You have to do three things really well to make a successful film. You have to tell a compelling story that has a story that is unpredictable, that keeps people on the edge of their seat where they can't wait to see what happens next. You then populate that story with really memorable and appealing characters. And then, you put that story and those characters in a believable world, not realistic but believable for the story that you're telling.

Animation is the only thing I ever wanted to do in my whole life. I have no desire for live-action or anything else.

When I look at the success I have, it's because of my creative thinking skills.

This is what I always tell my filmmakers-you have to do tons of research, because you don't know where the inspiration is going come from.

I quickly realized that this medium had a lot to offer someone like me. To do Disney-quality hand-drawn cartoons, you have to be a master of two art forms. Seriously, you have to be able to draw like a Leonardo da Vinci or a Michelangelo. But also you have to know movement and timing and control that through 24 frames a second.

I realized that people make cartoons for a living. It had never dawned on me that you could do this as a career.

I love movies that make me cry, because they're tapping into a real emotion in me, and I always think afterwards "How did they do that?"