Randy R. Haycock was 15, growing up in Grand Junction, Colo., when he went to the movies with his cousin and saw Disney's classical feature-length cartoon "Fantasia."
"My cousin said it was boring," Haycock said with a laugh during a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "But I knew right then that this was my calling in life. I said, `I've got to do that!' "Now, some 17 years later, Haycock is doing just that, as a supervising animator for Walt Disney Pictures.
For "Hercules," the studio's 35th animated feature, he supervised the animation of baby Hercules and teenage Hercules. And aside from his artistic talent, Haycock says his qualifications included having a baby and having been a teenager.
"I really wasn't cast on the baby originally," Haycock said, "just the teenage Hercules. Then, after my wife had a baby and I had taken some time off, I came back to work and they said, `Gee, we thought someone who had a baby should do the baby.
"Six months later we were in production, and our baby was just the right age to inspire the character in the film."
That Haycock had a daughter (named Riley) didn't slow him down - but he did run into trouble when he gave baby Hercules some of Riley's curly hair. "It became somewhat controversial at first. The other artists would say, `Hey, babies don't have hair like that.' And I said, `Well, mine does.'
"I was actually able to draw on my daughter quite a bit, just things that are cute about babies. I'd say, `I've got to use that!' You know, how she kicked her feet or how she giggled. When Hercules is beating up the snakes, it came from Riley and how she gets ahold of a toy."
And the teenage Herc? "That was me. What can I say? As a teenager, I was a nerd. I was clumsy and bad at sports - everything Herc is in the movie. Except that he's super strong. I had hands and feet that were too big, I was tall, skinny, gawky, awkward - there was a lot of remembering how I felt."
Despite his hearing the cartoon call at age 15, several years passed before Haycock pursued the muse seriously. After serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late '80s, Haycock watched as Disney's commitment to animation waned following the flop of its ambitious $25 million fantasy "The Black Cauldron."
So, he enrolled in film school instead, at Brigham Young University. "But I missed drawing, and all the time I was there I heard stories about how, especially being a Mormon, you have to make compromises to make it in Hollywood.
"About that time, `The Little Mermaid' came out, and my wife and I went to a big promotional deal that came through Provo (demonstrating Disney's new commitment to animation). And I said, `That's it! I've got to go to California.' "
Haycock turned in his partial scholarship at BYU, gathered every cent he could manage and was accepted into the animation program at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). "I guess they liked my portfolio, because I was one of 85 students in the program. It was really expensive, though. We took out a couple of loans."
One of his instructors there helped him land a job at Warner Bros. Television, which was doing Steven Spielberg's "Tiny Toons" and developing "Animaniacs." But television animation is largely produced overseas, and Haycock wanted hands-on experience. "All the time I really wanted to be at Disney, and I finally got a job there in 1992."
"Aladdin" was the first feature he worked on as an "in-betweener," someone who fills in what the animator has designed. Haycock was constantly being told that Disney didn't promote its artists, that it would be a long time before he became an animator himself. "But I kept telling everyone, `Nope, I'm going to be an animator in a year.' " And a year later, he was.
"It was rare back then, during `Aladdin,' but just after that they started to expand a little more. They ask you to do tests, of course - they don't make it easy. But I worked really hard and put in a lot of my own hours. That's what it takes, working hard and spending extra time to prove yourself."
These days, Disney has animation studios in Florida and Paris, as well as Los Angeles. And there are separate animation divisions for television and straight-to-video projects.
"In Paris, there are 21 or 24 animators, and there's a full crew of 40 or 50 in Florida. Here in Los Angeles, we have well over 100. And that's not counting artists - that's just animators."
Haycock said Disney always has about five film projects in various degrees of development. While one is beginning production, two or three others are getting ready and another may be in early stages.
And he's exactly where he wants to be. "When I was in film school, the thought that I would have to compromise my beliefs was a real problem for me. And I saw a lot of people working on the kind of films I told myself I'd never do.
"Working for Disney, in particular for Disney animation, I know we're going to make G-rated films. And I'm here because I don't have to compromise my standards. I work on films that are trying to teach children - and adults - good values."
Haycock also has high praise for his co-workers. "I've got a really good unit of animators working under me - and over me. The directors, the writers - it's a great group of people who really put themselves into it.
"And that's a big part of why the movies are so successful. Our hearts are completely into what we're doing. And it really shows."
Next up for Haycock? "Tarzan." And this time he gets to do the bad guy. "His name is Clayton, and he's the great white hunter, of course."