1st Creative Mind Interview

I interviewed Kenn Navarro, one of the creators of The Happy Tree Friends, you can watch  The Happy Tree Friends at  www.happytreefriends.com, enjoy.

1) Is creativity in human nature or is it something that must be nurtured and learned? 

Since I'm not a scientific expert on this subject (unless you count the mold culture I grew in High School as lab work) I'll dare to guess that it's probably a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. I don't think one is exclusive from the other nor should they be.  

2) What made you decide to follow a creative career choice vs. something more stable? 

                 Is the implication that "creative" careers are somehow "unstable"? HAHA! I always knew I wanted to do something in the creative field but I wasn't so sure what until around my college days when I started attending animation classes. I suppose I could've have chosen a more "stable" and traditional occupation (doesn't all our parents want us to become doctors and lawyers?) but I wanted to be in a profession that I was happy with and that I actually enjoyed doing. What a concept! One of my college professors and mentor once reminded me that, "if I do what I love then I'll never have to work a day in my life." So, I've followed that advice and never looked back. 

3) What do you wish to accomplish with your art? 

I wish I could tell you that I had a higher purpose of changing the world or shaping our society but really, when it comes down to it, I just love doing it. So, the purpose, for me, is the process itself. If I had gone a different path and was an accountant for my day job I think I would still be doing something creative in my spare time anyway. 

4) What impact do you think commercialism and the media has had on your work? Good or bad? 

That's a bit of a tricky question since commercialism and media both affect a show like "Happy Tree Friends" differently. On the one hand, we need a certain level of commercialism to drive the show and actually make money to enable us to continue making more episodes and other things. I think where commercialism becomes bad is when it starts to dictate and change what the show is. When the integrity of the show bends to accommodate something other than its own set of principles. For me, that's when the line gets crossed. 

As for the media, I'm assuming you are referring to the news media and not media (i.e. television, print, radio, etc...) in general? If this is the case, we've been fortunate enough to get good media coverage for "Happy Tree Friends." Most people that review or write about the show understand what the show is and actually enjoy it. This is not to say that we haven't had our share of bad publicity. It's VERY easy to target a show like "Happy Tree Friends" and use it as a scapegoat for everything that is wrong in our society, which happens a lot. It's easier to point fingers than actually getting off your chair and doing something. That actually takes... gasp! Effort!!! However, I'd like to think readers and viewers are more astute and intelligent enough to understand the difference, despite their opinion on the content of the show itself.

A picture of a yellow bunny  face , and he is smiling. There is a black background, and spelled underneath the bunny’s face is “Be Afraid”.