THE ANIMATION SHOW YEAR 4 Theatrical
Corky Quakenbush
Animator, “Yompi” (2007)
Interviewer: Taylor Jessen
Date: 5/27/2008
Via phone from Los Angeles
Animation Show: You are now sporting a lot of interesting shorts at SuperDeluxe.com. Tell me how you hooked up with them.
Corky Quakenbush: Well, actually, they found me. They were looking for, you know, interesting content and people who had a record of producing short films that many people enjoyed, and I was glad to fit into that category.
AS: They’re commissioning more from you?
CQ: Yes they are.
AS: That’s good.
CQ: And the other person I’ve been doing short film work for is NationalBanana.com, and that’s been very enjoyable too. That’s Jerry Zucker’s website. I don’t know if you know who Jerry Zucker is.
AS: Hell yeah!
CQ: Most people do, but I’m surprised at how many people don’t. But I think they know more “the Zucker Brothers” than they do “Jerry” or “David.”
AS. Well you’ve got these tendrils of history going back into lots of really important, interesting comedy people who are trying to make it in the 70s, and doing things on stage, and then bringing the stage work to film, and then bringing film work to TV. We talked about that last time, which I don’t know if that’s every going to be put into the public sphere—a really fascinating conversation—which is Corky’s life story, but..
CQ: Well you’re probably talking about Harry Shearer and the folks from Spinal Tap.
AS: Yes!
CQ: That was really an amazing eye-opening experience for me to be a part of that. That was my first time ever working with such comic genius, you know, all around me. It influenced me to do a lot of my own – I was always interested in mockumentary stuff even before Spinal Tap, so by the time I discovered it was a big put-on, which actually took me the first half of the first day as a camera assistant to figure out, “Oh, I get it now”…
AS: You probably got it faster than the executives that they pitched before did.
CQ: It could be, but I was lucky to be on, actually, the demo that Rob Reiner shot to try to raise money for the whole thing.
AS: Are you in it, or did you work on it?
CQ: Well I’m in it, but you know I’m a flash here and there because Rob was like “Oh, don’t worry about the camera guy because he looks like part of the crew.” So the cameras were all around and so were we so you can see little bits and pieces of me here and there.
TJ: Oh, that’s classic. You’re on a supplement somewhere so we’ll be looking for you.
CQ: Yeah, but the funny thing, the cameramen that I worked for, H.J. Brown who was my mentor in the business, he’s in like the third shoot where they have a shot of the cameramen sticking a camera in Michael McKean’s face, and that’s my old pal H.J. who taught me everything I know about making movies.
AS: Classic. So you’ve got ten films up right now at SuperDeluxe. How much have you got at NationalBanana.com?
CQ: I think I have 5 up there. I have one animated piece and the rest are live action. Rolemodels, Priest Off!, and the two with the webcam Hot Live Chat.
AS: Now there’s a live piece that you perform, I believe, Respect Your Elders, and that’s over at SuperDeluxe. That’s you, right, in a mask?
CQ: Yeah, that’s me. It’s kind of a love-it-or-hate-it piece.
AS: Is this a new foray for you? Have you been doing a lot of live action that just hasn’t been attached…
CQ: Yeah, actually I did that piece back in 1994, I think.
AS: This is vintage stuff, and it’s just now seeing the light of day.
CQ: Well you know, now we have YouTube and SuperDeluxe where you can post your own stuff.
AS: And nothing ever dies when it’s on video.
CQ: It’s true. There’s so much stuff that I realized I haven’t put on that I want to put on that’s retro and really funny. Like I had this thing of my daughter when she was 4 years old. She’s now 25. And we did a parody of “Nothing Compares To You,” Sinead O’Conner’s cover of Prince’s song. And it was (sings) “No one complains / No one complains like you.” And I’ve just been searching for that because I know I have it somewhere, and I gotta put that on YouTube because I think that will be a giant hit.
AS: That’s gonna be a major “awwww” factor.
CQ: I think so because it’s really funny.
AS: Your latest wheeze for the Animation Show, I understand, is starring a crotch-biting sloup. You gotta tell me where in your head this cat came from. Not cat, but Yompi, and what is a Yompi?
CQ: Well, it’s one of those things that the origin has escaped me. I probably had a nightmare about Yompi or something. And a Yompi is a crotch-bighting sloup. He doesn’t want a salad, a sandwich, or soup. But he’s a lovable crotch-bighting sloup. And I don’t even know what a sloup is but I know that he is one of them. And that’s what he does.
