Joseph Barbera

“Despite the rejection, and in violation of all the rules, I came back year after year.”

“While I have never been a regular churchgoer, I'm anything but immune to the power and the majesty of the religious experience.”

“Bill Hanna and I owe an awful lot to television, but we both got our start and built the first phase of our partnership in the movies.”

“After I had done a handful of cartoons I was satisfied with, I started submitting them to the magazines.”

“When animators weren't sleeping, they were drinking.”

“I cannot say who, precisely, came up with the idea of a Stone Age family.”

“I don't know that I spent any more time alone than any other kid, but being by myself never bothered me.”

“You keep pitching. Most of the pitches run wild. A few are caught.”

“Creating fantasy is a very personal thing, but you can't take the process too personally.”

“My last days at MGM were like the fall of the Roman Empire in fast motion.”

“In those days, boxing was very glamorous and romantic. You listened to fights on the radio, and a good announcer made it seem like a contest between gladiators.”

“I first pitched the idea of doing a series of cartoons based on Bible stories. They didn't much like it.”

“Ted Turner sailed into the meeting, and I mean sailed. He holds himself as if he were at the helm of his sailboat, in the process of winning the race.”

“I was convinced there as only one actor to play Templeton the Rat, and that was Tony Randall.”

“I never got tired of Tom and Jerry, but I did have a dream of doing more with my life than making cartoons.”

“What the real world of 1941 needed most was the release and relief provided by laughter.”

“I learned long ago to accept the fact that not everything I create will see the light of day.”

“I hope we don't get to the point where we have to have the cat stop chasing the mouse to teach him glassblowing and basket weaving.”

“Making cartoons means very hard work at every step of the way, but creating a successful cartoon character is the hardest work of all.”

“Parents look at me like I'm somebody pretty important, and say, We were raised on your characters, and now we're enjoying them all over again with our children.”