Genndy Tartakovsky On Sony, Popeye, Can You Imagine and Samurai Jack

Can you tell me more about Can You Imagine?

Genndy Tartakovsky: It’s a personal story for me, from when I had kids, and some of the changes I went through. The story is about this youthful couple, who are very imaginative and young-at-heart. They have a kid, and everything seems to be going well, but as life does, it sneaks up on them. Things gets serious, they lose their youth, and their connection to their kid. Everything becomes dysfunctional, so the kid runs away into his own imaginary world. So the parents have to journey into his imaginary world, reconnect as a couple, find their inner youth, and win him back.

So you’re taking a surreal trip into the psyche of a youngster?

Genndy Tartakovsky: He’s like a 10- or 12-year-old, but it’s more like they’re going into Narnia rather than actually into his head. It’s more of a portal. That’s the gist of it. It’s really fun, but what’s unique is that it’s really the parents’ story. Getting people to believe in that, that kids will watch a story about their parents, is also one of its hurdles.

Will it retain a youthful charm? Lately, I’ve been writing about how too many so-called all-ages films today have received dark make-overs, most recently Disney’s new Jungle Book. Part of that is the culture, which is almost happy to force kids to grow up too fast.

Genndy Tartakovsky: Not to blame it all on CG, but because CG is so good at realism, or photorealism, there is a tendency to go real with everything — and that can sometimes take the charm, whimsy, and magic of filmmaking out of the experience. CG is enhancing reality, whereas films like Mary Poppins were brighter and more colorful. But for me, Can You Imagine? is more on the colorful side; it’s almost like a fairy tale. It’s funny and energetic, and more pure, like Dexter’s Laboratory, plus everything I’ve learned in the 20 years since I made it, in a feature film.

When you say it’s in development, are you saying that you have a sense that Sony is on board with it?

Genndy Tartakovsky: It’s never a “go” until we get a date and we’re spending money. Like, serious money. So right now, it’s in development. Once we start spending, then it’s greenlit. But they’re very supportive of me, so that’s good. After everything that’s happened, we’re still just trying to find our footing as a studio. Hopefully, if Hotel Transylvania 2 is a success, that will give Can You Imagine? more of a push.

How are you feeling about your place at Sony, as it tries to find its footing? Do they realize how lucky they are? Do I have to write a letter?

Genndy Tartakovsky: [Laughs] I think a letter would always help! It’s a business, and businesses sometimes operate different from the way that feels right to the creative. I think I have a great relationship with everybody at Sony. It seems like they understand what I do, and what I bring to the table. I kind of go from there. But we’re animation, so we’re kind of a stepchild trying to find love from the father.

Do you have a contingency plan? I mean, the Samurai Jack film always needs to get made, Sym-Bionic Titan needs to get picked back up…

Genndy Tartakovsky: I’ve got my back. I’ve been talking to people, seeing what’s out there, searching for the right fit. I do like it here; Sony has a lot of wonderful, talented people. I think, because of my initial experience with Cartoon Network, that I feel like a company man who wants to build us up to be successful. That’s a much more rare thing nowadays than it used to be. I mean, we were the same crew from Dexter’s Lab to Powerpuff Girls; we added some new people on Samurai Jack, but it was essentially the same core. But now, everyone is kind of spread out, so I’m trying to find that perfect home. Basically, I want to be in a situation where people want to make my stuff, whether that is features or television or whatever. I have a lot of stories to tell, and I need a place to tell them.

“Basically, I want to be in a situation where people want to make my stuff, whether that is features or television or whatever. I have a lot of stories to tell, and I need a place to tell them.”

Is there any movement on Samurai Jack?

Genndy Tartakovsky: There are some rumblings happening, although maybe not a movie. I’m not sure yet, but I’m feeling really confident. In the last five years, I’ve traveled quite a bit domestically and internationally, and wherever I go, Samurai Jack is number one. People are so appreciative of and inspired by it, which is really nice. I feel like it is more popular now than it was when it actually aired. So I think its time is very ripe, and I’m hoping something will happen soon.

Is it still over with J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot?

Genndy Tartakovsky: No, once J.J. started doing Star Trek and Star Wars, he had much bigger, bigger fish to fry.

How about Sym-Bionic Titan? I loved writing about that show.

Genndy Tartakovsky: Thank you, I appreciate that because Titan was probably the biggest heartbreaker I’ve ever had. With Samurai Jack, we finished four seasons and then agreed we needed a mutual break once Star Wars: The Clone Wars [happened], which kind of finished it off. But Titan was a cancellation, which was rough. We had written 10 more scripts, which were 10 times better than the first batch. The story was progressing to a great place; we were just starting to get a feel for what the show was. And that’s the thing about television: very rarely is a show a home run right off the plate. It usually takes a season or two to warm up and get into the magic. Even Seinfeld didn’t really hit its stride until several episodes in. With Titan, I felt like I had just started to say something, and then I got cut off. It’s hugely popular in France, which is funny. Every time I travel there, Titan outweighs anything that I’ve done.

So … I don’t know. I guess the answer is the more successful I am, the more of a chance it has of getting made, because then I have more power to say, “I’d really like to finish this.” But for me, right now Samurai Jack is surely first in line, and then we’ll see what comes after. I’ll never give up on it. Maybe one day, Titan can be crowdfunded. Who knows? There are definitely more opportunities these days to make things independently. So I never give up hope, but I don’t think Titan will be coming back anytime soon.

Is the idea is that it’s a Cartoon Network property, so you’d need to be invited back there to finish it?

Genndy Tartakovsky: Yeah, to a degree. But I think I still have a great relationship with them, so if I asked them for some kind of rights, they would be very cordial.

I think crowdfunding might be a good idea. Charlie Kaufman’s R-rated stop-motion Anomalisa had one of the largest crowdfunding hauls in history, and now it’s been acquired for distribution by Paramount.

Genndy Tartakovsky: Yeah, that’s definitely possible. I think it has become more apparent that you can crowdfund these projects. And I’m very stubborn; I’m a fighter, and I don’t take no for an answer. I’m trying to navigate this studio system to get my stuff made, because studios can distribute on a grand scale. Cartoon Network was great, but it was small. Obviously, it’s a lot bigger now than when we started, but back then it was about 12 million viewers, versus Nickelodeon’s 80 million. And it’s hard, because it takes a long time for something to get popular, and it’s very competitive. I always want to do everything on a mass scale, because we’re in the business of entertaining the most people possible. At the same time, if I run into these roadblocks…