🎙️ Episode 9 - Be Kooky. Be Yourself. Be Weird. - Justine Bannister

🎙️ Episode 15 Give it a go - Rich Staplehurst

For this episode, I sat down with Rich Staplehurst — actor-turned-creator, storyteller, and the mind behind projects like Rupert Regis & His Magical Bookshop, Chuck Loris, and Flo and Otto.  We talk about: ✨ From Performance to Creation Rich shares how a childhood shaped by entertainment, theatre, and storytelling eventually led him away from acting and toward writing and creating his own worlds. 📚 The Spark of an Idea From writing personalised stories during lockdown to building characters out of grief and memory, Rich reflects on how some of his strongest ideas came from very personal places. 🤝 The Power of Collaboration He explains why the best creative moments often happen at the beginning — when a character, a designer, and a story click into place — and why collaboration is what brings an idea fully to life. 🎢 The High and the Fatigue We talk about the addictive rush of early development, but also the fatigue that can come from living too long with your own idea and trying to carry it alone. 🧠 Human Stories vs. Algorithm Thinking Rich opens up about the tension between authentic storytelling and the increasingly data-driven, algorithm-led side of the industry, and why he still believes in the emotional value of stories built with care. 🌱 Building a Slate, Not Just a Show From Moonbug to his own projects, Rich shares how he’s thinking about original IP, adapted books, and creating work that can stand apart in a crowded market. 🌍 What Comes Next We also get into the bigger question of where the industry is heading, what kinds of stories will matter, and how both established and emerging talent can find space in what comes next. This episode is a candid, thoughtful look at the realities of making original work in animation today — the joy, the frustration, the business, and the human heart underneath it all. 🎧 Listen now — and if you want to join these conversations live, with animators and storytellers from around the world, come hang out with us inside The Toon Room: 👉 thetoonroom.com

🎧 Episode 14 Keep Moving - Rich Magallanes

For this episode, I sat down with Rich Magallanes — animation executive, storyteller, and longtime industry leader with deep experience across production, development, and network leadership. This conversation is as much about the person as it is about the job: how he got into animation, what shaped him, and why his guiding mantra has always been, “When the world’s closing doors on you, don’t say why me — say it’s on me.” We talk about: ✨ A Life Shaped by Instability Rich opens up about growing up in a family of five boys, navigating divorce, poverty, constant moves, and the feeling of having to figure things out on his own from a very young age. 🎬 Falling Into Animation He shares how he didn’t set out to become an animation executive, but gradually found his way into the industry through a mix of writing, production, live-action work, and eventually Nickelodeon. 📺 The Nick Years Rich reflects on rising through the ranks at Nickelodeon during the early years of SpongeBob, Fairly OddParents, Teenage Robot, and ChalkZone, and how he learned to work with creators, solve problems, and keep productions moving. 🤝 Leading Creatives Without Losing the Creative We talk about what it means to manage passionate teams, translate network notes across different creative personalities, and keep everyone aligned without losing the fun or the heart of the work. 💥 When the Work Stops Feeling Fun Rich opens up about reaching a point where the executive side of the job started to feel less creative and more like damage control — and what it meant to walk away when the role no longer felt right. 🛤️ The Power of Staying Open After leaving Nickelodeon, Rich describes how staying available, meeting people, and saying yes led to new opportunities. 🧠 “It’s On Me” The episode becomes especially personal as Rich traces how the loss, instability, and constant change of childhood shaped his mindset, his resilience, and his determination to keep moving forward no matter what. This is a candid, deeply human conversation about leadership, survival, creativity, and the reality of building a career in animation when life doesn’t come with a roadmap. 🎧 Listen now — and if you want to join these conversations live, with animators and storytellers from around the world, come hang out with us inside The Toon Room: 👉 thetoonroom.com

