He is known for popular animated TV series such as Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Sym-Bionic Titan to name a few. But Soviet-born American animator Genndy Tartakovsky is not stopping there. Having made his big screen debut with Hotel Transylvania, which has topped the US box office and is hitting Indian screens today, the 42-year-old tells us over the phone from Los Angeles why he will never venture into live-action, his much-awaited next project Popeye and little bit that he knows about India.
 
How does it feel with the success of your debut film?
It feels good. You work so hard for one opportunity and one chance. It’s such a relief. There is a huge difference between TV and films. Here, you only have one weekend to prove yourself, while in TV, you get many episodes.

How was it working with Adam Sandler, who voices the lead character in the film?
He was really devoted to the lines. I was hoping he would improvise.
 
You are also working on a Popeye movie. How much of is it ready?
We just started the story. It’s an animation film that is really based on physical humour. The dialogues come from a lot of physical action. It’s very difficult to do that. Popeye’s got such a rich history and our biggest challenge is to make it as contemporary as possible. Animation wise, this is the first time a Popeye movie is being made. Hopefully, we will come out with it at the end of 2014 or 2015.

Have you seen any Indian animation?
I know that there are a lot of animation studios there. It’s a beautiful country and has a lot of history. I’d definitely try using Indian stories perhaps in the future. It’s a lovely world out there.

Will you ever venture into live-action or motion capture as well?
No. I believe animation is about creating from the scratch. Motion capture is for live action. I’d rather stick to animation than replicate it. I have lot of stories to tell in animation.