Jim Jenkins urged Ohio State students to “be a Doug” during his speech, “Get Funnie,” at the Ohio Union Thursday.
Jenkins was an OSU graduate school attendee for photography and cinematography and creator of Cartoon Pizza Productions which created cartoons such as PB&J Otter, Stanley, JoJo’s Circus, Pinky Dinky Doo and the most popular, “Doug.”
The Nickelodeon, and later Disney cartoon “Doug” was the reason many OSU students came out to hear Jenkins speak.
Prior to Jenkins taking the stage, an episode of Doug was playing in the Performance room in the Union.
The quirky cartoonist began his speech by saying “Dear journal…it’s me Jim,” a line that would be repeated several times during his presentation.
Jenkins joked that during his childhood, he wanted to be a superhero, but didn’t have a name or any worthy powers.
The audience laughed at his zany comments throughout the event.
Jenkins wanted the audience to pursue everything with passion, much like the character Doug did.
“Doug is every kid, he is someone who makes mistakes, but does the right thing. Being like Doug can help you all charge forward with your majors, masters and careers. So I challenge you all to be a Doug,” Jenkins said.
During a Q-and-A part of the event, several students thanked Jenkins for making their childhoods entertaining while they spent many hours in front of the TV.
Two special guests, David Campbell and Greg Lee, accompanied Jenkins to OSU.
David Campbell assisted Jenkins in the creation of Cartoon Pizza Productions and characters of “Doug.” Greg Lee was the voice of Mayor Bob White in “Doug.”
Jenkins shared how the idea for “Doug” turned into reality.
He lived in New York City for a few months with no career or steady income. After a biking accident, he had a new perspective on life. He always doodled, so he wanted to create a place where he would be happy.
“I wanted to create a place where there was no overdue rent and no delinquent phone bills…a place called Bluffington,” Jenkins said.
The characters for “Doug” came alive at a small Mexican restaurant in NYC. Jenkins and Campbell were in a “margarita stupor” while they drew the characters, so their odd colors on the show came from intoxication Jenkins said.
Every character was created from an actual person or distortion of a person who Jenkins knew.
Patty Mayonnaise was made up of two girls from his childhood. Pam Mayo and Patty.
Jenkins had a real life Patty Mayonnaise who was the perfect girl for him, until years later when he found out she was married.
“Patty Mayonnaise is the perfect girl,” Jenkins said.
During the second half of the speech, Jenkins played game of trivia with three students. The winning prize was a “Doug” production cell. Production cells aren’t used anymore, because of computer technology, so it was a one-of-a-kind prize.
Jenkins ended his speech on a humorous note.
“In conclusion, I want to be a woman,” Jenkins said.
Although Doug isn’t on the air anymore, Jenkins brought him closer to students through his speech.
If you know Doug, you know me,” Jenkins said.