🎙️ Episode 13 - Find what success means to you - Cory Williams

For this episode, I sat down with Cory Williams — the one man powerhouse behind Silly Crocodile, early internet creator and one of the first people to turn YouTube into a full-time path — long before anyone really knew what that meant. But this conversation isn’t just about platforms or success. It’s about instinct. About believing in yourself and the originality of your own voice.  We talk about: ✨ Creating Your Own Path Cory was making videos before “content creator” was even a thing — driven more by curiosity and connection than any clear outcome. 🎬 Following the Shift From MySpace to YouTube, Cory talks about recognizing a change in how people connect — and having the courage to move with it.  🤝 Building Real Connection At the heart of it all is people. This isn’t about platforms — it’s about creating something honest enough that people resonate with it. 💡 Listening to Your Instincts Before there were rules or roadmaps, Cory relied on instinct — paying attention to what felt right, even when it didn’t make logical sense, like turning down a 5 million dollar offer.  This episode is about being human, about trusting yourself, staying open, and keeping track of why you do what you do. 🎧 Listen now — and if you want to join these conversations live, with animators and storytellers from around the world, come hang out with us inside The Toon Room: 👉 thetoonroom.com

🎧 Episode 12 - Pay Attention to Everything - Michael Lewis

For this episode, I sat down with Michael Shawn Lewis — storyteller, director, producer, and longtime creative force whose path runs from classical music and Broadway to animation, preschool television, and beyond. But this conversation isn’t just about credits. It’s about reinvention. About finding your own voice. And about what happens when you stop chasing the path you thought you should want and start making the work that actually matters to you. We talk about: ✨ Growing Up with Story Raised on a farm in Tennessee, Michael shares how animals, solitude, and observation shaped his earliest sense of communication and storytelling. 🎭 From Opera to Broadway He opens up about studying opera and conducting, then moving into musical theatre, performing in Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and on Broadway for years before realizing he wanted something more. 💡 The “Now What?” Moment After years in the grind of eight shows a week, and a major health scare that forced a hard reset, Michael reflects on the turning point that pushed him back toward his own creative voice. 🎬 Building Stories for Kids From theatrical producing to founding the New York Children’s Theatre Festival, Michael talks about discovering how deeply he loves creating with and for children. 🐸 Working with The Jim Henson Company He shares how his theater work led to collaborations with Henson, including projects like Splash and Bubbles, Word Party, Slumberkins, and Max & the Midknights. 🎨 Why Directing Matters Michael explains why directing became such a personal passion — because it lets him get closer to the heartbeat of the story and help shape its voice from the inside. 🧵 Story as Responsibility We also get into the bigger question of what stories are for, how they serve audiences, and why creators have to be responsible to the work rather than simply to their own ego. This episode is a warm, thoughtful, and deeply human conversation about creativity, pivots, collaboration, and the lifelong work of finding the story that is truly yours. 🎧 Listen now — and if you want to join these conversations live, with animators and storytellers from around the world, come hang out with us inside The Toon Room: 👉 thetoonroom.com

🎙️ Episode 11 - Never stop learning - Coco Nitta

For this episode, I sat down with Coco Nitta — music producer, tech founder at Kamik.ai — whose journey spans from the early days of the EDM renaissance in Los Angeles to building new tools at the intersection of AI and animation. But this conversation isn’t just about technology. It’s about perspective. About possibility. And about how creative tools reshape who gets to tell stories. We talk about: ✨ From Music to Machines Coco didn’t come from animation. He built a career in music — producing, writing, and working with major artists — before finding himself pulled toward AI through a deep curiosity about creative technology and its future. 🎧 The First Wave of Democratization Having lived through the transformation of the music industry — from gatekeepers to laptops — Coco draws direct parallels between the rise of digital audio tools and what’s now happening in visual storytelling. 🎬 The “Jurassic Park” Moment Coco describes seeing diffusion models for the first time as a turning point — similar to when Steven Spielberg first saw CGI dinosaurs. A moment where you realize: everything is about to change. 🚀 Lowering the Barrier to Creation AI isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about access. Coco explains how these tools allow creators to bring ideas to life without needing large teams, budgets, or traditional pipelines. ⚖️ Slop With easier creation comes oversaturation. We talk about the rise of “slop,” but also why this isn’t new — and why strong ideas and human perspective still rise above the noise. 💡 Creative Control in the Age of AI Rather than replacing artists, Coco’s approach focuses on empowering them — giving creators more control, faster iteration, and new ways to express what was previously locked in their heads. This episode is a conversation about shifts — not just in technology, but in who gets to create, how stories are made, and what happens when the tools finally catch up with imagination. 🎧 Listen now — and if you want to join these conversations live, with animators and storytellers from around the world, come hang out with us inside The Toon Room: 👉 thetoonroom.com