Originally posted: 4-2-2001
The man behind “Kleo the Misfit Unicorn, “Storybook Billygoats” and many others.
| We were contacted by Gordon when he sent us some info for the site on the shows he has done. Naturally, we asked if we were able to do an interview with him, and he agreed. Here is what we came out of it with. |
| As you were growing up, what did you think you would do for a career; what did you want to be when you grew up? | ||
| Grandma took me to Snow White when I was six and that was it, a cartoonist. | ||
| What was your favorite cartoon? | ||
| Spiderman | ||
| Did any of the shows you watched earlier on in life inspire your career choice, or help you make decisions on particular styles of shows? If so, which ones and why? | ||
| Spiderman, walking seemed boring after Spiderman, I wanted to jump from building to building. | ||
| For those who don’t know, could you give a list of some of the projects you have worked on during your career in the cartoon industry. Of all of them, what was your favorite and why? | ||
| Heavy Metal (uncredited), Rock & Rule, Strawberry Shortcake, Get-Along Gang, Ewoks, Asterix Movie, Droids, Chipmunk movie, Care Bears, Babar movie & series, jonny Quest, Beetlejiuce, Taz Mania amoung others | ||
| Is there anybody in particular that you have worked with that really stood out from the crowd and that you enjoyed working with the most? Who? | ||
| Marv Newland (Bambi meets Godzilla), and Clive Smith (Nelvana) both I thought were outstanding creative and great guys. | ||
| Is there anybody that you would like to work with in the future? | ||
| I admire Brad Bird and Jeffery Katsenberg very much, it would be a thrill to work for either of them oh, and of course Stan Lee would have to be in there too. | ||
| Are there any types of projects that you would like to work on in the future, that you haven’t had the opportunity to do just yet? | ||
| I would like to work on a big animated feature like a Bird or Katsenberg picture. | ||
| Does your family help with any of your productions? If so, how? | ||
| I have worked off and on with my wife Jan in Europe and Asia as well as North America on series and films also my brother Keith for a few years. | ||
| Now that we know more about you, let’s talk about your shows that you currently have tucked under your belt. | ||
| You did “Kleo the Misfit Unicorn”, “Hillbilly Goats”, many holiday specials, and the upcoming “Footman” show. Could you tell us a little about these shows; storyline, characters, and so forth? | ||
|
The billygoat Christmas show, “A Klondike Christmas” was my first
producer, director show I made when I was 28, then it was follwed by
3 very low budget pictures with the same characters. I managed to
put them together between Nelvana sub-contracts.
Kleo was born in 1992, it took me til 1995 to get a pilot done and the remaining 25 episodes were finished in 1998. Kleo was played by Saffron Henderson a singer/actor in Vancouver and Mickey Rooney played Talbut. | ||
| After watching the “Footman” pilot, all I can say is, where do you get your ideas from? | ||
| Footman may be too tough to complete as an independant, it was a bit ambitious. The idea came to me drawing with my son. | ||
| I also noticed that David Kaye has done a lot of voices for your shows. Was there any particular reason for his continuous casting, or was it just that he kept being in the right place at the right time? | ||
| David Kaye is kinda Canada’s Mel Blank. | ||
| Out of all your shows, you must have a favorite. What is it and why is it the best so far? | ||
| The uncompleted Footman for certain, it always gets a puzzeled look. | ||
| Now for the final question. Can I be in one of your shows? | ||
| sure sen me your rgb’s | ||
| Well, that was a real pleasure. Gordon is incredibly talented and imaginitive. The Footman pilot says it all. We all hope that he is able to turn that project into everything he wants it to be, and also that he always succeeds in his work. Thank you so much. | ||