Meet Robb Pratt

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robb Pratt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Robb, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
Cynicism is CONSTANTLY trying to fight its way into my life and I think it does for most of us. I came from humble beginnings – raised by a single mother, she suffered from mental illness and we were on government assistance. But I found something that I LOVED! Something that would help me escape, help me be passionate about, something super-positive! And that was animation! I knew from a very early age that this wonderful artform made me HAPPY! Bugs Bunny made me LAUGH! Popeye made me love CHARM! Tom and Jerry made me love MOTION! Superman made me like comic books, with their fantastic stories and beautiful art, but I knew that it wasn’t enough – I loved the whole combination of arts that came together for animation – color, story, music, movement, cinematography, voice, and performance! It gave me something wonderous to explore, and to this day, it can lift my spirits. Whenever I’m feeling blue, I’ll watch the Bugs Bunny cartoon, ‘8 Ball Bunny’ or the Porky Pig starrer, ‘Porky’s Bear Facts’ and I’m uplifted and laughing again – they’re HYSTERICAL! And they give me a standard to strive for. I’m inspired to create cartoons that can uplift, unite people, and give people a chance to escape the cynicism that may be doing it’s best to invade their psyche. It does the trick for me!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a veteran Disney artist. I started my career as an animator on Disney’s ‘Pocahontas’ and animated on such modern classics as ‘Hercules’, ‘Tarzan’, ‘Fantasia 2000’ and ‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’. When traditional animation was phased out by the Company, I transitioned to the Story Department at Disney Television Animation, which led to Directing on Disney’s ‘The Replacements’ and ‘Elena of Avalor’. Currently, I’m the Supervising Director on Disney’s ‘FIREBUDS’. I could never abandon 2d animation, though, and animate my personal films – fan films ‘Superman Classic’, ‘Bizarro Classic’, ‘Flash Gordon Classic’ as well as originals ‘CARMAN: The Road Rage Anti-Hero’ and have partnered with Des Taylor for ‘Eva Strongbird and the Marine’. Des and I are in the midst of producing a graphic novel for ‘Eva’ and I already have voices recorded to animate their adventures. If I go back to fan films, ‘Indiana Jones Classic’ is on my mind!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Persistence! Animation is a challenging skill, and not one for immediate results. You have to LOVE it, or you would never have the patience for it – it takes too many drawings!

Passion! Be willing to learn. Be humble, Recognize your weaknesses and ATTACK them! Be kind to those that are willing to share their knowledge with you, and always remember – passion is what inspires others.

Adaptability! Animation is produced so much differently now than when it was when I first started. Along the way, as much as I loved the process, I had to accept that the process changes, and I had to change along with it. If it’s already changed so much since when I started, you can bet that it’ll change a lot before I’m finished.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
My absolute favorite thing about social media is meeting other artists! I go on mainly to share my art, and it has led to wonderful friendships and exciting collaborations! Animation is a team effort – it can’t be done alone, and there are so many aspects to it. I love meeting artists that can do their job better than I can – be it BG painting, music, voice performance or any other needed discipline. It can be like what musicians feel when they get to jam together – you share your passions, what you love about the art and it can remind one of what is so beautiful about this art form and how it connects people.

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