High-level, big-deal publicity has a way of getting old for me, but what never fails to thrill me is...
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High-level, big-deal publicity has a way of getting old for me, but what never fails to thrill me is when I make personal appearances.
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I learned long ago to accept the fact that not everything I create will see the light of day.
I learned long ago to accept the fact that not everything I create will see the light of day.
I hate fishing, and I can't imagine why anyone would want to hike when you can get in the car and dr...
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I hate fishing, and I can't imagine why anyone would want to hike when you can get in the car and drive.
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I never got tired of Tom and Jerry, but I did have a dream of doing more with my life than making ca...
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I never got tired of Tom and Jerry, but I did have a dream of doing more with my life than making cartoons.
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When animators weren't sleeping, they were drinking.
When animators weren't sleeping, they were drinking.
Parents look at me like I'm somebody pretty important, and say, We were raised on your characters, a...
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Parents look at me like I'm somebody pretty important, and say, We were raised on your characters, and now we're enjoying them all over again with our children.
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I hope we don't get to the point where we have to have the cat stop chasing the mouse to teach him g...
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I hope we don't get to the point where we have to have the cat stop chasing the mouse to teach him glassblowing and basket weaving.
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Creating fantasy is a very personal thing, but you can't take the process too personally.
Creating fantasy is a very personal thing, but you can't take the process too personally.
I cannot say who, precisely, came up with the idea of a Stone Age family.
I cannot say who, precisely, came up with the idea of a Stone Age family.
I have spent a lot of years on the outside looking in.
I have spent a lot of years on the outside looking in.
There is no law that says a man who earned a hundred million dollars in his first half-dozen years o...
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There is no law that says a man who earned a hundred million dollars in his first half-dozen years on the job has to be a decent human being, but Mike Eisner is that and more.
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My marriage had been impulsive. That marriage should have been short-lived instead of the 23 years i...
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My marriage had been impulsive. That marriage should have been short-lived instead of the 23 years it spanned.
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Despite the rejection, and in violation of all the rules, I came back year after year.
Despite the rejection, and in violation of all the rules, I came back year after year.
I was 82 years old before Who's Who thought I was enough of a big shot to do a piece on me.
I was 82 years old before Who's Who thought I was enough of a big shot to do a piece on me.
You keep pitching. Most of the pitches run wild. A few are caught.
You keep pitching. Most of the pitches run wild. A few are caught.
I first pitched the idea of doing a series of cartoons based on Bible stories. They didn't much like...
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I first pitched the idea of doing a series of cartoons based on Bible stories. They didn't much like it.
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Among the great glories of the MGM lot were the vast outdoor sets that had been constructed over the...
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Among the great glories of the MGM lot were the vast outdoor sets that had been constructed over the years.
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That's what keeps me going: dreaming, inventing, then hoping and dreaming some more in order to keep...
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That's what keeps me going: dreaming, inventing, then hoping and dreaming some more in order to keep dreaming.
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[on the advantages of syndication vs. network programming] These days even Charles Chaplin couldn't ...
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[on the advantages of syndication vs. network programming] These days even Charles Chaplin couldn't get his material past a network.
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In those days, boxing was very glamorous and romantic. You listened to fights on the radio, and a go...
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In those days, boxing was very glamorous and romantic. You listened to fights on the radio, and a good announcer made it seem like a contest between gladiators.
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Ted Turner sailed into the meeting, and I mean sailed. He holds himself as if he were at the helm of...
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Ted Turner sailed into the meeting, and I mean sailed. He holds himself as if he were at the helm of his sailboat, in the process of winning the race.
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Los Angeles was an impression of failure, of disappointment, of despair, and of oddly makeshift live...
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Los Angeles was an impression of failure, of disappointment, of despair, and of oddly makeshift lives. This is California? I thought.
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My last days at MGM were like the fall of the Roman Empire in fast motion.
My last days at MGM were like the fall of the Roman Empire in fast motion.
Faced with the choice of enduring a bad toothache or going to the dentist, we generally tried to rid...
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Faced with the choice of enduring a bad toothache or going to the dentist, we generally tried to ride out the bad tooth.
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After I had done a handful of cartoons I was satisfied with, I started submitting them to the magazi...
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After I had done a handful of cartoons I was satisfied with, I started submitting them to the magazines.
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Making cartoons means very hard work at every step of the way, but creating a successful cartoon cha...
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Making cartoons means very hard work at every step of the way, but creating a successful cartoon character is the hardest work of all.
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Except for me, no one in my family could draw.
Except for me, no one in my family could draw.
I was convinced there as only one actor to play Templeton the Rat, and that was Tony Randall.
I was convinced there as only one actor to play Templeton the Rat, and that was Tony Randall.
I don't know anyone who enjoys going to the hospital. To help remedy this, I got an idea to create w...
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I don't know anyone who enjoys going to the hospital. To help remedy this, I got an idea to create what a Laugh Room in the pediatric ward of hospitals.
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My biggest kick comes from the individual fans I run into. Middle-aged men ask me when we're going t...
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My biggest kick comes from the individual fans I run into. Middle-aged men ask me when we're going to do more Johnny Quest cartoons.
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Not once in six years did I make it to the office by 9 on the dot.
Not once in six years did I make it to the office by 9 on the dot.
I don't know that I spent any more time alone than any other kid, but being by myself never bothered...
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I don't know that I spent any more time alone than any other kid, but being by myself never bothered me.
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What the real world of 1941 needed most was the release and relief provided by laughter.
What the real world of 1941 needed most was the release and relief provided by laughter.
While I have never been a regular churchgoer, I'm anything but immune to the power and the majesty o...
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While I have never been a regular churchgoer, I'm anything but immune to the power and the majesty of the religious experience.
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Friends don't necessarily made good business or creative partners.
Friends don't necessarily made good business or creative partners.
Publicity gets more than a little tiring. You want it, you need it, you crave it, and you're scared ...
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Publicity gets more than a little tiring. You want it, you need it, you crave it, and you're scared as hell when it stops.
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Animation is a relief from what's going on in the world. You get up in the morning and turn on the r...
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Animation is a relief from what's going on in the world. You get up in the morning and turn on the radio and you hear a bridge goes out in Albany, a bomb has exploded here and there's a flood on the East Coast. Then you turn on the TV and see it all visualized. In living color, no less. Where's the relief? That's what we do: Provide relief in fantasy product. It's important to make people forget what's really happening.
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One of the most attractive things about writing your autobiography is that you're not dead.
One of the most attractive things about writing your autobiography is that you're not dead.
What about Mickey Mouse? Disney tried very hard to make him a star. But Mickey Mouse is more of a sy...
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What about Mickey Mouse? Disney tried very hard to make him a star. But Mickey Mouse is more of a symbol than a real character.
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Bill Hanna and I owe an awful lot to television, but we both got our start and built the first phase...
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Bill Hanna and I owe an awful lot to television, but we both got our start and built the first phase of our partnership in the movies.
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