AS: Ok, that’s good data to start from. I’m looking at this completely anthropologically. I see him as basically an anglerfish but that works off the cute. That’s his hook, is the cute.
CQ: Yeah, kind of. He’s very endearing. I mean he’s really kind of a cute character. He’s kind of a mix between Pillsbury doughboy and Bob’s Big Boy. He’s got that kind of soft serve swirl of hair, yellow hair. He gets himself, he moves right in there. I guess he kind of reminds me of cats. Cats can sometimes be really friendly until they turn on you.
AS: What’s Yompi made of? I can tell you’re rocking plasticine in there, I think.
CQ: Well you know I haven’t used plasticine in a long time, ever since I discovered Sculpey, because plasticine melts like crazy under lights and Sculpey doesn’t. Sculpey’s got a nice stretchiness to it. It doesn’t show fingerprints as much as plasticine did. So I haven’t used plasticine in 15 or 20 years.
AS: So Sculpey is what you’re using in all the rest of the…
CQ: As you can tell, I really like my models to be not so much clay because clay is a pain in the butt to deal with.
AS: Do they both leave fingerprints by the way?
CQ: Yes they do, but Scupley tends to not pick them up as quickly.
AS: That’s good. That’s an advantage.
CQ: Yeah.
AS: Unless you like fingerprints, and I’ve talked to some animators who do.
CQ: Well, you know it depends on what you’re after. But if you’re looking for a funky look like than it’s certainly cool. I mean Ricardo was all plasticine. He’s in that world. I’ve been wondering whether to make him in Sculpey or not or just kind of leave it all gooey.
AS: That’s a tough decision there. If I could vote for my Ricardo, I would say make him so he’s looking like he’s just about to fall apart.
CQ: Yeah, well that’s not hard. (laughs)
AS: That’s his character anyway.
CQ: Yeah, (Ricardo voice) he’s always twying to fall apart. But I wanna do one now… You know what’s great? They’re making a new Incredible Hulk. So once again, the “Incwedible Hunk” becomes relevant. It seems like “Oh well, I did that one where he’s his favorite superhero, Incwedible Hunk, and then no one will remember this now. It’s so old and it’s dated.” And then suddenly someone will make a remake of the Incredible Hulk, and it’s relevant again.
AS: The sales for Animation Show Volume 1 are gonna skyrocket. Here he comes! The Incwedible Hunk! Just trailing little bits of green plasticine everywhere he goes.
CQ: They’ll be like “Oh my God! This came out like how many years ago?... This guy foresaw the Incredible Hulk coming out.”
AS: Are you really more inspired by things that are happening right now? Because when you look at an animator who also works in stop motion like PES he’s trying to do a lot of things that are as not timely as I think he can. But you’re digging satire and timeliness more.
CQ: Well I don’t know. I find the stuff that’s funny that’s around me that strikes me at the moment—something that can be worked into something. It’s kinda like this thing I did called the Get Your Wish Foundation that kind of rides the crest of things that are going on now and then. It’s about a little boy who is dying of some undisclosed illness, and he wants his final wish, and he gets it. And I won’t say any more than that because the shocking climax has to be seen to be believed—exactly what it is that he wants.
AS: Okay, Robert May gave me a logline for this so I have some idea of where it’s going but can you tell me where it’s gonna end up? Have you done it yet?
CQ: Oh it’s done. It’s completed. I just haven’t found a home for it yet because people are afraid of it. And then another for instance is Toby. Toby and his friends are going out on a… You know this is kind of relevant also because I don’t know if you noticed all the talk about Angus beef. Everybody’s serving Angus beef…proudly serving Angus beef. “We serve Angus beef.” Well it so happens that Angus beef is 85% of all beef produced in the US anyway. So it’s kind of like saying, “Our juice is made up of oranges. Mhmm, that’s right. Oranges.” Because chances are that’s what you’re drinking anyway! And that’s the kind of beef you’re eating in your hamburger anyway so to tout that as a selling point is kind of silly. Anyway but Toby, Toby is convinced that “it’s not pronounced the way you are saying it. It’s not pronounced Angus. It’s French or Japanese or something like that. They don’t pronounce the G that way. They say “nya” for the G.” His friend’s like, “Ah you don’t know what you’re talking about.” “No! You’re not pronouncing it right. It’s pronounced ‘anyus.’” So then he goes on to explain to the waitress. He questions her about everything about her ‘anyus.’ So that’s another thing that’s kind of relevant for now.
