For those of you who have seen my portfolio you already know about my association with The Smart Alecks. This 22 minute animated cartoon was a collaborative effort led by my friend Tom Alexander. His idea for the story revolved around a rag tag group of misfits led by Jimmy Gibbs, a lovable, South Philly jazz musician and diehard baseball fan.
After almost six years of waiting it is now rumored that The Smart Alecks might be making a return. In fact, since the YouTube posting of a clip on January 31st, the clip has already been watched 63 times! Could the rumors be true?
When we began planning the project back in ’01 we decided to use Flash as the animation tool. I was very comfortable with flash and felt that it would be the best choice for the job. This was long before other animation tools, such as Toon Boom came along. Never having done a character driven full length animation before proved to be a learning experience on my part. I pretty much had to learn how to do everything from speech patterns to walking cycles. It took over nine months to complete the animation, sitting at my computer after a full day of working at my “real job” and working late into the night.
Now, with the possibility of a new life for The Smart Alecks being bantered about, I find myself sitting by the phone, waiting for the call. Hello!! Tom!! I’m waiting!