A glimpse of what working on CatDog was like. Thanks Russ for agreeing to interview. I'm very greatful.

Question 1: For those that don't know much about the animation business, describe what you, as an animation director were responsible for; what were your job duties?

"Well, the director is responsable for making sure that the storyboard, which is like a comic strip and road map for the individual cartoon episode, is clear and well staged. That the acting, expressions, gestures and posing of the characters is correct and ready to hand off to the animators. The director also figures out the overall length, pacing and timing of the episode and may give hopefully humorous suggestions for "gags" within the cartoon."

Question 2: What are some of your fondest moments working on CatDog?

"The crew on Catdog was funny and fun and I guess memories of working with them as a group are my fondest memories."

Question 3: Which episode(s) did you enjoy working on most, and why?

"My personal favorites were the Sumo episode, because it was silly. "Diamond Fever" because it had a "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" theme and that's one of my favorite movies. And, "Seige on Fort Catdog" because the quality of the animation ended up so looking so good."

Question 4: Which episode(s) seemed to take the most planning and time?

"The ones that sticks in my mind were the Egyptian one ( sorry I can't remember the titles ), and the one where they are lost at sea in a dumpster in a fog shrouded fountain."

Question 5: Which Nearburg character(s) can you relate most with and why? Which are your very favorites? Is it safe to say that you helped to inspire any special character quirks for any of them?

"My favorites were Winslow, because he is such an evil and malicious little guy. Rancid, because he's such an evil and malicious big guy. And Lube because he is so stupid. Sorry to say I didn't have the opportunity to develop any of the characters because they were completed by the time I came on board. I do know that I developed numerous quirks working on the series however, like a twitch I can't seem to get rid of and this rash."

Question 6: For working on CatDog, did you get to take home some unusual CatDog memorabilia? Such as "CatDog crew" T's, mugs, Nearburg miniatures, etc...

"Sure, they gave us lot's of stuff like that, I'm drinking my coffee right now out of a Catdog mug."

Question 7: How many hrs a day was spent working on the show? Did you ever pull all nighters?

"Animation is a crazy business generally and your life pretty much goes on hold when in production. I did pull a few long nights, but I can't remember any all-nighters. I try and structure my life so that doesn't happen any more, I'm getting too old for that."

Question 8: What is your favorite CatDog "mystery"?

"I don't know if it qualifies as a "mystery", but I enjoyed working on the one where they tear the house apart waiting for their family reunion that ends up not happening because the house has been destroyed. The one with the sandwich monster was fun too, but the ending was too bizarre."

Question 9: Did you help out on any of the CatDog books?

"Nope, animation only."

Question 10: When did you realize you wanted to go into the animation field? Have you been drawing ever since you were a child? Do you have any special art, university degrees?

"I've been drawing since I can remember and entered the biz when I was 18 as an apprentice in-betweener. I'm strictly "school of hard knocks"."

Question 11: For those out there with desire to get into the animation business, what advice would you give them?

"Draw, draw, draw! Be persistent and be patient."

Question 12: Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans about your Catdog experience, or in general?

"It's been a pleasure working on Catdog and I appreciate all of the good will and new friends that it has generated. Please watch "Ed, Edd & Eddy" on Cartoon Network, the series I'm working on now and look for "Kameleon Kid" on the new season of "Oh Yeah!" on Nick, which I did with my partner Jaime Diaz last year."

**Thank you so much Mr. Mooney for taking the time to do this interview. Your fans appreciate it very much.

There you go fans a very special treat from a nice guy that had the pleasure to work on our favorite bi-cranial quadrepeds!**

Russ Mooney Episodes

**UPDATE! New episodes that Russ Mooney did.

Rinky Dinks

Hypno-teased

New Cat in Town

BRAVO RUSS!

(SD= Supervising Director, the rest he worked on as an animation director.)

Siege On Fort CatDog	Workforce	Diamond Fever	Mush Dog Mush!	Armed And Dangerous	Fistful of Mail(SD)
Escape From the Deep End	The Collector(SD)	Full Moon Fever(SD)	War of CatDog	CatDog's End(SD)	Safety Dog(SD)
Dog Come Home(SD)	Nightmare	New Neighbors(SD)	Dead Weight(SD)	Neferkitty(SD)	Curiousity Almost Killed the Cat(SD)
New Leash On Life(SD)	Just Say CatDog Sent Ya(SD)	All About Cat(SD)	Trespassing(SD)	Fishing For Trouble(SD)	Dog the Mighty(SD)
Adventures in Greaser Sitting(SD)	Cat Diggety Dog	CatDog Divided both (AD & SD)	The Unnatural	Nine Lives(SD)	Winslow's Home Videos
Sneezie Dog(SD)	Climb Every CatDog(SD)	Guess Who's Going to be Dinner	CatDog Campers	Dog Power(SD)	It's a Jungle in Here!(SD)
Sumo Enchanted Evening	Rodeo CatDog	Talking Turkey	Extra! Extra!	Royal Dog	Stunt CatDog