Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Before I found my way into animation, I worked in live action as an editor for documentaries. Due to the hours and nature of the work, I became nocturnal and extremely lonely. SO! I challenged myself to find something less vampire-like and more in line with my own creative spirit. After a stint living in Ireland in search of “myself” and then coming back to L.A. to further my education with an expensive degree from USC in blazer-wearing and Hollywood-exec-ing, I realized everything I ever made had a bit of animation or magical-realism at the core of it.
So, coming out of USC, I followed that passion and searched out animation companies that might be the right fit. I began my career in animation as an executive, working in features at Illumination Entertainment on the Minions and Despicable Me franchises and The Secret Life of Pets. From there I worked at Hasbro Studios as a television executive, where I got to hire all the writers I couldn’t when I was in features. From there, I stepped off the financial-stability cliff to pursue writing (something I’d been doing on the side) as a full-time career path.
I am happy to say, it’s working out! I’ve written for Nickelodeon, Netflix, DreamWorks, and Disney. Currently, I’m the head writer on an original series for Nickelodeon. It wasn’t easy, and there was a moment where I completely ran out of money and was ready to liquidate my 401(k) to keep going. But overall, the risks have paid off. Not only is this path creatively rewarding, through it I have met some of the best humans and made amazing lifelong friends.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
I don’t know that this is specific to animation, but I have found that the collective consciousness tends to box people in. If you work in features, you’ll have a hard time jumping to television. If you write in kids, you’ll have a hard time getting a job writing on an “adult” series. If you haven’t done a job yet, everyone worries you won’t be able to do it. The challenge we all face is to not fall in with the crowd and believe what “they” say. If you want to make a leap, find the way. Yes, you might be the one forging the path; yes, it’s a risk; yes, people will doubt you can do it—so what? Keep going. There are gatekeepers everywhere, don’t become one of them. Be the person who looks for the way in and then sends the map back out for others.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
Pepper Ann. I know she’s a ’90’s cartoon, but hear me out! She was weird and funny and had big unruly hair (just like me!) and yet they still gave her her own show. I watched her every Saturday morning, and I loved her chaotic spirit. She marched to the beat of her own instrument of weird and was having a great time doing it. She inspired me to do the same. As a writer, I also draw a lot of inspiration from the artists Matthew Inman and Allie Brosh. Their voices are so tightly crafted, and they both manage to weave insight and self-reflection and hilarity into every inch of their work. I love how they underscore playfulness with the profound.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
I want to make mistakes publicly. What I mean by this is I am fueled by trying new things. I like taking risks that go against the norm; I like creating work that puts a slightly odd perspective on that thing you look at every day. To do that, I have to make a lot of mistakes and fail publicly and get loads of rejection. I hope I never tire of that and never grow so afraid of doing it in front of people that I stop. I hope to keep working so I can keep hiring others who do the same and inspire mistake-making in others. In this way, maybe we can create an exponential number of mistakes from which a tiny blip of brilliance might emerge.
What does being a shop steward in the Union mean to you?
As a steward, I want to use the skill sets I’ve picked up working on both sides of the table: the exec side and the writing side to help my fellow writers and artists understand their own rights and value their unique skill sets. I want to help my fellow Guild members advocate for themselves and educate our reps and execs on how to advocate for us, as well. I have loved being in the union because it’s given me access to people I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet otherwise. We have a collective voice and we have highly specialized skills that we bring to these jobs. I am excited to remind y’all how fantastic you are and how to get PAID for it.
Follow McAllister on Instagram at @cmcalli1.
She also has an Etsy store, The Abstract Biologist, where she sells abstract science art based on her grandfather’s microscopic slides of diseases he researched when he was a scientist in the 1950s.
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