I, Candy

2016 was a very difficult year. Although Buzzco had many commissioned projects, the company lost money because of clients who didn’t understand the necessity of firm approvals at various stages of drawn animation. The business had changed and we hadn’t kept up. Long time employee, Rick Broas, decided to leave animation and New York and return to his roots in Maine. I decided that I’d take 2017 off to make my last film, my farewell to animation.

I, Candy brought me back to making a completely personal film. This is the first time in years that I’ve animated on my own. Ever since we formed Buzzco Associates, I was responsible for the early stuff– design, storyboard, layout, but then I’d  hand the animation over to an animator– either my late partner Vincent Cafarelli or other animators, and most recently, animator Rick Broas. But with Rick’s departure, I found myself enjoying the zen of animation again!

This was supposed to be my last film– my farewell to animation, but I had such a good time making this film, it’s been followed by quite a few more! Both personal and commercial.

But I didn’t do all of it alone! Lanny Meyers returned to score the film, Leon Joosen made the voodoo dioramas, Sebastian Piras provided the live action filming, Michelle Madias of Beatstreet did the sound design along with many voices who helped me shape the story.

The cherry on the cake was its premiere at the Museum of Modern Art on April 23rd, 2018, which held "An Evening with Candy Kugel" including an interview with John Canemaker, who made it a lot of fun!