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Chunky Puffs! YUM! YUM! YUM!
Come On Out, My Friend Mark Risley! DO YOUR THING!
Ed, Edd n Eddy
1999-2009
May 20, 2016
JXP: When did you get interested in writing for television and what was your first gig?
RISLEY: I answered an ad in the Pennysaver, the 1980's version of craigslist. The employer was an animation company called American Film Technologies. The job was a low-level artist gig on their TV series, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I worked my way up through the ranks from inbetweener to producer/director.
JXP: Any inspirations or writers that may influence your work?
RISLEY: I grew up in the 60s & 70s watching cartoons and reading comic books.
JXP: What cartoons did you watch as a kid?
RISLEY: All the old Warner's stuff, Jonny Quest, the Fleischer's Studio's Popeye and Superman cartoons.
JXP: How did you get to work with Klasky Csupo on Rugrats?
RISLEY: I weaseled my way into Klasky Csupo as a storyboard artist. They didn't like my storyboards very much but instead of firing me they promoted me to director. It's funny how things work out like that.
JXP: Were there any scripts that Nickelodeon and/or Klasky Csupo didn't approve or had you re-edit before production could begin?
RISLEY: Too many to count. Network notes are a big part of this business. One of my all-time favorites was given to us on the series, "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald." The note read, "Ronald McDonald is not a clown, he is a magical friend."
JXP: How did you get booked for The Mr. Men Show? Favorite episodes?
RISLEY: EPs Kate Boutilier & Eryk Casemiro worked with me at Klasky Csupo. I guess they liked my some of the stuff I did while we were there. My favorite episodes are UP & DOWN and PESTS.
JXP: Did you write the songs? If not, who?
RISLEY: The songs in the Mr. Men Show were written by Kate & Eryk and Jared Faber. They made a fantastic team, don't you think?
JXP: What was it like working with anime actor Johnny Yong Bosch in Space Racers and Yo-Kai Watch?
RISLEY: Johnny is a super talented actor and a phenomenal ADR artist. He makes my job as a voice director very easy.
JXP: How did you get booked for Yo-Kai Watch and what was your involvement in production of the show?
RISLEY: Dentsu Entertainment's Yukio Kusumoto brought me on board to present Yo-kai Watch to US television networks. Dave Steinberg & Keetgi Kogan made those pitches successful.
JXP: Were there any changes in Yo-Kai Watch due to some inappropriate content?
RISLEY: Ha ha ha, I think we all know the answer to that question is YES! Mangimutt was particularly difficult.
JXP: Where did the cast record their lines? Did they record seperately or together?
RISLEY: The cast for Yo-kai Watch recorded at Amalgamated Sound And Picture in Hollywood. They recorded their lines individually. Because of the technical nature of ADR, the process does not allow for ensemble recording. Virtually the same cast records ensemble-style for Space Racers.
JXP: Was getting Johnny Yong Bosch, Joseph Terry, Alicyn Packard, Pierre Holloway and Mellissa Hutchinson to be a part of Yo-Kai Watch a "Mr. Men" and "Space Rangers" reason?
RISLEY: Yes, I like to work with actors I am familiar with. FYI: It's Space Racers.
JXP: Was getting Johnny Yong Bosch, Joseph Terry, Alicyn Packard, Pierre Holloway and Mellissa Hutchinson to be a part of Yo-Kai Watch a "Mr. Men" and "Space Rangers" reason?
RISLEY: Yes, I like to work with actors I am familiar with. FYI: It's Space Racers.
JXP: What was it like working with comedian Godfrey?
RISLEY: Godfrey made me laugh so hard I would literally get a headache. So it was painful, but in the best sort of way.
JXP: Did you create the lyrics for the songs in Yo-Kai? Even the summoning songs? If not, who did?
RISLEY: I wrote the lyrics for Geragerapo (with Dave Steinberg) and Exercise #1. Brent Perdergrass wrote the summoning songs. You probably already know that Brent plays Eddie, Blazion, Roughraff and a whole slew of characters on Yo-kai Watch.
JXP: Here's something that puzzles me. I know that the same voice actor for Manjimutt is also Mr. Bump in Mr. Men because of the way he screamed. But while he's credited as Pierre Holloway in Yokai, he's Aaron Albertus in Mr. Men Show. And I just discovered that actress Cheryl Chase (Angelica Pickles) was Miss Bossy but she was credited as Sophie Roberts. Why is that? Is it because of some sort of union issue? Which name is real? Aaron or Pierre??
