I spent the last blog talking about the history of DIC and its place in Hollywood as a cheap, artistically bankrupt (and literally bankrupt) establishment for terrible daytime kids’ cartoons. But some talented people in the film and television industry have actually passed through the studio before ultimately going on to greater things, including people who went on to work for Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks and Pixar. I wanted to point out some of them. If anything, this might inspire you. Terrible jobs don’t last forever. Better and more creative things were definitely on the horizon for many of these people.

Floyd Norman

Disney, Pixar, Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears artist

Jerry Rees

CG animator on Tron and director of The Brave Little Toaster

Bill Kroyer

CG animator on Tron and director of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

John Kricfalusi

Character designer on Heathcliff and The Smurfs who went on to found animation studio Spümcø and create The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil and The Ren & Stimpy Show

Eddie Fitzgerald

Director and writer on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and Tiny Toon Adventures

Byron Vaughns

Director on Tiny Toon Adventures and The Pink Panther

Larry Houston

Director and producer on X-Men: The Animated Series

J. Michael Straczynski

Developer and writer on Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors and The Real Ghostbusters who went on to create Babylon 5 and write several comics for DC, Marvel and Top Cow.

Chuck Lorre

Writer on Pole Position and The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil and developer of Heathcliff who went on to create the sitcoms Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Young Sheldon and The Kominsky Method.

Vicky Jensen

Director of Shrek, Shark Tale and Spellbound

Kelly Asbury

Storyboard artist on The Littles and artist at Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks who directed Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2, Gnomeo & Juliet, Smurfs: The Lost Village and UglyDolls

Arna Salznick

Director of The Care Bears Movie and several episodes of Nelvana’s animated TV adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear

David S. Smith

Storyboard artist for The Disney Afternoon and several straight-to-video Disney films and animated DreamWorks movies

Andrew Knight

Storyboard artist on Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff who went on to direct Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and create the TV shows Ned’s Newt, Pig City and Get Ed

Bill Perkins

Animation supervisor on Ewoks, animation director on The Flintstones Kids and The Smurfs and character designer on Brandy & Mr. Whiskers

Dale Schott

Director on Ewoks, Babar and Rupert, animation supervisor on DuckTales and storyboard artist on Hotel Transylvania: The Series

Alan Bunce

Director of Babar: The Movie and several episodes of Beetlejuice

J.D. Smith

Storyboard artist on Inspector Gadget and developer and head writer for The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police

Joe Pearson

Background designer for The Littles who went on to become background designer on Rocko’s Modern Life, producer and director on Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys and director on Kong: The Animated Series

Alex Mann

Director of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas

Douglas McCarthy

Character designer and storyboard artist on The Littles, Care Bears and Dennis the Menace who would go on to storyboard for Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, Duck Dodgers, The Proud Family, The 7D and Sofia the First as well as direct several episodes of Taz-Mania, the short film Carrotblanca and An Extremely Goofy Movie

Ed Wexler

Character designer on The Littles who would go on to produce and direct Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year and become a character designer on Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Chuck Harvey

Storyboard artist on The Littles who animated for Disney and Don Bluth in the seventies and eighties before storyboarding for She-Ra, Ducktales and The Tick

David Marshall

Care Bears director and Heathcliff artist who would go on to become animation director on The Butter Battle Book, Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs, director on Animaniacs and The X’s and animation supervisor on Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites

Kathy Altieri

Background designer on The Littles and color stylist on Rainbow Brite who would go on to design backgrounds for The Little Mermaid and The Lion King and become a production designer on How to Train Your Dragon