All movies are inherently collaborative and animation even more so. There are hundreds and hundreds of people involved with an animated movie.
I was able to bring my process of doing improv with actors into the animation world which was fun.
The worst thing you can do is animate something and then throw it out because it doesn't work story wise.
It's interesting to have the awkward moments play out and the real human interactions. The more you cut that down you lose the joke which is that this is painful and hard.
Maybe I'm just not that humble but our script is awesome. Like Jason is so into the Muppets and such a fan. I'm such a fan of Muppets.
I think people try to jam a lot of artificial plot devices into a lot of romantic comedies and they don't treat it with the respect I believe it deserves.
As a comedy writer I'm always praying for the day I can tell a self-aware/break-the-fourth-wall style of joke.
I love the romantic comedy genre. It's a genre rich with many of the best movies ever made and I try to treat it with the respect that Shakespeare treated it with.
Because also sometimes things that are really funny on the day when you look at them in post can feel too broad you know? Sometimes not but it's kind of weird how that can change.
I'm pretty brutal about getting rid of stuff. There wasn't anything where I was like "Oh I miss that " because usually it's for a good reason.
I like digital because you can shoot for longer.
I think the best romantic comedies don't have villains.
Yes the fans are going to get their money's worth. It's like...and everything on there is funny. It's not like random crap they put in a movie. I think it's all very funny so.
I feel very creatively satisfied and lucky that I get to write for other people but for something I direct it has to be something I completely understand every facet of.
All of the things I've directed I'm really emotionally close to. That's why I choose to direct them and spend years on them.
I've been putting together the story with Rob and putting all the details of it together and looking at all the various designs they have for the toys and stuff it's pretty exciting.
I was born in England - though both of my parents are American - and there's something about the 'Muppets' where they have this combination of English and American humor.
Everyone forgets that what's fun about a romantic comedy is how these two people are going to fight with each other and how's that going to be funny.
For my wife and I our first child was really easy to have but our second one was really hard to have. We had to go to a lot of fertility clinics and do that whole thing.
Every video you see in the movie we have an entire video of it that will be on the DVD so the whole video for African Child the whole video for Super Tight you know the Jackie Q songs.