For the animation fans out there, you have probably heard his name before. If not, you have most likely heard of his work. Genndy Tartakovsky was honoured at SCAD AnimationFest 2024 with the Award of Excellence for his amazing works, including Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2003), Samurai Jack, the Hotel Transylvania films, Primal and more. He gave an in-depth keynote and shared early rough sketches of his projects, starting from his first animated character in school.
Tartakovsky had a really deep conversation about his lifetime career so far. He detailed some of the ups and downs he faced in the industry. His presentation provided a cool look at his life and his work leading up to his latest endeavours of wrapping up Primal Season 2. He was also able to offer a sneak peek at an upcoming film project, Black Knight.
CGMagazine spoke briefly with Tartakovsky about how his decades of experience have helped him create great stories and stunning visuals in animation. He was also able to clarify some rumours about Primal Season 3 while teasing some of his other potential projects.
I have grown up with all of the shows you worked on: Batman The Animated Series, Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack. One of the things I noticed was how you are a trendsetter. You do what you’re passionate about. So, where does your inspiration come from in the more adult works such as Primal and Samurai Jack, which deal with loss, grief and mourning?
Genndy Tartakovsky: I think those two shows are separate for me, where [Samurai] Jack is really more about redemption and what it means to be a hero. And Primal is a man and beast relationship, but there’s so much loss and darkness. Of course, the two characters bond because of their shared experiences.
So we do deal with those things a lot, and so I think it’s all just sincerely what I like. I have liked samurai stuff since I was 10. Obviously, it’s not my culture, but I just fell in love with it. And I read everything about it. I watched all the movies, [and] read a lot of comic books about it. And so, it was engraved in me. So when I decided to make an action show, it was very simple. I knew I wanted it to be about a samurai and from there, I just started to build an idea.
And the same thing with Primal, I had a kid-like, originated as a kid writing this alien beast. It was like a six to 11 show, like a young show, and I liked the drawing a lot. It just didn’t go anywhere, like, I couldn’t get a story to click. And that’s a part of filmmaking. Sometimes, organically, an idea doesn’t work, and you want to be honest with it. Later, when adult animation became popular, I thought I could create an action show aimed at adults. And so I aged up the 6-11 [year-old] show to be a man.
I had these two big dogs, Saint Bernards, one of them passed away. And there’s this relationship you have with a big dog, right? So I wanted to [capture] that relationship. Then, I made a caveman and a dinosaur, and then I wanted to do this kind of Conan [the Barbarian]–inspired pulpy world. Then it came together, but not because anything’s popular. Nobody was yelling for a man writing a dinosaur show. It was just something that I wanted to do. And luckily, they agreed.
I love that it all connects so much. I love that these two series rely on visual storytelling with minimal dialogue.
Genndy Tartakovsky: That’s exactly right. And one inspired the next. When we did the adult Samurai Jack, and after it was very successful, everybody was like, ‘Oh, I like this sequence, or like that sequence.’ And all those sequences were the ones that are all visual. Then, it kind of clicked. How can I do a half-hour show that’s just made of those sequences? That’s when the new idea combined with the old concept of the kid and the little alien creature, and everything fell into place.
Animators and executives have discussed the variety in quality and quantity of creative projects. And I feel like all of your projects have been quality and quantity. I know numerous projects of yours have been shelved or have been in the works for some time, and it’s always sad to see your creative babies get shelved. How do you power through that and keep creating?
Genndy Tartakovsky: I mean, yeah, it’s super hard. But obviously, I’m very fortunate as I’ve got to make so many of my shows. [As for the] the quality versus quantity, unfortunately, it’s a business first. So you get money to make the show, and you try to make the best show for that money. I never wanted to be the kind of creator that’s like, well, I don’t care about the money. It’s not my money.
I’m just going to do the best show that I can, so they end up doing half the episodes that they are really responsible for. I don’t know if it’s just from my blue-collar background, but I always wanted to be on time, on budget, and deliver something outside what the price range really is. I’m trying to get every project to look as close to what I see in my head as possible. I’m trying to get every project to look as close to what I see in my head as possible. Sometimes, we get 70% there; sometimes, we get 50% there. But ever since Primal, we’ve been really close. We’re about 80%-90% of what it really is. It’s for television. It’s a miracle.
Last question: I know you can’t say much about the third season, but I’m glad to hear Primal Season 3 is moving forward as what some have called an ‘anthology’ series. It could be an interesting change-up. In terms of future projects, is there anything you could share on the recently talked about Safari Heist series pitched at Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2024?
Genndy Tartakovsky: For Primal, it’s Primal season three, but I’m not defining what it is. It could be an anthology; it could be something different. And then for Safari Heist, we did a live pitch in Annecy with Michael Ouweleen, who runs Adult Swim. And they liked it. They want to see more. I’m trying to finish up Primal and then trying to do some development on that. So, I think it’s around the corner.
Awesome, that’s great to hear! Thank you again for your time!
Genndy Tartakovsky: Yeah, awesome. Thank you!
