I always knew that I wanted to be a writer. I think I was six or seven when I learned how to read, and I still remember it.

I would never jump under a subway car because that would delay all the people behind me. How inconsiderate!

The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.

I have decided that I want animation to be taken seriously; that is the goal of my life. I believe that animation is a very important medium to tell stories, not just for kids but for adults.

I guess I'm interested in the behind-the-surface feelings of the human condition, in my own way. I was always struck by the gap - at least in the books I was reading - between what people tell stories about and what I actually feel. I started thinking about a gap between fantasy and reality.

In my opinion, animation is best when it communicates without words, because it is the perfect medium through which to make shortcuts to meaning. When actors are not talking, just acting out, it looks kind of weird. But in animation, mime is constant, and you accept it.

What inspires me is when I see something and I say, "I can do that too!"