At the time, I was in Los Angeles, serving my apprenticeship at Walt Disney Studio. My mentor, Iwao Takamoto, he virtually was responsible for me being hired at Disney Studio. And then when I went to work as an apprentice animator, Iwao was my Sensei, my mentor. But he was strict. He had that, every little line, everything had to be perfect. So I would stand in front of him as he would correct my drawings. And sometimes I would just think, you know, my dad. Maybe I should have taken him up on getting a license so I could become a barber. Because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to cut the mustard with him.
We used to call him Iwo at the studio, because all the Hakujins, the Caucasians, “Ee-wah-wo” was a little hard to say, so they sort of said “Iwo.” “Iwo, Iwo.” So he became known affectionately in the industry as Iwo Takamoto.
Date: August 26, 2015
Location: California, US
Interviewer: John Esaki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
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