AS: And is this a work in progress?
CQ: No, that’s also completed. That’s another thing that people are a little bit afraid of, believe it or not. But anyway, that’s their problem. I might put that one on YouTube. I don’t know yet. Because I like..I like Toby.
AS: There are all these places that you can stick them, the places that will buy them and if no one will buy then America has its YouTube corner.
CQ: They do, yeah.
AS: And the whole world has it now really. And the whole world can look into one animator’s kitchen or one psychotic Midwesterner’s closet.
CQ: Some things are fun, you know. They’re not necessarily to sell. You know, if you can sell them it’s fun but if you can get some people laughing that’s a good thing too. It’s like my little thing Santa’s Favorite Treat that’s on YouTube. I did that specifically for YouTube, not really to sell it, and people tend to like it. Some of them have even watched it and avoided pushing the button that says “Hey, hey, hey! This shouldn’t be on here! Kids are watching.” I put it up three or four times and it keeps getting knocked off. They suddenly flag it and go, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Those elves are underage.”
AS: People often have a greater emotional attachment to things that you give away for free.
CQ: Hahaha. Do they? I wish I had a nickel for every time Raging Rudolph got viewed on YouTube because then I wouldn’t have to work anymore.
AS: If emotional attachments were nickels… You gotta tell me about your studio. You’re based somewhere in Los Angeles correct?
CQ: Yeah, we have a new studio. Well it’s not new anymore. We’ve had it for about a year now. It’s in Culver City over by the Fox Hills Mall, if you know where that is. There’s a little industrial park over by the junction of the 405 and the 90 Marina Freeway.
AS: When I look at Yompi and I look at something with a lot more set design in it like Cupid Busted, it seems like you’re perfectly willing to work flat and also work in a really nice complicated set.
CQ: Well, Yompi calls out for, screams out for simplicity because it’s really only one character and he pretty much does or tries to do the same thing every time. He doesn’t always succeed as you might have noticed in one of the ones that is not going to be in the Animation Show. But that’s the whole thing with Yompi, it’s not really Yompi, it’s the people who interact with Yompi. Kind of like – it’s not the Jerky Boys, it’s the people they call that makes it funny.
AS: Right
CQ: So everyone has a different reaction to Yompi. I wanna do a Yompi with a police officer, and a construction worker, and a cable guy, and a little girl in a bikini. And cover all the grounds of everybody.
AS: The interesting part of any piece of performance art is always the person who is not performing. In performance art, you got the art and then you’ve got the person living their life... Do you make your own sets? Are you the builder?
CQ: No I have a bunch of talented people who are much more talented than me that I’m lucky enough to work with. Like for instance, Yompi was mostly animated by Kevin Glick under my direction.
AS: Is he the gentleman who did Auditions?
CQ: He is, yeah.
TJ: That is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on the net.
CQ: He’s a very very talented guy. I think he’s up at Laika now. I’d like to see him do some of his own stuff. He’s got an amazing repertoire of ideas. Some of them are not that commercial but some of them are really. He’s a guy who will go far.
CQ: No not really. I haven’t really been out and pushing Ricardo out too much lately but we might do some more of them.
AS: For background, in our last interview we talked about Ricardo and how you’d shopped him around a bit. That wasn’t generally a part of the Animation Show propaganda for people to read about but we had a really nice conversation about how you’ve taken it to some people who A) didn’t get it or B) got it but were kind of afraid.
CQ: Well that’s the thing. It’s like a lot of people have responded to Ricardo but they are afraid of the fact that some people may consider him retarded instead of a just like a precocious, goofy, deep-voiced, four-year-old, and then those who think it’s funny and you know want to then change it, which is pretty typical of the TV business anyway. They’re kind of “We love this! We love this! Now let’s tailor it to our audience.” “Wait a minute. Do you know what your audience is like and what they like right?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” “Well why wouldn’t they get this? Well it’s just that we need to do this with it.” And it wouldn’t be bad if it’s “let’s do this with it” and it kind of fits with his character but when it’s a complete restructuring of who the person is and who the character is, then it just doesn’t make any sense because they would be the destroying the very thing of it that made them laugh in the first place. They want to repurpose the character. They think the character is the thing like, um I don’t know what’s a good analogy—if you were to take an actor, you can fit them into other roles if you want. It’s not a character fitting into others roles. It’s an actor. And I don’t think they get that sometimes. I think they figure that anything they want to do with this character is going to retain the magic of the character even if they dress him up in a suit.
