The animated life of Phil Roman

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, April-May, 2002 by David Everett

If we were to ask people to list the ten most influential films of the last century, that century whose name is still tightly locked ha the big blocky letters of 20th Century Fox, it would be interesting to see how many lists would include the animated Disney film Bambi, which undoubtedly planted the seeds of environmentalism, conservation, animal rights, even vegetarianism, in the mind of countless children.

But for one kid in Fresno, the eleven-year-old Phil Roman, Bambi dazzled him with the magic of animation, the way it brought imaginary creatures to life and conjured up worlds with an imaginary science where even the rules of gravity are different. "I knew on the day I saw Bambi," said Phil, "that I wanted to be an animator," au ambition from which he never wavered.

Phil Roman was born into a large Mexican-American family on December 21, 1930. He spoke only Spanish until kindergarten, but quickly became "trilingual," able to convey his thoughts in Spanish, English, and cartoonese.

After finishing high school he wasted no time. With a letter of recommendation in one pocket, sixty bucks in the other, and an ambition to become an animator in his head, he caught a bus for Los Angeles.

The Hollywood Art Center School took him in as a work-study student. Leaning heavily on his $60, he paid $30 down and $15 a month for tuition. To make ends meet he did two hours of "grunt" work everyday 'after school plus a late shift at a nearby movie theater.

The only deviation from his plans was four years in the Air Force, but then he was able to return to the art school with money from the GI Bill. In those days the dream job of most young animators was to work for Disney. Roman's chance came in 1955 when he joined the ranks as an assistant animator on Sleeping Beauty. However, advancement was slow, so in 1957 Phil accepted a job in San Francisco with Imagination, Inc., a company that made TV commercials. There he learned about the many aspects of animation: recording sessions, client contact, cameras, storyboards, budgeting, etc.

It was at Imagination, Inc., in the sixties that he directed the famous Starkist ad "Sorry Charlie," starring Charlie the Tuna, and the champagne-sipping bird that knew that Western Airlines was "the only way to fly."

By now Phil's reputation was also flying high, and he returned to Hollywood to work for the big studios, such as Warner Bros., MGM, and UPA. In the 1970s he began working with Bill Melendez, first as an animator on CBS specials, such as "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown," and then as co-director on "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown!" and "Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown!" During these years Phil directed sixteen specials. Fifteen of these received Emmy nominations, and three won Emmys.

In 1984 he opened his own studio, Film Roman, Inc., which made its debut with the Emmy-winning "Garfield in the Rough," the third CBS special based on Jim Davis's highly strung kitty. While still working with Melendez, he had directed the first two feline specials. Now with his own studio, and doubling up as producer and director, he developed nine more Garfield specials, including "The Garfield Halloween Special" and "Garfield in Paradise," both in the 1985/86 season, as well as "Garfield Gets a Life" in 1991.

All of his Garfield specials were nominated for Emmys. In 1986, only two animated specials were nominated. Both were Phil's, and both were Garfield's---'Halloween" and "Paradise"--and "Halloween" won the day.

During these heady years of TV successes, the studio also worked in film, with Phil producing and directing Tom and Jerry--The Movie, giving him a chance to work with legendary animator Joe Barbera.

Few industry people believed that an animated weekly series could develop a loyal following of adult viewers when Phil launched The Simpsons. Now Bart and Homer are part of our televisual folklore and still going strong. Phil did it again with King of the Hill During the 1990s the studio also created the Saturday morning series The Mask mad The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat for CBS, proving that Felix at least has nine lives. The studio launched Bobby's World lot Fox Kids Network with Howie Mandel and C-Bear and Jamal with the voice of rap artist Tone Loc. Also, BRUNO The Kid, co-created and voiced by actor Bruce Willis, The Critic for ABC and Fox, Mighty Max for first-run syndication, and Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, an animated series based on the highly successful Mortal Kombat franchise for USA Network.

Despite all these successes, the times were changing for the defenders of the animated realm. Film Roman had gone public as a $36 million company, but the major studios were buying up networks, integrating production and distribution of programming. Several shows were canceled, stocks went down, and Phil, who was trained as an artist, not an administrator, chose to bow out.

Phil decided to think small. In early 1999 he started Phil Roman Entertainment, a small animation company. He sees an advantage in being small in the world of big-animation studios. "As these media giants become larger," he says, "it becomes easier to crawl under the radar and get a pulse on taste."