Occasionally I meet incredibly inspiring people who are willing to talk with me about their amazing lives. Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Ellen Cockrill, Senior Vice President of Animation for Universal Studios Family Productions. Her job is to oversee the development and production of television and Universal DVD Originals™ animated fare for the studio. In addition to overseeing the wildly popular PBS KIDS series CURIOUS GEORGE, she has also been shepherding the production of The Land Before Time The newest Land Before Time movie, The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends, will be released on December 4, 2007. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Sandra Oh (you know, the woman you love to hate on Grey’s Anatomy. Yeah, that one!). Prior to joining Universal, Ms. Cockrill spent nearly five years at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, most recently as Executive Director of Development, developing and producing projects including the Oscar®-nominated animated short film The Chicken from Outer Space, which served as pilot to the Cartoon Network’s Courage the Cowardly Dog series, and the Annie Award-nominated Johnny Bravo pilot, also for Cartoon Network. Before joining Hanna-Barbera, Ms. Cockrill worked at the Samuel Goldwyn Company as a story editor in their feature film department. She began her development career at Walt Disney Television working on family television movies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Washington. Needless to say, she blew my socks off. Here’s a snippet of our conversation you folks might enjoy. CLH: The Land Before Time EC: We’ve been making these movies since 1988, when Steven Spielburg and George Lucas made the first theatrical feature The Land Before Time. 19 years later we have 13 films. All the rest of them have been made as direct to video movies. In March 2007 we went on the Cartoon Network with a television series of 26 half-hour shows. We also have books, apparel, games and other consumer products. CLH: Did George and Steven do the other films, too? EC: They just launched the first one for Universal. My predecessors here said the movie was so wonderful, they’d love to make more of them as direct to video. That’s how it has continued ever since. CLH: What was the secret ingredient to the success of these films? Nineteen years is a full generation. Do you think the first generation is motivating the second to watch these films? It is a long time to sustain viewers’ interest. EC: It helps that moms are familiar with them. At the end of the day, this has been a real crown jewel for Universal. It has been hugely important to them and their love shines through all the Land Before Time movies they have produced. There has been a lot of care going into every movie. The original movie gave us a lot of great material and characters to work with such as Little Foot, the curious, sensitive long neck; Cera, the proud headstrong three-horn; Ducky, the innocent compassionate swimmer; Petrie, the panicky flyer; Spike, the gentle giant; and two more recent characters sweet-natured Chomper and thoughtful Ruby.
These characters ultimately are resilient and have a good-natured side to them. There is an equal balance of heart, comedy and adventure, all things kids can really relate to. All the characters come from different breeds of dinosaurs, but the dinosaur children have all come together and overcome their differences. They work together to over the huge challenges they experience in the Great Valley. In doing so, they emerge victorious in the end. There is positive modeling for children.
CLH: I have to share a brief story. We went to the Museum of Science in Cambridge, MA, a few weeks ago. The kids really wanted to see the documentary entitled "Dinosaurs" playing at the Omnitheater. Unfortunately, the filmmakers made the dinosaurs so frightening that the kids clung to me the whole time. As a mom viewer, I find Land Before Time revolutionary because for the first time we’re seeing dinosaurs as loveable, fallible characters who overcome such diversity amongst themselves. It sends our kids the message that even dinosaurs can get along! Wasn’t Steven Spielburg also involved in Jurassic Park?
EC: Yes, that was his work, too. I think Steven had a great idea to take characters who are huge raptures and really characterize them in such a way that they are socializing with each other. It is great for entertainment because it gives them a chance to become more curious about them. While our show isn’t specifically scientific, we do actually do the work to make sure that children learn something about dinosaurs and their world in the show. We’ve heard reports that our films have inspired children to grow up and go on to be archeologists, anthropologists, etc. That, to me, is truly inspiring!
CLH: What is the difference between the Land Before Time movies and the TV show you recently launched?
EC: The TV shows are basically smaller movies. They are 22-minute stories that have the same parts: comedy, adventure, overcoming challenges and positive behavior. Because we have less time, we really pack even more comedy, adventure and heart into it.
CLH: One thing I noticed about the first film was how much slower it moved than a lot of today’s films. It was made, after all, 19 years ago. Can you speak to the ever-increasing speed of children’s entertainment today?
EC: Our movies still have a pretty leisurely pace, and compared to other shows, our show works at a more leisurely pace. When you do something for the big screen, you can naturally make it more panoramic and slower as opposed to the TV medium. The TV series moves along a little more quickly, but not so much that it doesn’t feel like a Land Before Time story.
CLH: What Web sites accompany your new series?
EC: The Cartoon Network at www.cartoonnetwork.com reaches 10 million unique users per month. Universal’s Land Before Time www.landbeforetime.com offers fun games for the whole family.
CLH: Let’s move briefly to Curious George.
EC: Curious George went on the air in September 2006 on PBS. It has consistently been the number one show for the 2-5 demographic since it aired. The response has been hugely enthusiastic.
CLH: Your work has been incredibly successful. How did you get started?
EC: Originally I worked in television in Seattle. I started in production. In local television, I couldn’t tell stories, and I really wanted to do that so I moved to Los Angeles where I worked at Disney. I originally worked in live action TV movies for families. Early on I realized I loved working in the children’s and family business. I was offered a job in animation, which allowed me to bring together my interest in art with my talent for story development. I’ve never looked back. My main function is a studio executive. Depending on the project, I also function as a producer.
CLH: How long does it take to produce a full-length animated film?
EC: The script development takes about one year. Then it takes another eighteen months to produce it, and typically another six months to put it into the stores for direct to video movies. A television series takes about a year from story development to the actual finished product. This is, of course, after you’ve gotten a green light from production to actual put it together.
CLH: That seems like an awfully long time. When you develop a story, do you sit down and decide the lessons you want your child viewer to walk away with?
EC: It is completely on your mind. I can’t do anything without thinking about that four or five-year-old who is watching our films. In fact, I think about that four or five-year-old that’s in me and how that inner child would react. What modeling are we creating? We are also trying to tell a really entertaining story so we’re looking for a fun, surprising storyline, you’re looking for ways to explore their personalities to show the audience something new about them to keep their attention. You’re trying to grow your characters, to tell entertaining stories, to bring about great challenges for the characters, and to inspire the child viewers simultaneously.
CLH: Do you also keep the parents in mind? Shrek is a classic example of a highly entertaining story for both children and their parents.
EC: We are all adults who are making these stories. We are all trying to make something that we love and are entertained by, too. The key to that is being smart in the way you tell your story. It’s not so much about sophisticated one-liners, but it’s about smart storytelling and smart characters. You need to have enough storyline and surprises to tap into the intelligence of the viewer.
CLH: You do that so well. Thank you so much for your time, Ellen.
EC: Thank you, Christine!