AS: And you have either a feature or a nice half hour special about him trying to drive.
CQ: Well actually, the feature would be kind of a road trip feature but it’s all happening in his head. It’s kind of a PeeWee’s Big Adventure but in clay with Ricardo instead PeeWee. But I also have a Christmas special which is probably what I would do before the other thing because I think that’s much more manageable and really hilarious, and the beats are all in there. I just have to write the script.
AS: That’s cool. It’s the Wallace and Gromit track. They started as half hour specials and then became a feature. And they are now going back to another half hour special. So you have that to look forward to. You’re gonna do your special, then a feature, then you’re going to go back and do the Ricardo special Thanksgiving.
CQ: That’s right! [Ricardo voice] “For Thanksgiving, he heard from his mother that they are going to have – Turkey Frank is gonna be there. You ever heard of Turkey Frank?” As his mom is talking about how “Ricardo doesn’t really eat meat so I was gonna probably get Turkey Franks.” And he overhears them, [in Ricardo’s voice] “Turkey Frank! Turkey Frank! He’s a cowboy that rides on the back of a turkey. And he comes in wopin’ and widin’.”
AS: I think you could deliver a Ricardo for any holiday and you can probably give me a logline on the spot and board it…
CQ: Well, the Halloween one is the one you want to see because he stays up late to watch the Friday the Thirteenth marathon. “I’m gonna stay up and watch Freddy the Thirteenth.” So Freddy the Thirteenth is going to come out and get him, a la The Ring.
AS: I can see him now.
CQ: He watches about six seconds of it before he is petrified… Speaking of Mr. Rogers. I saw a really really funny thing on YouTube with Mr. Rogers and Coco the signing Gorilla.
AS: It’s a real clip?
CQ: It’s a real clip with Penny, Penny Patterson, who’s the one who taught Coco. I happen to have met Penny Patterson and Coco, so I knew it was authentic. And Mr. Rogers was there to meet this gorilla. And it’s really funny because Coco is saying how she loves him. And the next thing you know she’s kinda got her giant gorilla arms around him and he looks like he couldn’t get away if he wanted to. He’s completely locked down by Coco. And we started of course making up our own dialects. “Coco love you. Coco want you stay. Coco need you now. No no no. No take no take! Coco keep.” (laughs)
AS: And this is aired. This is not an outtake?
CQ: No. This is the dialog we are putting in for Coco. You can see it on YouTube. If you do a search on “Coco,” “Coco talking Gorilla,” or “Coco signing ape,” or something like that.
AS: And you redubbed this?
CQ: No no no.
AS: This is just your fun project at home.
CQ: Well actually, the reason I brought it up is we are doing something for SuperDeluxe now. I have four pieces that I’m going to do for them, which are a series of Brian and Chester. And Brian is a boy scientist and his gorilla that he’s taught sign language to—Law of the Jungle. And that will be coming up soon. We’re shooting it right now. It’ll be on SuperDeluxe on commission from them.
AS: Right on. So right at this moment, you’re work can be seen at Space Bass Films, of course, and at SuperDeluxe.com and at NationalBanana.com and various miscellaneous items on YouTube.
CQ: They don’t me credit for those. I don’t know if you can go to Space Bass Films on YouTube. You can see some stuff there. And I’ll put some more stuff on there probably too, and I’ve gotta revamp my whole website because it’s really…
AS: Well it’s kind of charming and endearing early ’90s look to it.
CQ: Yeah, but it’s so informational versus entertaining so I want to change all that. I haven’t gone near that thing in years so it’s time for a revamp. The ultimate thing is to put everything up in rotation so everybody kind of gets a chance to see everything. I probably have, I kind of did a quick count and I think I’ve made over a hundred shorts. Maybe at least 60 or 75 stop motion animation shorts.
AS: Well, someday, triple DVD, man. I can see it happening.
CQ: Yeah, but by that time there will be no DVDs anymore. Everything will be online.
AS: Yeah, and we will have chips implanted in our eyes.
CQ: We won’t be waiting for things from Netflix anymore.
AS: Well, until that day. I thank you for catching up with me. We are looking forward to new stuff.
CQ: Thanks, Taylor. Take it easy.
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