I’ve worked on a few good movies in my career. However, there are always those films you didn’t do, and you wish the heck you had. I would have washed cels on this particular film.

This past Friday evening, a bunch of animation professionals, fans, and geeks gathered together on the Warner Bros. studio lot. The reason? To celebrate an animated movie that shouldn’t have been made - yet somehow this impressive motion picture got produced anyway.

I was still working at Disney when “The Iron Giant” was released. While we worked away on ill-conceived, self indulgent, bloated budget projects, a motley crew led by writer/director, Brad Bird showed what animated film making could be.

Along with inspired leadership and a dedicated team, “The Iron Giant” provided a wake up call for the rest of us. Honestly, you didn’t need a crew of “geniuses” and a truck load of money to produce a stellar motion picture.

Finally, last Friday evening, Brad Bird reminded all of us that morale cannot be purchased with money. A very, very important lesson much of animation management has yet to learn.