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/
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.
The Wise Old Bird
When Mr. Crabby Tree was human, he told his friend Dudley, “Ohhh, do you think I could fool Grandpa Robin? Wooo, that would be goooood,” he said gleefully. Grandpa Robin was the eccentric know-it-all of the forest. Spunky and spry, he dispensed his wisdom with good humor and patience, which he especially needed with dimwitted […]
Mr. Crabby Man
Although The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon addressed social concerns in its plots, the show was at its best when the story was vital, or life-changing, to a character. “The Wishing Well” was such a story. In this fifth-season episode, Mr. Crabby Tree has found a second wishing well. But it had one iron-clad rule: […]
What Editors are Looking For Today
We interrupt our Dudley the Dragon coverage for this item of interest. Children’s book author and agent Mandy Hubbard has compiled a list of what editors are looking for today. Read about the latest trends here.
The Mobile Tree
Since Mr. Crabby Tree was a plant, rooted to the ground, he couldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t go to the action. The action had to come to him. In Season Three, “Mr. Crabby Tree’s Really Great Adventure” changed all that. By wishing on a shooting star, he was magically released from the ground, and he […]
One Two Three on Crabby Tree
One night by a campfire, Dudley the Dragon wrapped up a game with little Julia, who recently joined the cast. Nearby is Terry, another newcomer, who’s gazing at the stars through a telescope. And next to him is Mr. Crabby Tree, who wants to play a game. But, being anchored by his roots, he can’t […]
Beneath the Bark, an Actor
Graham Greene played Mr. Crabby Tree for some 13 episodes. At the time he was best known for his work in Dances With Wolves, for which he was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Oscars in 1990. In 1992’s Thunderheart, Greene played—oddly enough—a gruff cop on an Indian reservation. He played a Rambo-type soldier named […]
A Goof in a Tree Costume
Sesame Street had Oscar the Grouch. Dudley the Dragon had Mr. Crabby Tree. Yes, this unhappy crabapple tree had good reason to be unhappy: He was the only apple tree in the forest. A nearby orchard had been cut down to make room for a highway. Those trees were his friends! Not only that, but […]
Dudley Comes to America
The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon premiered in Canada on October 2, 1993, some ten years after Dudley’s debut in The Conserving Kingdom. But Breakthrough Films and Television Inc. wanted him to be seen south of the border. For that, they signed with PBS affiliate WEDU in Tampa, Florida. WEDU would co-sponsor the show, distribute […]
A Dragon’s Crusade
In 1992, Levy and Williamson purchased the rights for Dudley the Dragon from the Ontario Ministry of Energy. Together with Dudley’s performer, Alex Galatis, they created a series, The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon. Funding came from a slew of sources: the Canadian Parks Service, Environment Canada; Energy, Mines and Resources Canada; Environment Canada—Environmental Citizenship […]
