1. I have been a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all my life, but I was wondering, what made you make the movie besides liking the comics?
—Dan J., age 13

Kevin Munroe: I was a huge fan too! To me, a lot of animated movies have become simply "funny animal movies." They're great movies, but as a fan of animation too, I knew that an animated movie could be more than just that. With TMNT, I wanted to show that a comic book superhero movie is another way to make animated films—gritty and cool movies. Plus, I wanted to make a good story about family.

2.How did you make the movie?
—Melany J., age 12

Kevin Munroe: We made the movie partly in Los Angeles (with 30 people here) and in Hong Kong (with about 400 people there!). We wrote the story and did all the designs and storyboards here in L.A. Then we used the Internet to upload the images to Hong Kong, where they would work while we slept and created the models, animation, textures, and rendering. We would talk on video conferences every night for about two and a half years. Then all that art would come back to the U.S., and we did the final touches with sound effects, music, and the score.

3.How do you make the [animated] figures seem real?
—Morgan S., age 9

Kevin Munroe: It's probably a combination of really good models (showing a lot of detail) and the incredibly hard work of the animators in Hong Kong. They don't have to be "real" feeling, but they should be "believable." That's what makes them real. If you did your job right as an animator, your character should look like they're thinking and acting on their own on screen. It's hard, but I think we did a good job.

4. If you could choose to play one of the parts on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who would you play?
—Gabriella W., age 11

Kevin Munroe: I would probably choose Raphael. I love that he knows he's right, and just acts on it. He's a very noble character, even though a lot of people just call him "the angry one." Plus, in this movie, he gets to dress up as the Nightwatcher and ride that cool motorcycle, taking out bad guys. Cool.

5. When you were young, did you ever think that you were going to make a movie when you got older?
—Lauren B., age 11

Kevin Munroe: I always loved to draw and write my own stories when I was younger. But I didn't realize that movies were an option until much later. Once I was in high school, I started making short films with a really big camcorder (when they used VHS tapes). I'm a pretty lucky guy now that I got this chance to do this.

6.Do you like making movies?
—Kimesha P., age 12

Kevin Munroe: I don't like it … I LOVE IT! It's really fun. You get to hang out with cool and creative people who just want to tell a good story. You get to work with really talented artists who can do things better than you can. It's fun to see a movie evolve. One day, it's just cue cards on a wall that tell the story, then it becomes drawings, then storyboards. Soon enough, there are models made and they're animating… and then COLOR comes on them. It's fun to watch the movie grow in front of you. But the best part of all is being able to work all those hours and then finally share it with a theatre full of people.

7. How do you make video games?
—Jeffrey S., 14

Kevin Munroe: Video games have become bigger and harder to make over the years. My first game had about 20 people working on it. You would almost never have a team that small anymore. It takes a lot of people and millions of dollars to make one these days. You usually have two parts—one is the PROGRAMMING and the other is the ART/DESIGN. Programming usually works on solutions to gameplay and how the game unfolds on screen. They usually do this with temporary (usually BAD) art. While they're doing that, the art and design department are making the levels, designing the look and then creating the art. It's a pretty big process and quickly catching up to movies in complexity.

8. Where do you get the ideas for your stories?
—Haley K., age 8

Kevin Munroe: Ideas are usually all around you. I like to tell stories that have a believable center to them. For instance, TMNT is about a family of brothers who fight, don't talk to each other, then make up at the end of the movie. Sounds simple, right? But then I like to add the imagination part on top of that—and setting that story in a world with ninjas and monsters. That's the fun part for me. Then, regardless of how crazy the movie or story gets, you'll always have that core part ("family" in this case) to fall back on. I find character traits in everyone I meet—friends, my own family and children, strangers, etc.

9. What do you enjoy most about your career?
—Ashley P, age 12

Kevin Munroe: I love that I get to work with my friends and have fun making stories and cool art. I love that, if all goes well, a lot of people get to see my work and have a good time watching it. More people should find what they love to do, and figure out a way to have a career in it. Don't do it for money or because someone else thinks it's the best thing for you. Find what you love to do, and do it. And candy, I love the free candy at work.

10. How can a normal person get into the film industry?
—Emily R., age 13

Kevin Munroe: Practice, practice, practice! It's the hard answer, but it's pretty much true. Think of it this way—we all have a LOT of bad ideas and drawings inside of us. The sooner you get those out of your system, figure out "why" they don't work, then the sooner you can move on to making good ones. The practical answer is just to learn as much as you can—when you're old enough, get a job as a Production Assistant or a gopher wherever you want to work. It's tough work, but it'll teach you a lot about the industry you want to be in. Creatively, just keep coming up with ideas, art or writing, and just keep practicing. You'll eventually develop your own style, then you're off to the races.

Check out the official TMNT Web site at http://tmnt.warnerbros.com









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