from Teletoon's cartoon show Total Drama and replacing Mr. Eagle Eyes with the money-grubbing whistle-necked Charles La Puck. Were you involved with this or heard/seen it? If you were involved, what was your position and how did they get the rights from CN to do it? If you only heard/seen it, what's your opinion on it?
FOX: I was Exec producing for the Canadian version so was involved. The reversions were done because of Canadian requirements on cultural reference. The cast was changed for similar reasons. I think Marble Media did an amazing job.
JXP: I love the Goldie Pops song "I Want It" and the Rastafarian Rats song "Recycling is the Latest Thing". Do you have a full mp3 for either of those songs?
FOX: No, sorry! I don’t have any of the songs any more.
JXP: Important question: Do you have any full episodes of the original UK Skatoony because those episodes are pretty scarce on Youtube nowadays. Mostly looking for the full Goldie Pops, Belly of the Boss and Fernando Fernando Fernando Switch Bodies episode.
FOX: You’re right, most of the Skatoony episodes on Youtube are the Canadian ones. Oddly CN UK didn’t really promote Skatoony as much as Telethon and Marble media did. I actually don’t have any versions I can give away these days. Boring, I know. Keep searching though. I will too...
JXP: Any projects your working on now?
FOX: Yes, I’m still working on new ideas. It’s a slow process and can take years though, so I have to be patient.
JXP: Any advice for a cartoonist like myself?
FOX: Be original. Admire other people’s work, but don’t copy.
JXP: Can I have your autograph or even maybe some concept art from Skatoony?
FOX: You know what, I’m not even sure I have any concept artwork any more (it was a long time ago) but I will have a look. Whats your address, if I find something I’ll sign it and post it on.