Darrell Van Citters
Encyclopedia
Darrell Van Citters is an American
Director
, Animator
, and Author
, perhaps best-known for directing the animated television series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
and directing popular Looney Tunes
cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny
, Daffy Duck
, Porky Pig
, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird and Foghorn Leghorn. He partnered with Ashley Postelwaite
in 1992 to form Renegade Animation
. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts
.
training at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts
in the Disney-sponsored Character Animation
program. While still at Cal Arts, he spent one summer working at Chuck Jones
' studio as in-betweener/gofer. The next summer he spent as an assistant at Filmation Studios. After graduating, he went straight into the animation business and started at the Walt Disney Studio as a trainee in animation. He worked his way up to animator
on The Fox and the Hound and, after working on story for a few TV specials, he was placed as director on Fun with Mr. Future. Van Citters continued as director and did much of the original development work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, including his personal choice for the voice of Roger (a then-unknown member of the Los Angeles improv comedy group The Groundlings
, Paul Reubens
). His final Disney project was directing the "Sport Goofy
" film Soccermania in 1987.
Van Citters went independent for three years until being brought on by Warner Brothers Classic Animation as Creative Director
. His duties included overseeing almost every aspect of the classic Warners characters from the new shorts, to commercials to the comic strip and print work. He was asked to direct the first new Bugs Bunny
short in over 26 years and, after bringing in a full animation staff, Box Office Bunny
was produced and released with the Warner Bros. feature film, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
.
along with ex-Warners' alumna Ashley Postelwaite
. Since incorporation the company has produced a multitude of commercials, with highlights including: the "It ain't easy bein' cheesy" and “Dangerously cheesy!” campaigns featuring Chester Cheetah
, NBA great Dennis Rodman
's famous ad in which one of his tattoos is seen eating a burger for Carl's Jr., and the Bugs Bunny
/Michael Jordan
"Hare Jordan/Aerospace Jordan" commercials (although, technically, the first Hare Jordan spot was produced while he was still with Warner Bros.).
Craving creative freedom and control, Darrell steered Renegade to be one of the pioneers in internet animation and won an Annie Award
in 2001 for the web series "Elmo Aardvark: Outer Space Detective". The following year, Renegade made its first foray into television series production with the "Captain Sturdy" shorts for Cartoon Network
. Other series followed, including Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
and The Mr. Men Show
, as well as the direct-to-DVD full-length animated film "Christmas Is Here Again
".
made the special.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
, Animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, and Author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, perhaps best-known for directing the animated television series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
is an American-Japanese animated series from Cartoon Network, produced by Renegade Animation. The show was created by Sam Register, who also serves as the series' executive producer....
and directing popular Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
, Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
, Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird and Foghorn Leghorn. He partnered with Ashley Postelwaite
Ashley Postelwaite
Ashley Postelwaite started working in live theatre. She produced Bugs Bunny on Broadway for Warner Bros., where she met her business partner Darrell Van Citters. After working with Warner Bros...
in 1992 to form Renegade Animation
Renegade Animation
Renegade Animation is an animation studio, located in Glendale, California, which currently specializes in Macromedia Flash/Toon Boom animation. It was founded by former Disney and Warner Bros...
. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
.
Career
Darrell Van Citters began his career in animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
training at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
in the Disney-sponsored Character Animation
Character animation
Character animation is a specialized area of the animation process concerning the animation of one or more characters featured in an animated work. It is usually as one aspect of a larger production and often made to enhance voice acting. The primary role of a Character Animator is to be the...
program. While still at Cal Arts, he spent one summer working at Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
' studio as in-betweener/gofer. The next summer he spent as an assistant at Filmation Studios. After graduating, he went straight into the animation business and started at the Walt Disney Studio as a trainee in animation. He worked his way up to animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
on The Fox and the Hound and, after working on story for a few TV specials, he was placed as director on Fun with Mr. Future. Van Citters continued as director and did much of the original development work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, including his personal choice for the voice of Roger (a then-unknown member of the Los Angeles improv comedy group The Groundlings
The Groundlings
The Groundlings are an improvisational comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin to produce sketches and improvised scenes...
, Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor...
). His final Disney project was directing the "Sport Goofy
Goofy
Goofy is a cartoon character created in 1932 at Walt Disney Productions. Goofy is a tall, anthropomorphic dog, and typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a close friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck...
" film Soccermania in 1987.
Van Citters went independent for three years until being brought on by Warner Brothers Classic Animation as Creative Director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
. His duties included overseeing almost every aspect of the classic Warners characters from the new shorts, to commercials to the comic strip and print work. He was asked to direct the first new Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
short in over 26 years and, after bringing in a full animation staff, Box Office Bunny
Box Office Bunny
Box–Office Bunny, released in 1990, is a 4-minute Looney Tunes short starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It was shown in theaters with The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. This was Warner Brother's first Bugs Bunny theatrical release since 1964. It was issued to commemorate...
was produced and released with the Warner Bros. feature film, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter is a 1990 fantasy film and sequel to The NeverEnding Story. It was directed by George T. Miller and starred Jonathan Brandis as Bastian Bux, Kenny Morrison as Atreyu, and Alexandra Johnes as the Childlike Empress. The only actor to return from the first...
.
Renegade years
In July 1992, Van Citters left Warner Bros. to strike out on his own, forming Renegade AnimationRenegade Animation
Renegade Animation is an animation studio, located in Glendale, California, which currently specializes in Macromedia Flash/Toon Boom animation. It was founded by former Disney and Warner Bros...
along with ex-Warners' alumna Ashley Postelwaite
Ashley Postelwaite
Ashley Postelwaite started working in live theatre. She produced Bugs Bunny on Broadway for Warner Bros., where she met her business partner Darrell Van Citters. After working with Warner Bros...
. Since incorporation the company has produced a multitude of commercials, with highlights including: the "It ain't easy bein' cheesy" and “Dangerously cheesy!” campaigns featuring Chester Cheetah
Chester Cheetah
Chester Cheetah is a fictional character and the official mascot for Cheetos brand snacks and Chester's Puffcorn. According to an article in The New York Times, DDB Needham Worldwide is responsible for the creation of Chester; however, an episode of Unwrapped claims that the mascot was created by...
, NBA great Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
's famous ad in which one of his tattoos is seen eating a burger for Carl's Jr., and the Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
/Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
"Hare Jordan/Aerospace Jordan" commercials (although, technically, the first Hare Jordan spot was produced while he was still with Warner Bros.).
Craving creative freedom and control, Darrell steered Renegade to be one of the pioneers in internet animation and won an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
in 2001 for the web series "Elmo Aardvark: Outer Space Detective". The following year, Renegade made its first foray into television series production with the "Captain Sturdy" shorts for Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
. Other series followed, including Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
is an American-Japanese animated series from Cartoon Network, produced by Renegade Animation. The show was created by Sam Register, who also serves as the series' executive producer....
and The Mr. Men Show
The Mr. Men Show
The Mr. Men Show is an animated television series based on the original Mr. Men and Little Miss books created in the 1970s, 80s and 90s by British author Roger Hargreaves and his son Adam Hargreaves. Adapted from the published source material into a television variety program, The Mr...
, as well as the direct-to-DVD full-length animated film "Christmas Is Here Again
Christmas Is Here Again
Christmas Is Here Again is a 2007 animated Christmas film released on DVD by Screen Media Films. The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studio, it was co-written, co-produced and directed by Robert Zappia...
".
Author
Van Citters has written his first book, about the first ever prime time animated television Christmas special, Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. The publication is a behind-the-scenes look of how United Productions of AmericaUnited Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
made the special.