Jean MacCurdy
Encyclopedia
Jean MacCurdy is an American-born longtime animation/children's programming professional, best known for having worked at Hanna-Barbara, and for having presided over the Warner Bros.
Animation Division during its "Golden Age" in the 1990s, when she was instrumental in getting an extraordinary array of quality cartoons produced.
, Sherri Stoner
, John P. McCann
, and Paul Dini
put together in conjunction with Steven Spielberg
were not truly directed at children at all, but rather attracted an audience comprising mostly adults.
Along with Tom Ruegger, MacCurdy migrated to Warner Brothers from Hanna-Barbara, and eventually rose through the ranks to the head of the division. Under her leadership Warner Brother Animation experienced a second renaissance, producing wildly popular children's programming.
She is responsible for Warner Brothers raking in an extraordinary number of Emmy Awards during her years at the helm of Warner Brother Animation: literally, dozens of the statuettes showed up during her tenure.
In 1997, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Animation Division during its "Golden Age" in the 1990s, when she was instrumental in getting an extraordinary array of quality cartoons produced.
Kids' shows for grownups?
There are some who complain that the shows MacCurdy, Tom RueggerTom Ruegger
Tom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Sherri Stoner
Sherri Stoner
Sherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
, John P. McCann
John P. McCann
John P. McCann is an American-born writer, actor and producer who has mostly focused on writing/producing animation and family-friendly scripts in the past. He is best-known for his work on television cartoons, for which he has received numerous awards, but he has also produced live-action...
, and Paul Dini
Paul Dini
Paul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
put together in conjunction with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
were not truly directed at children at all, but rather attracted an audience comprising mostly adults.
Along with Tom Ruegger, MacCurdy migrated to Warner Brothers from Hanna-Barbara, and eventually rose through the ranks to the head of the division. Under her leadership Warner Brother Animation experienced a second renaissance, producing wildly popular children's programming.
Management style
"She had," John P. McCann recalled once, "the ability to let creative artists make their own decisions without crowding them. She had taste, though, and she'd share her opinion if it was asked of her. But mostly what she did was give us a level of freedom no one else in town had at the time. That's why we did such amazing work for her.""The Emmy Machine"
MacCurdy has served as Executive in Charge of Production for such critically acclaimed shows as Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid!, Histeria!, Batman Beyond, Pinky, Elmyra, & the Brain, and Pinky & the Brain. She has also executive-produced some episodes of Batman Beyond, as well as a handful of Scooby-Doo mysteries and a number of Superman episodes.She is responsible for Warner Brothers raking in an extraordinary number of Emmy Awards during her years at the helm of Warner Brother Animation: literally, dozens of the statuettes showed up during her tenure.
In 1997, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.