Terry Thoren is CEO of Wonder Media, which produces multimedia content for children at risk of falling behind before third grade. It’s the latest in a long list of companies that he founded or directed, all focused on family-friendly entertainment or educational materials. Thoren oversaw the production of “Rugrats,” “The Wild Thornberrys,” “Rocket Power,” “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters,” two “Rugrats” TV spinoffs and four movies for Paramount.
He will be one of 23 speakers at the TEDx presentation by Sno-Isle Libraries on Friday at Edmonds Center for the Arts. More information is at www.sno-isle.org/tedx.
Do you miss L.A.? How do you like living in Snohomish County?
Our animation studio is in L.A. So I commute and enjoy the best of both worlds, alternating between 5 days in the hustle and bustle of L.A. and then 10 days in beatific Snohomish.
Cartoonist Craig Bartlett, who also worked on “Rugrats,” grew up near here. Did he warn you about the rain?
Everyone warned me about the rain. I think it is an urban myth to keep people from Los Angeles away.
What is the mission of your WonderGroveLearn.com?
The mission is to use animated stories to model appropriate behavior for children ages 4 through 8 to prepare them for success. Our sweet spot is 16 Habits of Mind to help any child at risk of falling behind before third grade.
How old are you? Did you love animation when you were a kid?
I am 63 and yes, I loved animation as a kid. I loved Walt Disney’s epic movies, the Looney Tunes, Mighty Mouse and all of Tex Avery’s wild and zany cartoons featuring Droopy Dog or Screwy Squirrel.
What do you think about the TEDx talk format and how do you feel about being involved with this local event?
I am a big fan of the TEDx format. I am excited and honored to be involved.
If you could dine with anyone from history, who would it be and why?
John Wooden, the famed coach of the UCLA Bruins who won 10 NCAA basketball championships. He was a mentor and a teacher of young men. I have always followed and used his famous Pyramid of Success. Or filmmaker Francois Truffaut. When I was 12 years old I saw his film “The 400 Blows” and immediately decided not to be an ornithologist but to become a filmmaker. Or John Lennon.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Vegetable garden, cook, cycle and hike with my wife. Or play basketball while she swims.
What is your idea of happiness?
Spending quality time with my three adventuresome sons who gather together from their world travels once a year during December. We always carve out a 10-hour day for our annual “Father’s Day Olympics Decathlon.”
What are you wearing?
Black, Levi 501 straight-legged jeans and a purple shirt with button down collar. Same outfit for 25 years.
What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
During the Cold War I was the only person from the West allowed to attend the first USSR Animation Festival in Kiev, Ukraine. There I discovered a genius animator who lived on a farm in Leningrad and painted his animation frame by frame with oil on glass. I emptied my small suitcase and carried his 35mm print to the Motion Picture Academy in Hollywood and qualified it for an Academy Award nomination. Also, I love to paint pictures of wild birds. When I was a child I wanted to be an ornithologist until, at the age of 12. I grew up near the world’s foremost ornithology department at Cornell University. I went there on the weekends to study and draw birds. And I went to Woodstock.
What are your pet peeves?
Stellar jays who steal innocent eggs from the nests of other birds. People talking during movies, parking a car across two spaces or throwing cigarette butts in storm drains, a slow Internet connection and Los Angelenos who can’t drive in the rain.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Sunday breakfast at Jake’s Cafe in Snohomish. Sitting outside with a view of the river while enjoying a fresh seafood platter at Andy’s Fish House in Snohomish. I could never eat the whole platter in one sitting.
— Gale Fiege, Herald writer
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