W. R. Miller
I've worked primarily in the entertainment industry as an animator, writer and storyboard artist, with two Emmy honors on The Simpsons. My articles have been published in Starlog, Comics Scene, Comics Buyer’s Guide, Animation Magazine, Animato! and the online Animation World Magazine. I have just completed the five-volume Batman: The Animated Interviews, published by BearManor Media. Works-in-progress: The Justice Dragon; The Star Wars Historical Sourcebook. Further details are presented at my webpage, https://wrmilleronline.com/about/
What Children Think Makes a Great Cartoon
In 2001 the British Film Institute surveyed kids on their favorite cartoons and cartoon characters. Here are the results. Five essential ingredients for successful animated characters: They should make children laugh or feel happy – with their different looks, funny voices, use of imitable catchphrases; They should expand children’s imaginations by blurring fantasy and reality […]
Dudley’s First Appearance at Macy’s
November 24, 1994. Thanksgiving Day, America. The 68th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York would be televised to some 45 million viewers. Newspapers and TV newscasts would report about it nationwide. What an opportunity to promote Dudley the Dragon to the American public! In his first Macy’s appearance, Dudley was just an actor […]
Licensing the Dragon
June 4-5, 1994. Dudley the Dragon appeared at the PBS National Convention in Florida, his debut in America. By then, 150 PBS stations had committed for 25 episodes. The list continued to grow, and why not? For them, the show was free. Executive producer Peter Williamson explained: “Dudley is underwritten by Vail Associates [a ski […]
Dragon with a Handicap
In the first season, Dudley sauntered around the woods with his right arm constantly resting on his chest. Likewise, the same thing had happened with Big Bird on Sesame Street. “When we first started, the first few months, his right arm was pinned to his side, so that it looked like Big Bird had a […]
Word Counts in Children’s Books
One advantage of being a member of SCBWI-Los Angeles, and a member of their listserv, is receiving tips from the writing community. Literary agent Jennifer Laughran has just posted her recommendations for word counts in various fiction categories. Noted for future reference.
The Second Dudley
Alex Galatis wore the costume for Dudley the Dragon‘s first two seasons. After that, Kirk Dunn performed the character while Galatis continued providing his voice. The blend was seamless. In May 1999, Dunn recalled winning the role: “I showed up for this audition. They put me into a body puppet. My right arm went up […]
Green Skin, Sneakers and a Tail
Karen Waterman and Daniel Wood of Waterwood Theatre Projects, Toronto are credited with creating Dudley the Dragon for The Conserving Kingdom. But the man who brought the lovable character to life was Alex Galatis. In 1983 budding young actor had graduated from the theater program at York University. The following year, he embodied the 8-foot-dragon […]
Dudley on Stage
Want to know what Dudley the Dragon looked like in The Conserving Kingdom? Photos of his early appearances can be found at the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Art of Puppetry exhibit: Waterwood Theatre Projects. Scroll through the images in the middle and click on the image to enlarge it. A shot of Dudley entertaining the […]
Advertising the Dragon
Ontario’s Ministry of Energy sponsored The Conserving Kingdom stage show. Here’s an advertisement for one of the performances. Probably the only similarity between this illustration and the “live” Dudley was the sneakers. Source: The Toronto Star, September 9, 1986.
