ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Morning News

Children's Author William Joyce Discusses 'George Shrinks'

Aired September 29, 2000 - 11:51 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: Our next guest, William Joyce, of course, knows all about children, a well known illustrator and author of many children's books. His latest is called "Snowie Rolie." Another of his books, "George Shrinks," is going to be one of six new children's animated programs on PBS. And they debut, of course, tomorrow, which is Saturday.

William Joyce joins us now from San Francisco.

How are you, Mr. Joyce?

WILLIAM JOYCE, AUTHOR, "GEORGE SHRINKS": Doing swell. How are you?

HALL: That's great. I'm fine, thank you.

Tell me about your lineup for fall right now.

JOYCE: Well, we have "George Shrinks" debuting this Saturday on PBS. And it's a 30-minute animated series based on my children's book "George Shrinks" about this little boy who is three inches tall and has to deal with the scale issues of being that size. And he has to do it very, like, ingeniously.

HALL: And the appeal to children is exactly what?

JOYCE: Well, you know, all kids have to face this scale issue. I mean, the world's not built for them, it's built for grownups, you know, people who are about three feet taller than they are. So "George Shrinks" is sort of an exaggeration of that, a goofy daydream version of that.

HALL: It's sort of like seeing the world ankle-down.

JOYCE: Or almost -- yes, yes, yes, exactly.

HALL: All right, tell us about "Little Monsters."

JOYCE: "Little Monsters." Now, that's not one of my shows.

HALL: Oh, I'm sorry.

JOYCE: No, that's Maurice Sendak's show.

HALL: Well, then don't tell us about "Little Monsters."

JOYCE: OK.

HALL: You also are producing the first computer -- fully computer-generated, animated children's show as well, right...

JOYCE: That's right.

HALL: ... "Rolie Polie and Olie" or "Rolie Polie and Olie"?

JOYCE: "Rolie Polie Olie," "Rolie Polie Olie."

HALL: OK, how challenging was that?

JOYCE: You know, yes, pretty challenging but lots of fun. It's based on a book I'd done a long time ago about a robot world, and everything on that robot world is round. And that's one thing the computer does pretty easy is circles. So there were a lot of challenges, but it also fit what the computer can do.

HALL: One of the things that I know is a concern for parents, of course, is that Saturday morning television sometimes has way too much violence and way too much mindless kind of zoning-out types of shows for children.

JOYCE: Yes.

HALL: Are you concerned about that at all? And if so, how do you try to avoid that with creative ways to engage children?

JOYCE: Well, the thing is, I mean, kids needs a little guidance, you know. I mean, it's like you guide what they eat. You don't let them eat sugar all the time, and so you shouldn't let them watch the equivalent of sugar all the time on television. So I've been trying to do shows that appeal to them on an imaginative level and not just, you know, slash, bam, boom, all this action stuff.

And I like those shows up to a point, and they can be kind of fun. I mean, Bugs Bunny is pretty rocking, but every now and then you need to slow down the pace a little bit. And so my cartoons are always sort of based in that old style of animation that's a little gentler, a little calmer, a little sweeter, but still kind of fun.

HALL: And there's nothing in your cartoons that has the name Acme on it, I take it.

(LAUGHTER)

JOYCE: Not yet, not yet.

HALL: What about moral dilemmas for you as a cartoonist, as a storyteller for children. Do you try to weave in a moral storyline for children?

JOYCE: Sure, I mean, it's sort of second nature, I guess, in almost any kind of storytelling you do. But with kids, you know, they hate to be preached to, especially when they're watching a cartoon. For them it's like downtime. They want to relax. And so I try to sneak in whatever moral there is as secretly as possible in a way that they don't even notice. So you make it a part of the show and part of the characters, but in a way that's very subtle so that they come away from it not realizing they've maybe learned a lesson. Because if they realize they've preached to, then they kind of resent you. So -- and it's more fun. It's a challenge to try to make it entertaining.

HALL: It's kind of like that snack is really good for you.

JOYCE: Right, exactly.

HALL: All right, William Joyce, we thank you for joining us. And good luck with the series.

JOYCE: Well, thank you very much.

HALL: We appreciate it.

JOYCE: Sure.

HALL: OK.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.