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It’s hard to believe that it has been 25 years since Canadian animator, writer and producer Danny Antonucci rocked the TV animation world with his iconic Cartoon Network show, Ed, Edd n Eddy. The hand-drawn series, which premiered in January 1999, followed the hilarious antics of three friends who lived in a suburban cul-de-sac in the town of Peach Creek and often came up with harebrained schemes to make a fast buck and satisfy their cravings for jawbreakers.
Antonucci, a talented Sheridan grad who was best known for his adult-skewing shorts, such as Lupo the Butcher and MTV’s Cartoon Sushi and The Brothers Grunt, decided to get into the world of children’s animation as the result of a dare and delivered six charming seasons (69 episodes) of Ed, Edd n Eddy, plus a TV movie that wrapped it all up during its final season. We recently had the great fortune of catching up with the iconic Vancouver-based animation star to mark the occasion. Here’s what he told us!
Animation Magazine: First of all, happy 25th birthday of the animated Eds to you, Danny. How does it feel to look back at those crazy years?
Danny Antonucci: You know, it was so weird how it all happened. I was doing my own thing, coming from Lupo the Butcher and The Brothers Grunt and TV commercials — everything with an adult bent.
Then I got a call from these two young bucks from Nickelodeon, and they say, “Hey, why don’t you do a kids’ show!?” and I laughed in their face. But, meanwhile, I did this design for a commercial, and as soon as I drew this I started getting these ideas about these three kids who are friends because they have the same name and puberty is unforgiving. That was it. I did a one-pager on it and sent it to Nickelodeon, and they just jumped on it and they loved it. I then thought I should send this to Cartoon Network, because I was good friends with Linda Simensky [top development exec at the cable station at the time] and knew all the folks there. So, Linda said they wanted to see more, so I just started developing it. It came out flowing pretty well.
A lot of it has to do with my own life experiences. That’s what the whole show was about — growing up as a kid, and all the awkwardness about it. I thought that was kind of missing from television at the time. That’s how it all came about, and Cartoon Network was the one that went for it, and Linda and Khaki Jones and Jay Bastian were the greatest to work with. Of course, I never quite expected it to catch on, and the first season — well, actually the first three years — there was a lot of breaking teeth, because we didn’t do a pilot. We went straight to series. But by the end of it, I thought it turned out really nicely, and you started to get a good feeling for the characters. I just wanted to create characters you could believe in and relate to, just like the cartoons that I grew up with.
What were some of those cartoons that really shaped your sensibilities and style?
Oh, this is going to really show my age! [Laughing] For me, it was a lot of Fleischer Popeye cartoons, Warner Bros. and MGM toons, Tex Avery, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound — a lot of the stuff that was being played on TV in those days. There was one cartoon when it was a live-action-animated Popeye cartoon that actually made me want to get into animation. I couldn’t get over the fact that I could draw something and then make it move! I did a Saturday afternoon course in high school and made a little short film called The Adventures of Barfman! I worked through high school, always with the agenda of going to Sheridan College, which at the time was the only school in Canada which offered a major in animation. That’s how it all came to be.
So, of course, you made a big impact with your popular festival short, Lupo the Butcher, and with your adult animation series.
We started a.k.a. Cartoon studios in 1994 to produce The Brothers Grunt, which was on MTV, and it was a very, very surreal show. We wanted to make an acid-hangover cartoon, and it really went there. It was a very strange show. We were very lucky to do it. Abby Terkuhle, John Andrews and all those folks at MTV Animation were very supportive. We laughed, we made the show and got it on the air.
Let’s talk about the wonderful, auteur-driven animation scene of the time. Why do you think 1999 was such a great time for TV toons?
That was a year when real cartoon lovers had studio positions, and they helped push the art form. They respected creators and artists and supported their vision. You had all this stuff that was really ruling. It was hard to find your own niche, but Cartoon Network let you do what was really cool back then. They really let artists stay true to their visions, so it was really nice that I was able to do that and that the audience related to it. I think it’s sad that we are seeing a lot less creator-driven shows on TV these days. Everything seems to look the same. They rely too much on their stats and sheets and Wednesday morning meetings, and they’re afraid to take any chances.
How do the Ed, Edd n Eddy fans react when they see you at events?
You know, it’s amazing. A few years ago, I was helping out some friends from another studio at the CTN eXpo in L.A., and this girl recognized me and she burst out crying. I think it’s because of how much they related to the characters on the show. We really stuck to what kids would really go through in their own lives. And it was always outdoors. There were no cellphones and computers. They were always making things. A lot of kids locked into creating their own world and making their own playtime. But it is insane to see kids who have grown up with the show come to you and tell you that the show was a big part of their childhood. It’s really flattering. You know, I have never won any awards in the U.S. or Canada. It doesn’t bother me. What really cracks me up is that I have so many drawings from fans and so many interpretations of the show. To me, that’s the best — I love it!
Have you had any discussions about bringing the show back in any form?
[Laughing] Oh, sure. Do an AI version.
For me, I’ve done what I was going to do. I mean, if the network wants to do it, all the best to them: It will fail miserably. They could have done a lot of things like spinoffs with some of the characters. I’ve been told you can do it for Adult Swim, and they’re all grown up, but then you are just repeating an idea. It was what it was and to go back and revisit would not be the same.
What are some signs of hope and what makes you smile in animation?
Oh, I think the stop-motion world is beautiful, and there’s some great work being done, because I am all about anything that’s handmade. But I’m not a big fan of what computer animation is giving us. I think it just looks the same and a little bit too emo and weird for me. They’re not letting people put their visions on the air anymore. I know that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are doing their little things, but at the end of the day what is coming out that’s new and exciting? That’s what I love about the stop-motion world.
I would love to see Lupo in stop motion. I spent two years developing a Lupo project for Netflix. Then, at the last second, they said, “Can you change it to PG-13?” Now, Lupo has always been an R-rated project, and after two years of doing storyboards I just couldn’t do that. Before that, Warner approached me to do my own version of Scooby-Doo. I really didn’t want to do it, but they talked me into it. After a year of legal, they canned it. That frustrates you as an artist. But I still would love to do an adult series based on Lupo. I think it just has to be done right and with the right people. I am a big proponent of animation and have adored it all my life.
What kind of advice do you give young people who want to get into animation, without having their souls crushed?
Oh, let’s see. Start flipping burgers, maybe? No … I came into the biz around ’79, ’80, and that was a pretty bad time for TV animation. There were no outlets for individual creators! So, it was pretty neat how things worked out, because I was determined to do independent projects like Lupo. For me, getting into the system and what was being done in the TV world — it was more intriguing. I wanted to go in there and put a burr up their asses, and many weren’t thrilled about that. But that’s OK, because I was there as an artist with a vision. I wanted to make sure that I got that vision across. So, my advice for kids coming into the biz is stick by who you are. Never take no for an answer and go in and put a burr up their asses!
Ed, Edd n Eddy is currently available to stream on Max, Prime Video and Apple TV+.
