Meet Mike Kubat of OC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Kubat.

Hi Mike, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I fell into writing for animation by accident. Years ago, I called a creator friend, Danny Antonucci. He had just sold a show to Cartoon Network called ‘Ed, Edd n’ Eddy’. I said, “I want to be a writer” and was hired, then and there. Danny was tough, temperamental, demanding – it often felt like animation bootcamp. But there were good times, too. When jokes landed and characters popped. Laughing to tears at a stupid gag or line of dialogue. To be surrounded by and collaborate with so much crazy talent… I was hooked. From there I bounced from show-to-show, none as popular as the Eds, but all fun and challenging in their own ways. And then, at some point, my well of opportunity had run dry. I couldn’t get any work. Nobody seemed interested. It was disheartening.

I was working part-time in a law firm when I got an unexpected call from Disney Television Animation. Would I be interested in writing on a Mickey Mouse show for Disney Jr.?

That was 10 years ago. I’ve been writing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and all their friends (along with Spidey and his buddies, Magicampers and more) ever since. None of which makes any sense unless you’re in that magic age of 3-6 where fart jokes and banana peel slips are still comedy gold. Toss in a few laughs for the grown-ups (when I can get away with it) and that’s a good day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it’s never smooth in the creative lane. Always feast or famine. Heartache. Seeing great ideas squashed like bugs. People who have never done your job telling you how to do your job. Always hustling. Always competing with who you worked with on the last job. But that’s part of it. That part is essential. Somehow, finding a way through all those filters makes you better at your craft. And there’s always the sheer joy of creation. Typing ‘END’ on the current manuscript, already hungry for the next. It’s all worth it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, I sit at my desk in my pajamas most days, thinking up dad jokes and silly ways to make myself, er… I mean, kids laugh. Though I work with many talented writers and creative-types, I’d like to think I’m known for pushing gags and characters and always challenging myself and the show, just to see where we can take it. And specifically for writing songs into my scripts. Recently, I wrote an episode that’s mostly an opera. It’s one of the most ambitious things I’ve written. And the director, composer and crew really got behind it and now it’s my favorite thing ever. Well, that and a feature film script that will maybe turn into reality… maybe? It’s Hollywood. We shall see…

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
That’s a tough one. There’s been significant culling in Animation and Entertainment in general. And the ever-looming threat of AI replacing us all is no laughing matter. But… humans are creative. Machines are not. Creative folk have stuff to say and find ways to say them, no matter how the medium sways and shifts. So long as there’s new kids, there will always be a new audience that laughs and loves cartoons as much as I love making them. And that gives me hope.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mikekubat.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.kubat.3/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kubat-write-on/