Daniel Edward Antonucci (, ; born February 27, 1957) is a Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer. He created the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

animated comedy series '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' as well as '' Lupo the Butcher'' and ''

The Brothers Grunt ''The Brothers Grunt'' is an adult animated comedy television series, and the earliest series made by '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' creator Danny Antonucci. It originally aired from August 15, 1994, to April 9, 1995, on MTV. It centers on five humanoid ...

'' for MTV. Antonucci dropped out of the Sheridan College of Visual Arts to take a job as an animator at

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

, and worked on a number of series: '' The Flintstone Comedy Show'', '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'', '' The Smurfs'', and '' Richie Rich''. He continued his career in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, working on animated shorts and television commercials at International Rocketship Limited, where he created his first solo work, ''Lupo the Butcher''. For MTV, Antonucci made a number of bumpers, his series ''The Brothers Grunt'', and the title sequence to animation showcase program '' Cartoon Sushi''. He went on to create ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' on Cartoon Network. Many of his commercials for Converse,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and Levi's won a number of awards, which he keeps in a trash can by his desk. ''Lupo the Butcher'' was a successful short and is considered to be a cult classic.

Early life

Antonucci's parents were Italian immigrants to Canada. His experiences as a child in an immigrant family deeply influenced his later work, such as ''Lupo the Butcher''. Antonucci attended the Sheridan College of Visual Arts but quit to take a job as an animator at Canimage Production, a division of

Career

Starting his career as an animator, Antonucci worked on numerous shows, including '' The Flintstone Comedy Show'', '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'', '' The Smurfs'', and '' Richie Rich''. Intending to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1984 to find more work, Antonucci landed in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He landed a job at International Rocketship Limited, animating short films and television commercials. His first effort was on the short film ''Hooray for Sandbox Land''.

International Rocketship Limited, foundation of a.k.a. Cartoon, and MTV work

Antonucci's first solo work was '' Lupo the Butcher'', produced by International Rocketship Limited, about a short-tempered butcher who swears at the meat he is cutting and gets extremely mad at the smallest mistakes. Antonucci explains the short arose out of his own frustration at having to work in children's film for so long, and to try his hand at creating a full-fledged character on film. The short animated film screened at several film festivals, including Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The 'Lupo' character was eventually licensed by the Converse athletic shoe company. This led to additional work, including animated commercials for Levi Strauss & Co.

, Converse and MTV. He also originally created a mascot for

, known as the

jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

, as well as the mascot's bumpers. On April 1, 1994, Antonucci started an animation company named a.k.a. Cartoon, which produced the short-lived MTV series ''

'', which began airing in 1994 and ended its run in 1995. Antonucci went on to work on MTV's '' Cartoon Sushi'' show in 1997, directing, writing and providing voices, in addition to being responsible for the title sequence of the show.

''Ed, Edd n Eddy''

Feeling confined to "gross" and "edgy" work, such as his series ''The Brothers Grunt'', Antonucci decided to produce an animated children's television show again with his company a.k.a. Cartoon. However, he resolved to ensure that the series was produced in a way similar to the cartoon styles from the 1940s to the 1970s. Antonucci spent months designing the show, before trying to sell it to

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

. Nickelodeon told him that they would take the show, if they also obtained creative control. Antonucci refused to give it, and instead took the show to

. A deal was ultimately made for Cartoon Network to commission the show, after they agreed to let Antonucci go in his own direction. Antonucci is a strong advocate of hand-drawn animation. The wobbling animation in '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is an homage to the hand-drawn cartoons with a style that harkens back to cartoons of the 1940s to the 1970s. To give the impression of movement, ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' uses shimmering character outlines similar to '' Squigglevision''. The crawling lines are not nearly as active as those in '' Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'', but are still visible, and Antonucci likens it to cartoons of the 1930s. According to Antonucci, the characters were based on real people in his life. The personalities of Ed, Edd, and Eddy are based on personal traits of himself, and the activities of his two sons. The Eds also possess personality traits similar to The Three Stooges, whose money-making schemes and antics also invariably backfire. The cul-de-sac children and the Kanker Sisters were all based on children he grew up with. Antonucci also stated that he believed it was important to add Plank, a board of wood, to the show, stating that he "thought it would be really cool to do the show with Plank taking on a character of his own" and to cause Jonny to do things he would usually never do. He also stated that Rolf is strongly based on himself and his cousins, since he was part of an immigrant family, and grew up in a first-generation foreign household with different customs and ways of living. ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is the only a.k.a. Cartoon show to have a movie based on the animated television series. The series' finale movie, '' Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show'', aired on November 8, 2009, officially ending the series.

WildBrain and upcoming series

While Antonucci was working on ''Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show'', it was announced on September 4, 2008 that he signed to

WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production company, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of Children's tel ...

; Antonucci stated that he was "already kicking around three different ideas for his first WildBrain project". On June 11, 2013, US animator Joe Murray posted a short interview with Antonucci for his class on his website, and on the end wrote: "He's currently working on a new series, so rock on." In November 2020, Antonucci confirmed a series based on ''Lupo the Butcher'' was in development for release on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

which got canceled due to creative differences between Antonucci and Netflix.

Awards and nominations

Antonucci's first solo work ''Lupo the Butcher'' was a successful short and is considered to be a cult classic. Eric Fogel, creator of '' Celebrity Deathmatch'', stated that ''Lupo the Butcher'' "opened iseyes to a world of animation that was strictly for grownups and inspired imto pursue a career path that was a bit more... twisted". Throughout his career, Antonucci received a number of awards. He worked on a number of award-winning commercials for Converse,

and Levi's. In 1998, for his work on '' Cartoon Sushi'', Antonucci received a National Cartoonists Society Division Award for Television Animation. ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' received various awards and nominations; for his work on the series, he won a Reuben Award for Best Television Animation in 1999 and a Leo Award for Best Director in an Animated Production or Series in 2000. With an almost 11-year run, it remains the longest running original Cartoon Network series and Canadian-made animated series to date. It was also Cartoon Network's most popular series among boys ages 2–11. Bob Higgins, head of

, considered ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'' to be a "landmark in animation". Joe Murray, known for creating the animated series '' Rocko's Modern Life'' and '' Camp Lazlo'', called Antonucci "one of the founders and mainstays of modern animation".

Personal life

Antonucci has two children named Tex and Marlowe who were named after animator

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (; February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, animation director, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of America ...

and the fictional character Philip Marlowe respectively.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antonucci, Danny 1957 births Artists from Toronto Canadian animated film directors Canadian animated film producers Canadian humorists Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Canadian male voice actors Canadian storyboard artists Canadian television directors Canadian television producers Cartoon Network Studios people Film directors from Toronto Hanna-Barbera people Living people Male actors from Toronto Reuben Award winners Sheridan College animation program alumni Showrunners of animated series Screenwriters from Toronto