Eric and Julia Lewald and ME at an comic book panel on the X-Men: the Animated Series

That is Chris Claremount, writer of the X-Men comic books we adapted to Saturday morning

Background

I started out as a Systems Analyst for McDonnell Douglas, Data General, and various other computer repair firms. Filmation Studios was my first animation job. To Filmation's credit, when they hired me as a Storyboard Artist, I became the FIRST Black Saturday Morning Storyboard Artist hired for that position in Hollywood, California. I subsequently worked at almost all the L.A. animation studios over the next three decades. With time and experience, I wrote an episode of GI JOE ("Hearts and Cannons") and an episode of SPIDERMAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS ("SWARM"),

various independent screenplays and plot outlines for THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST and the PRYDE OF THE X-MEN.

LarryToons Family Entertainment is my production company for the creation, development, and marketing of my ideas into the marketplace.

THE X-MEN 1992-1996

Producer/Director

Network: FOX-TV

Studio: SABAN /GRAZ Entertainment

My dream project from Day One in Animation. All the years of Marvel trivia I knew since Elementary School allowed me to course-correct and guide the series with accuracy. I included cameos/Easter Eggs of other Marvel characters into the series, just like what Stan Lee did when he first started Marvel Comics. I also storyboarded the X-MEN opening intro of the series.

2010 - present

THE X-MEN INTRO

THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST / 2nd Season

Director

Network: Cartoon Network

Studio: Warner Bros/Hanna Barbera

Golden Reel Award Winner

Doug Wildey's creation was the best prime-time action-adventure animation series of its day and I was proud to have been its creative steward alongside Co-Director Davis Doi. We brought this series BACK to it core, back to what Doug Wildey envisioned, unlike what they did in season one.

REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

2010 - present

THE FANTASTIC FOUR (2nd SEASON)

Director

Network: KIDS WB

Studio: New World Pictures

I was recruited to leave the successful X-Men series to bring that same success to the Fantastic Four to its second season. That 2nd season is proof that having respect of and love for the original classic FF works of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, that those stories can be successfully adapted to television. I worked with both my heroes and I'm very proud of this finished series, especially the fact that I got to do the very FIRST animated appearance of THE BLACK PANTHER in both the X-MEN and the FF. Also I depicted and adapted the INHUMANS storyline into the series just as Jack and Stan had created it.

Fantastic Four Intro

GI JOE: THE MOVIE

Director

Network: Theatrical Movie

Studio: Sunbow/Marvel/Hasbro

The GI JOE Intro animation was the best translation of one of my storyboard ideas ever. I was one of three GI Joe Directors who were asked to come up with an intro to the movie from scratch. Having been a Director on the 65-episode syndicated series, I drew upon that experience to create the intro of Cobra attacking the Statue of Liberty celebration that was chosen. The benefits of having a Theatrical Budget, as opposed to a regular TV budget, was self-evident and startling to me. Everything difficult shot I'd asked for they were able to accomplish BY HAND, no computer animation existed by then. And, with the epic musical score that was created for it, it is timeless and uplifting and a reminder of what classic American idealism and heroism should invoke.

GI JOE: THE MOVIE INTRO

PRYDE OF THE X-MEN

Pilot Episode - Co-Director/ Storyboard Artist

This was the pilot episode for the X-MEN, drawn as they had existed in the comic books in 1986, stylized after X-Men artist Dave Cockrum and adapted to TV by character designer/comic artist Russ Heath. Even with the excellent animation from Japan, the big three Saturday morning networks, NBC, CBS, and ABC did not understand what a mutant superhero, what the persecution angst was all about or what kind of stories we were trying to do. Luckily, six years later, in 1992, we were able to accomplish exactly what we had wanted to do in 1986. The cliche is: "its all about timing" and we found out that is so true.

PRYDE OF THE X-MEN

CAPTAIN PLANET

Director

Network: NBC

Studio: DIC Animation

Emmy Nominated

Bringing Ted Turner's Ecology Superhero to life was both great fun and hard-work.

Executive Producer Will Meugniot storyboarded the opening. I directed its FIRST season.

CAPTAIN PLANET OPENING

THE KARATE KID

Producer/Director

Network: NBC

Studio: DIC Animation

I storyboarded and directed THE KARATE KID Opening Titles as well as being the

Producer and Director of this TV series.

THE KARATE KID OPENING

ROBOCOP: ALPHA COMMANDO

Director

Network: Syndication

Studio: MGM Animation

Originally financed for the European marketplace, the most violent elements of this concept were re-imagined for a younger demographics. I directed 13 episodes and I storyboarded the opening intro and, for the record, I fought against using any lyrics.