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Interview: John Lanza - The Money Mammals |
John Lanza is the Chief Executive Officer of Snigglezoo. John has more than 14 years of management, marketing and sales experience in entertainment and media. John produced the Emmy� Award Winning hit children's television show, "Life With Louie" for Fox Kids Network, helped sell the current animated television hit, "The Proud Family," to the Disney Channel and produced the DVD Premiere Award nominated animated feature, "The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina" for Miramax. John and his wife, Eileen, a real estate agent for Prudential California, are the proud parents of the precocious inspirations for The Money Mammals, Quinn & Kellyn Lanza.
I had the opportunity to interview John and ask him some questions about his latest creation: The Money Mammals DVD.
Fatherville: "What motivated you to produce the Money Mammals DVD? In other words tell us a little bit about the vision behind creating the DVD series?
JL: When my wife, Eileen, and I had our first daughter, Quinn, we started thinking about how we were going to teach her about the value of money. Coming from entertainment, we immediately thought of the idea to teach kids using story and song. We did our research and found out two key things. There weren't any entertainment offerings like The Money Mammals and we needed to start as young as two, because that was the point at which advertisers were starting to target young children in earnest to "spend, spend, spend."
Fatherville: How did you decide on the various characters? You must have had a lot of ideas for characters how did a pig, a monkey, a marmaset, and a camel bubble to the surface?
JL: Joe the Monkey was a character I'd had in my head for a long time, though he wasn't part of a band or anything. He was the natural choice to be the hero of the show; kids and adults just seem to love monkeys. Having a piggy bank made sense and he quickly developed into the true "unit" (shorthand for quirky personality in our family) of the show. Clara was originally Zora the Zebra, then Zora J. Horse and finally, Clara J. Camel. I went with a camel because they're known for storing or "saving" nourishment for long desert journeys. Marmoset is really a monkey, not a marmoset (a relative of the monkey). I just thought the name was cute. Frugal McCougal was fashioned after a dust brush.
Fatherville: How long did it take to create each of the characters? How long did it take to produce the DVD?
JL: The characters were developed over a long period of time because we did a pilot (not a very good one, I might add) as a proof of concept for our production method. We learned a lot from our pilot.
Fatherville: How did you come up with the name Money Mammals?
JL: The show was originally called "Joe The Monkey," but our terrific Story and Educational Advisor, Vicky Ariyasu, suggested we come up with a name that clarified the show's message.
Fatherville: What age groups are best suited for the Money Mammal's DVD?
JL: 2-6 year old kids. The music seems to work well for 25+ year-old fathers as well (not to mention mothers and grandparents).
Fatherville: Besides the pure entertainment of watching the DVD are you also trying to teach kids specific lessons through the stories? Talk a little more about that please.
JL: We definitely try to teach kids by entertaining them. Via the first show, we hope that they start to understand the difference between needs versus wants. We also want them to start to understand how to share, save and spend their money smart. By seeing the characters initially fail but then rise to the challenge, we hope kids will begin understand these concepts. Of course, parents play a pivotal role in making these lessons stick. That's why we added the DVD bonus section, "Just For Parents," and it's why our site, www.themoneymammals.com , and newsletters are chock full of information to help parents carry forward the lessons from the show into their kids' lives.
Fatherville: In your opinion what are some of the biggest challenges that young kids face today?
JL: Distilling the mass media messages aimed at them at such a young age and just plain having fun. Getting into a good preschool is very important, don't get me wrong, as are extracurricular activities, but let's remember to just let our kids have fun as much as possible when they are young. That's why we wrap our message in entertainment. I think we all learn best when we're enjoying ourselves.
Fatherville: As you think back over the process of creating this DVD what was the biggest surprise? What was something you never anticipated?
JL: The incredible talent that our puppeteers possess. As I mentioned, we created a pilot that my wife, brother and I performed in. We learned a lot and doing it was priceless, but it certainly wasn't ready for prime time. Hiring great puppeteers made all the difference.the show came to life.
Fatherville: Who were your childhood heroes?
JL: Like many 70's kids, Star Wars made an impact and I thought Han Solo was pretty cool. And Fred Rogers was really great. Ultimately, though, my dad and mom are probably my biggest heroes. They have been relentless in their support of anything I wanted to do. I think that's what ultimately led me to make The Money Mammals happen. They also instilled a sense of humor in me that I think is essential in dealing with whatever the world throws at you.
Fatherville: Who are your heroes today?
JL: Oprah Winfrey's ability to use her pulpit to promote social good is incredible (her "Debt Diet" series is instrumental in breaking down the taboo of parents discussing money-issues with their kids). Though he turns a lot of people off, I think Mark Cuban is a gifted and focused marketer. What he's helped do to the moribund Mavericks is proof that good ownership changes everything in sports. Warren Buffett and Bono also rank pretty high on my list. And, lastly, Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) has probably had the greatest impact on my life by showing both me and my kids that silliness can be an essential part of learning.
Fatherville: Are there more Money Mammal DVD's planned?
JL: There certainly are. We have most of the second show pre-production done and we have concepts for many more to follow.
Fatherville: Are you living your dream? Is producing children's DVD's where you envisioned yourself being ten years ago?
JL: I've known since about the 8th grade when I wrote a children's book (though not exactly part of the children's lit canon), that I would make my mark in children's entertainment. I was a camp counselor during my high school and college summers because I loved interacting with kids. I came to LA to produce animation for kids and really enjoyed it. Ultimately, though, it's only your own show about which you can be really passionate. I am supremely lucky to have a wonderful family and now I've embarked on a mission to help our next generation. It does feel like a dream.until our one-year-old's teething pain kicks in at 3am.
Fatherville: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your passions, hobbies, goals for the future.
JL: This may sound odd coming from someone who produces videos for a living, but I love to read and, more importantly, I love passing on the love of reading to my children. I don't get to read as many books as I'd like, but I read a lot of magazines and newspapers. As you might suspect, my primary goal is to build The Money Mammals into something that will impact as many children as possible (and their families). We anticipate releasing The Money Mammals beyond our borders as well - we think (or should I say hope) they'll have worldwide appeal. I also love playing board games and basketball. I'm from New Jersey, so I'm hacker. Watch out.
Fatherville: Did your parents teach you about the value of money and saving it?
JL: My parents and I didn't discuss money very much. I think this was the case for a lot of people in my generation, hence the reason so many of us (and, frankly, our parents) aren't very good with money. The generation before my parents, the so-called "Greatest Generation," lived through the depression, so I think the value of money was ultra-clear to them. We need to get the American savings rate up to at least 10%. Right now, it's stuck below -1% (that's NEGATIVE one percent). That's right, we're spending more than we take home. We have a long way to go and we only hope that The Money Mammals can make an impact on the next generation of kids.
Fatherville: Thank you John. I really appreciate you and the time you spent with us.
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