The following is an interview with Frank Forte regarding the launch of his new YouTube-based project, The June of Goon. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Forte about the inspiration behind the online initiative, the creative process in working with various animators to bring the project to life, the launch of Goon Cartoons’ website and YouTube redesign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the launch of your new YouTube-based project, The June of Goon! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about this new online initiative, and what was the inspiration behind the project?
Frank Forte: The June of Goon is a promotion to create 30 cartoons in 30 days. We started off with a bang and maybe missed a few days here and there, but the animators and myself were working crazy hours. 12 hour days for sure. We tried to get a head of the game by creating as many cartoons as we could in May. I wanted to challenge myself to figure out a streamlined way to create cartoons. YouTube’s algorithm favors people who upload daily. That’s not easy for an animation channel.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in working with various animation creators to bring The June of Goon to life?
FF: There are about 10-15 people. I supervise or direct all of the shorts. All the animators are working remotely. There are all over the world. The voice actors work from home and record using mics or even just an iPhone in a quite room. It all seems to work. For many of the shorts, we create them as an animated Vlog, meaning it’s the animated character looking into a cam and talking to the viewer. This style makes it easy for us to create the animation on a reasonable time table. Buck Billy, Cosmic Kandi, and The Devil are all Vlog-style cartoons. Then, we have “tentpole” cartoons like Pigglesworth or The Ultra Mega Super Squad; these take more time to create, have more full animation and more characters. So we like to mix it up.
Some samples:
BD: At Fanbase Press this year, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that The June of Goon will connect with and impact readers, and why do you feel that this story was important for you to bring to life?
FF: For June of Goon, these stories are strictly comedy shorts. We are working on some socially conscious videos, but they aren’t currently part of the line-up. The Pissed Off Possum has commented on the COVID-19 and Lockdown situation, but in more of an angry, comedic rant. He’s angry that the politicians who seem to not know what’s going on, or know what to do. We are a comedy channel, so you have to be careful not to poke fun at a movement as serious as Black Lives Matter. We’ve hashtagged #BlackLivesMatter on some of our vids to show support, but people are dying, so it’s not something we would ever do a satire of or want to make light of.
BD: Given that this month also marks the launch of Goon Cartoons’ website and YouTube redesign, what do you hope that readers will take away from your work?
FF: The goal is to attract long-term subscribers to our channel. We want viewers to see us as a place for original comedy animation. I feel our work is similar to what you see on Adult Swim, SyFy’s TZGZ animated block, old Liquid Television or Wonder Showzen. We make cartoons for adults. If you’re a fan of Robot Chicken, Rick and Morty, or Ren and Stimpy, you’ll like our stuff.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
FF: Our next big launch will be for Episode 1 of The Ultra Mega Super Squad, our super team reality show parody. This is like an episode of the Superfriends if there was a reality show crew inside the Hall of Justice. But the superheroes are all disgruntled and damaged. Aside from the leader, Captain Fantastic and his number 2, Gamma Woman, the rest of the team doesn’t want to be there. They’re just getting a paycheck. We have the teaser trailer up, and episode one is almost finished.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Goon Cartoons, The June of Goon, and your other work?
FF: Mainly, I would say visit our YouTube channel and subscribe.
With our June Of Goon promotion coming to an end, Goon Cartoons will go back to our MWF release schedule. We have many new cartoons in the works, including The Ultra Mega Super Squad, Pissed Off Possum, The Devil, Buck Billy, Cosmic Kandi’s Like Total EDM Vlog, and more!
My personal website
https://frankforte.com/
