Eric Goldberg: The Guy from Cherry Hill

Tag : cherry
EG: As a teenager, I always gravitated to the Chuck Jones cartoons --and I love all the Warners directors -- because they made me laugh,and the animation was beautiful. Moreover, they made me laughbecause they were witty. Witty in their timing, their expressions,their staging (mostly by Maurice Noble ) and their verbal wordplay, so often provided by Mike Maltese . Jones had a way of being funny, elegant, and literate, all at thesame time, and for me that elevated the content of his cartoonsbeyond the belly laughs. I got to know him in earnest through Susan(Eric's wife), who was working for him on Mrs. Doubtfire , as well as through Chuck's associate producer Steve Fossati. Weused to visit Marion and Chuck with bagels and cream cheese inhand, and Chuck was a great boon to me through some of the moredifficult times on Pocahontas . During one meeting, where I was bemoaning executive involvementon the film, he looked at me matter-of-factly and said, 'Well, youknow, they'll always hate you because you can draw and they can't'-- words that have helped me many times over the years!
Eric attended Pratt Institute in New York City, and got his firstanimation jobs there. In 1975 he joined the ranks of RichardWilliams' grand effort forming on 46th St. to do the animatedmusical Raggedy Ann & Andy (1977).
EG: I had the world's worst interview with Richard Williams. Istammered and dropped my film reel, which unwound across the floor. Michael Sporn and Jim Logan teased me about it for years!
Eric became master animator Tissa David's lead key assistant, whoclaimed that "only Eric knows best how to clean up my Annies."After the production wrapped and the New York operation strucktheir tents, instead of drifting west to Hollywood, like most of usdid, Eric went east across the Atlantic to rejoin Dick Williams inthe U.K.
EG: After Raggedy Ann & Andy was done, I went out to L.A. to meet with Ralph Bakshi about getting a job as an animator on his Lord of the Rings . But before I could relocate my stuff, I got a call from DickWilliams in London. Dick said, "Oh! Don't go there! Come here toLondon and work for me. I need you to animate a pot-belliedkangaroo⬦" Now, who can turn down an opportunity like that? So Ipacked my bags to go to London.