A "Curious" Reply

Matthew O'Callaghan


Reference Date: February 18th











When I took my four year old to see his first movie ever back in February, I knew it had to be a good one. (I can recall my first time at the movies. I went to see Walt Disney's "Robin Hood" at Radio City Music Hall when I was four, which started my love affair with the silver screen.)

I chose "Curious George" for a number of reasons, primary among them the fact that I loved the books when I was growing up, and my Dad used to read them to me from a braille version. I wasn't sure how my son would react to being in a movie theater, but he sat for 90 minutes in rapt attention. This film was delightful, the colors were vibrant, and the music added a lot to the film.

I wrote to the director of the film, Matthew O'Callaghan, a former animator for Disney and very talented artist, to thank him for making such a great film. The letter was sent in care of his agency and took a while to get to him, but I'm glad it did. Mr. O'Callaghan not only responded with a nice note, but he took the time to do a hand drawn potrait of Curious George (see above), which he inscribed with the words, "To the Lucas Family, All the best." What a nice thing to do, and it will be a treasured keepsake for my family, as well as a reminder to my son of the first movie he ever saw.

This is what Mr. O'Callaghan had to say in his note to me:

Chris,

Thank you so much for your letter.

I'm glad that you and your son enjoyed the film.

You asked me for advice. All I can say is, if you love this business, don't give up.

Be realistic, but never give up.

Good luck!

- Matt

I sent him a thank you card the next day.