RISLEY: Funny you should ask. Just the other day I had coffee with Pierre, Aaron, Cheryl and Sophie. All of us in the same place, at the same time. We were laughing and joking about how similar their voices sound.
JXP: Was getting Cheryl Chase as Ms. Bossy a Rugrats reason?
RISLEY: Sophie Roberts voiced Miss Bossy.
JXP: How did it feel working with David Steinberg?
RISLEY: Pretty good, except he's obsessed with the details of our daily lunch order; where it's coming from, when we'll get it, are the sauces weak or strong, etc.
JXP: Any secrets or funny stuff coming soon on Yo-Kai Watch Season 2?
RISLEY: I cannot confirm or deny secrets or fun stuff.
JXP: Favorite episode of Yokai so far?
RISLEY: The one where Bear says, "I don't even like fish tacos!"
JXP: Any advice for a writer like myself?
RISLEY: Get an internship at one of the studios and work hard.... hard working people get noticed.
JXP: Favorite Yo-Kai?
RISLEY: I would like to be inspirited by Dandoodle.
JXP: Do you have any kids of your own? Would they be interested in some Yo-Kai/Mr. Men merchandise?
RISLEY: No kids, just dogs. They both love Mangimutt.
JXP: Yo-kai reminds me too much like Animaniacs because of several pop-culture references such as Lady Gaga, Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Bruce Willis and more. Was that your doing or Dave?
RISLEY: Mostly Dave. He's great with pop culture references.
JXP: How does it feel for Yo-Kai Watch to be the next "Pokemon"?
RISLEY: I'm very happy for, but not at all surprised by, Yo-kai Watch's success.
JXP: Did Peter Rida Michail did the Charming Summoning song? Because it awfully sounds like him considering he did the Geragera Po song?
RISLEY: Good ears! Peter is not only a terrific voice talent, he's the director of Teen Titans Go!
JXP: How did Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh of Phineas & Ferb get involved with making the new song? Why switch back and forward between Geragera Po and their song? Ever met the two?
RISLEY: I've met Swampy. I love the song he created for us! We started with Geragerapo then eased in Swampy's song to help the transition from old to new.
JXP: I don't get the joke for Nate to call B3N-K1 "Free Wee for Everyone". I know that his original name means toilet but how did free wee came across?
RISLEY: "Free Wee For Everyone" kind-of rhymes with B3N-K1... and we needed a joke to cover the image of the toilet.
JXP: Were there any edits you had to digitally change the animation to make it more Western-ish? If so, what?
RISLEY: We change signage and racey imagery (mostly girls in short skirts) in every episode
JXP: Which scenes were particulary cut?
RISLEY: Too many to mention. The website Watch of Yo-kai covers a lot of those details.
JXP: Favorite song in Mr. Men?
RISLEY: Beach Party A Go-Go
JXP: How come only two new Mr. Men appeared (Mr. Funny and Mr. Tall)?
RISLEY: We already had too many characters!
JXP: What artists influenced your animation techniques?
RISLEY: Chuck Jones, Brad Bird, Jeff Merghart.
JXP: Is Yo-Kai Watch a union dub?
RISLEY: I cannot confirm or deny that Yo-kai Watch is a union dub.
JXP: Where did the cast of Mr. Men record their lines at?
RISLEY: Renegade Animation in Glendale, CA.
JXP: Was Phil Lollar's portrayl of Mr. Strong modeled after Sylvester Stallone? Were there any other celebrity/cartoon impressions used for the Mr. Men (Scatterbrain sounds like Ed Wynn too). I find it funny that Peter's potrayls in his characters often have African-American accents but some people take it the wrong way by thinking Mr. Messy is sublet to racism. Thoughts on it??
RISLEY: Yes and yes about Strong & Scatterbrain. Mr. Persnickety was a take on Gale Gordon, I think. Pete is Egyptian so no, there wasn't any racism behind his portrayal of Mr. Messy.
JXP: Who did the video editing and CG animation for the Watch in Swampy's YOKAI opening?
RISLEY: The titles were designed by Eclipse.
JXP: What are the step by step process on the making of US Yokai-Watch in the life of Mark Risley?
RISLEY: It's very complicated. I do a lot of jobs on Yo-kai.
JXP: Did you do any voices for Yo-kai Watch?
RISLEY: I was the voice of the laughing gates that Komasan fears, and Freddie Kruger, "it's sushi time!"
JXP: Can I have your autograph?
RISLEY: Depends on what you're going to do with it:)
JXP: Thank you so much for your time.
RISLEY: My pleasure.