In this episode, we speak with Mikkel Lee, Story Lead at Lego in Denmark. Whether your kid wants to work at Lego when they grow up or you need help as a creator with your work, this is a fascinating listen.
Mikkel talks through his career path to Lego, which includes creating shows for the BBC and Nickelodeon, and then the turning point where he started to see content creation for kids from a different perspective.

We hope you enjoy this episode. If you've questions or suggestions, you can find host Michael Wakelam on Twitter @mikewakelam or email [email protected]

Episode Recorded: 2/16/2021

Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

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Imagine being a rising development exec in your early 20s and taking a pitch for Spongebob Squarepants from Stephen Hillenburg. That’s what happened to Andy Rheingold not too long after he started his career at Nickelodeon. Andy went on to become a hugely talented writer and creator himself, working on titles such as Catdog, Beavis and Butthead and Angelo’s Rules. This is a fascinating conversation about Andy’s career, so enjoy!

Contact us:  [email protected]

Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, friendly, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Send us a text

This week's guest is Fonda Snyder, one of the nicest people I've met in the industry. Fonda has had a diverse career in the film, TV, and book publishing arenas and is such a great person to spend time with! We rewind to talk about how Fonda got started and step through each stage of her career, which includes working with Gene Wilder, Martin Short, Berkeley Breathed, Disney Channel, and the LA book store she started with her sister, Storyopolis. Fonda also started working with me on a preschool series a couple of years ago and recently started a new role with the toy company, Battat, which she tells us about. We think you'll love this conversation - enjoy!

Contact us:  [email protected]

Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, friendly, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Send us a text

Ralph Eggleston joins us for an in depth conversation about his career. A Pixar veteran, you'll know Ralph's work from movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall_E, The Incredibles, Inside Out and more, as well as his hilarious Academy Award winning short film For The Birds. We find out how Ralph got started, and he shares some great insight into his process and approach to production design. A great episode not just for animation fans, but film fans in general.

This episode is longer than our usual conversations, and we still didn't cover Ralph's entire career.

Contact us:  [email protected]

Guest: Ralph Eggleston
Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, friendly, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Toward the end of the episode, Ralph talks about a recommended reading list for film making and production design. We've included the list below. Enjoy!

The Big Goodbye, by Sam Wasson
All text, a few pics.  An exceptionally well written account of the making of the movie Chinatown, with lots of design insight by the film’s production designer Richard Sylbert.  Can get on iPad…one of the best books on making a film EVER.  Blast to read (like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, but on one film!)

By Design, by Vincent LoBrutto
All text.  Interviews with film production designers. 

Hollywood Art ,by Beverly Heisner
GREAT survey of the design departments of the major film studios in the early to late 20th Century.  Lots of medium quality pics, but a great starting place for names and films to look into further. 

Designs on Film:  A Century of Art Direction, by Cathy Whitlock
Excellent book LOADED with high quality images.  

Selznick’s Vision, by Alan David Vertrees and Thomas Schatz
EXCELLENT book on the design and making of Gone with the Wind.  At first, it reads like a doctoral thesis, which it probably is.  But endlessly fascinating.  First film to give credit of Production Design to the great William Cameron Menzies.

William Cameron Menzies:  The Shape of Films to Come, by James Curtis
Terrific biography of the great William Cameron Menzies

Designing Movies:  Portrait of a Hollywood Artist, by Richard Sylbert
Autobiography of Richard Sylbert

Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series), by Peter Ettedgui
Great overview of more modern films.  Lots of interviews and TONS of images!   

Production Design:  Visual Design for Film and Television, by Peg McClellan
Excellent book.  Lots of practical stuff.

Production Design for Screen:   Visual Storytelling in Film and Television, by Jane Barnwell
Lots of good basic info.

The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, by Richard M. Isackes, Karen L. Maness

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In this episode, we chat with Bill Oakley. Bill is a writer and producer and a former showrunner on The Simpsons. This is really interesting chat about Bill's path from high school to landing a job on The Simpsons and beyond, and why he and writing partner Josh Weinstein left The Simpsons. This is a great listen for creators looking to reach the next stage of their career. We also talk about Bill's process, and how that differs now to earlier in his career and the other fun projects he's working on.

Contact us:  [email protected]

Guest: Bill Oakley
Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, friendly, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Send us a text

In this episode, we chat with Cinzia Angelini. Cinzia is an industry veteran, has worked as an animator and story artist across multiple studios, and has recently taken the reins on her first animated feature at Cinesite. Michael rewinds to the start of Cinzia’s career to talk about her education in Italy, to find out how she got started, and goes in-depth on Cinzia’s ten year plus passion project which she’s now putting the final touches on, her short film Mila.

Guest: Cinzia Angelini
Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)


The Creators Society is a group of passionate, friendly, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.
Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Send us a text