How Do You Come Up With A Name Like Eusta Diddoo?

Yoo'-stuh Did'-doo that is... It goes all the way back to '86 when I first thought of using a horse as the lead character in a cartoon. Not some heroic figure with a sidekick, but an everyday horse in a setting that would be natural. Bugs Bunny (my favorite) is just a rabbit who lives in the woods. The producers at Warner Brothers are still crafting scenarios for Bugs and his friends.

I dreamed up several situations that would allow a horse to enjoy the spotlight from a typical equine setting like a farm. I considered how the mane and tail, the hoofs, the shoes, the neigh and snorting sounds could play into the humor. His anthropomorphic nature would naturally lead to interactions with people and other animals that could form the basis of a sketch. A cast of supporting characters could ensure exchanges of a predictable nature and provide a foundation for many stories. This was all swirling around in my head without a name attached to the character.

A few days later a six-year-old told me of something he and his brother “used to did do.” My mouth dropped and my focus grew distant. Used to did do would be a great name for the horse! I can hear the cadence of a steady clop as I say the words. It needed a tweak on the spelling to make it into a name, and of course the “U” had to be shaped like a horseshoe. It all came together. Then it was almost 30 years before I wrote a single episode.

The current sketch started as a sample to create several different characters for use with different voices. All I was after was about a dozen different sounding voices. (It was a radio thing. Don't ask.) I drafted two different sketches and never actually used either for the intended voice work. Both of those lie dormant for another year until after a back surgery.

I actually had to practice sitting up. The two voice sketches provided a nice distraction by giving me something to type while sitting in proper posture. Both grew into tales with great detail and character development. One was a science fiction story about the cast of an anime getting kidnapped electronically and forced to play their character roles in the corresponding video game. Hiro Mac – Braided Dimensions will release at a later date. Naturally even the real people in one of my stories have to be cartoon characters. The other became a collection of cartoon scripts about a horse who works on a grain farm surround by all the beauty of Kentucky. He leads a double life by going into town at night to work for a pizzeria and take piano lessons from a neurotic dress-up artist. He then brings all the knowledge, food and technology he learns of back to the barn to share with his stable mates. They manage getting up to speed on the times without tipping off the humans who run the farm.

Eusta Diddoo was the most fun so I made that my first project. I penned 16 episodes and a full length feature as scripts. Then it was impossible to make the connection to sell it to any of the top animation producers. I still believe Disney would make a wonderful parent company. Some of the voices I hear for the characters work in animated Disney shows. I'll continue to wish upon that star for the future.

For now it's being convert into books to entertain adults who like cartoons as well as middle grade readers. It's laced with educational bits for the latter as well. The first ebook is on pre-order now with Amazon and will be available to read on June 10th. Feel free to use the email address at the upper left to let me know how you enjoyed it.

Thanks for stopping in
- Jonra Springs