Hey! My name is Mark. I directed Pixar’s PartySaurus Rex. With Pixar since 1997, I’ve worked as an Animator and Story Artist, supervising the animation for the Academy Award© winning films Finding Nemo and Ratatouille.
Q. Did you draw doodles as a child?
Not so much. I was an amateur performer, writing stories and convincing my friends to join in.
Q. Did you know from an early age that you wanted to pursue a career in the arts?
Yes, by preschool. Mrs. Tanaka told my mom I would be either an actor or director! The following years of school were quite tedious, because I already knew what I wanted to do. Math, history, and science really enriched me, but I lived for the drama, art, and music classes. I’m grateful to my parents; they were both related to musicians and understood the importance of nurturing a child’s interests.
Q. When did you decide to study animation?
High school. I’d been in love with the puppetry of Jim Henson, and thought surely that would be my path. I’d grown up doing Community Theater and realized I was not so comfortable on stage, even though I loved the act of performing. Puppeteering was a way of being an actor while avoiding stage fright.
Then I saw Beauty and the Beast. The experience in the theater was cathartic for me—I was watching performers act at a sophisticated level, not through puppets, but through drawings. The opportunities seemed endless.
Q. What were the steps you took to pursue a career in animation?
In researching animation, I found how well it combined all the arts—music, art, and performance. I was lucky enough to attend an event hosted by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of Walt’s fabled “Nine Old Men.” They took an hour of their time that night to guide a young kid towards being an animator. Who knows where I would be without their generosity.
At age 15, I applied to the “California State Summer School for the Arts,” now known simply as “InnerSpark.” It’s an immersive art and animation experience for California high schoolers, and it changed my life. Finally, school meant studying what I was INTERESTED in! Once I saw my drawings come to life, I was hooked.
From there I was accepted into the Character Animation department at CalArts, the school founded by Walt Disney. It attracted the best artists in the country. Boy, did I struggle!
At that time, most animators were attracted to the medium because they loved to draw. I did not--drawing was just a “necessary evil” to get my performance out. So I had to work extra hard to keep up with my classmates. It was then I heard about Pixar.
Pixar had just finished Toy Story and didn’t care so much about drawings. They wanted animators who were performers first! With the computer, I was freed from the confines of my drawing ability. I started with Pixar as an animator on A Bug’s Life and never looked back.
Q. What internships and jobs did you get? How did you get your start?
In high school, Dad took a day off and drove me to every animation studio in Los Angeles. He made me go to each front desk and ask for an internship! It was the Disney receptionist that told me about CalArts.
It's SO important for parents to take an interest. Mom and Dad taught me how to achieve a dream through taking action. By 15 years old, I had an unpaid internship punching animation paper for Dream Quest Images, a local special effects studio. Never would have happened if Mom and Dad hadn't made me talk to the receptionist!
Q. What is your favorite part of being an animator?
I love entertaining people. I just love it.
Animation is a lot like a magic trick, in that it requires hours of painful practice and work. But that work gives the audience a moment of believing the impossible. For a moment, the wonder of childhood returns and their world seems amazing again. I think that's a nice gift to give people.
Q. Your favorite Walt Disney quote:
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Q. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to pursue a career in animation?
Observe. You never know what experiences or people will become an inspiration to a character or story. Our job is not to make fun of life, but capture it in a fun way that others will recognize and identify with.
Take action. The world makes way for the man or woman who knows where they're going. Your success is YOUR responsibility!
Go to the best school you can. Everything you need to know is now in books and on the Internet. Step through Sleeping Beauty and Jungle Book on your DVD player. Take a sketchbook with you to the mall and scribble down the people that you see. Everything is a story. Everyone has their own perspective. Cultivate your own opinions. Put those in your work. Take an acting class. Devour life.
And when discouraged, visit The Walt Disney Family Museum! If he can do it, so can we.