--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a strange business, and…" description: "\"It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.\" — Lee Unkrich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg" --- # It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in… ![“It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.” quote by Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg) > “It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.” [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Animation work often feels opaque, especially for directors who must translate abstract ideas into visual stories. **In simple terms:** Animation can be mysterious, especially for directors. Key Takeaway Seek clarity and communication in creative teams. Themes creativity leadership communication Mood curious reflective Type insightful analytical When to use this quote - film production meetings - director-animator workshops - creative brainstorming sessions Key Concepts visual storytelling creative process collaboration Questions to Reflect On - How can teams make abstract creative concepts more tangible? - What tools help directors convey vision? A Different Perspective Even with effort, some artistic decisions remain subjective and hard to quantify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) [Animation Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation-mystery-3790365/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Directors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directors/) [Especially Directors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/especially-directors-3790366/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-business-469075/) [Unfortunately Animation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunately-animation-3790367/) ## Related quotes > [Painting is a strange business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-w-turner/painting-is-a-strange-business/) [J. M. W. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-w-turner/) > [Music is kind of a strange business, and it's too weird of a job to have mean, conniving people around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-e-clark/music-is-kind-of-a-strange-business-and-it-s-too-weird-of-a-job-to/) [Annie E. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-e-clark/) > [“No one can ever know the inner parts of anyone else’s marriage. It’s a strange business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-courtney-sullivan/no-one-can-ever-know-the-inner-parts-of-anyone-else-s-marriage-it-s-a/) [J. Courtney Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-courtney-sullivan/) > [Acting is a strange business; one day it's there, and the next day nowhere to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-is-a-strange-business-one-day-it-s-there-and-the-next-day/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Money is a strange business. People who haven't got it aim it strongly. People who have are full of troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayrton-senna/money-is-a-strange-business-people-who-haven-t-got-it-aim-it-strongly/) [Ayrton Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayrton-senna/) > [You sit here for days saying, this is a strange business. You're the strange business. You have the energy of the sun in you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-sit-here-for-days-saying-this-is-a-strange-business-you-re-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I work in a strange business, and trust is a word that's not even in the vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-basinger/i-work-in-a-strange-business-and-trust-is-a-word-that-s-not-even-in/) [Kim Basinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-basinger/) > [Nothing, perhaps, is strange, once you have accepted life itself, the great strange business which includes all lesser strangeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/nothing-perhaps-is-strange-once-you-have-accepted-life-itself-the/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [“You sit here for days saying, This is strange business. You’re the strange business. You have the energy of the sun in you, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-balkh/you-sit-here-for-days-saying-this-is-strange-business-you-re-the/) [John Balkh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-balkh/) > [Radio is a really strange business now, too. There's a very narrow door and a very few people control what gets played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/radio-is-a-really-strange-business-now-too-there-s-a-very-narrow-door/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [You can tell a story clearly in the storyboards, but if you don't keep the correct focus in the animation, it can be ruined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/you-can-tell-a-story-clearly-in-the-storyboards-but-if-you-don-t-keep/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [One of the tricky things with animation is, because we spend four years on the movie and everything is done so methodically day by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/one-of-the-tricky-things-with-animation-is-because-we-spend-four/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [ Learn how to draw. It's the basis of what we \[animation directors\] do. Keep a sketchbook. Try making a very simple little film. Try… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-musker/learn-how-to-draw-it-s-the-basis-of-what-we-animation-directors-do/) [John Musker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-musker/) > [I had worked for a lot of directors whose work I didn't respect, and as I was editing material, I was thinking about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-had-worked-for-a-lot-of-directors-whose-work-i-didn-t-respect-and/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [If I'm doing a voice-over session, like animation or something, and I'm doing three different voices, you've gotta separate them. You've gotta find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/if-i-m-doing-a-voice-over-session-like-animation-or-something-and-i-m/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) ## More by Lee Unkrich > [If you look at the beginning of children's entertainment in literature, the first books that were written for kids were cautionary tales. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/if-you-look-at-the-beginning-of-children-s-entertainment-in/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [At Pixar, I don't have to compromise at all. When I look at the finished "Toy Story 3," I don't sit and constantly think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/at-pixar-i-don-t-have-to-compromise-at-all-when-i-look-at-the/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [I grew up loving watching movies, and at a certain point, I started to become fascinated with making movies. Then I went to film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-grew-up-loving-watching-movies-and-at-a-certain-point-i-started-to/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [I had worked for a lot of directors whose work I didn't respect, and as I was editing material, I was thinking about how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-had-worked-for-a-lot-of-directors-whose-work-i-didn-t-respect-and/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [Finding a good kid actor is like finding a needle in a massive haystack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/finding-a-good-kid-actor-is-like-finding-a-needle-in-a-massive/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [I love movies that are funny and scary and truly emotional all in one film, and I don't feel like I see movies like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-love-movies-that-are-funny-and-scary-and-truly-emotional-all-in-one/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [People talk a lot about Pixar going off the rails. A lot of people are saying they aren't happy that we are making sequels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/people-talk-a-lot-about-pixar-going-off-the-rails-a-lot-of-people-are/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [I think the moment you try to make a movie for kids, you make garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-think-the-moment-you-try-to-make-a-movie-for-kids-you-make-garbage/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [You can be stuck for two weeks on a problem, and then you get the right couple of people in a room, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/you-can-be-stuck-for-two-weeks-on-a-problem-and-then-you-get-the/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [I just ended up focusing on film editing as I was getting my career started. I'm very passionate about editing and will continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/i-just-ended-up-focusing-on-film-editing-as-i-was-getting-my-career/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [My favorite film is 'The Shining,' mostly because it was the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/my-favorite-film-is-the-shining-mostly-because-it-was-the-film-that/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [Every one of us at Pixar is worried that we're going to be the one to make the dud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/every-one-of-us-at-pixar-is-worried-that-we-re-going-to-be-the-one-to/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [Kids don't have the same sense of their own mortality as adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/kids-don-t-have-the-same-sense-of-their-own-mortality-as-adults/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [It wasn't the first film to show a kind of alternate vision of suburbia, but it left an indelible impression, I think, on everybody,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/it-wasn-t-the-first-film-to-show-a-kind-of-alternate-vision-of/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) > [If we can tell a good story with characters audiences can care about, I'd like to think that prejudices can fall aside and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/if-we-can-tell-a-good-story-with-characters-audiences-can-care-about/) [Lee Unkrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) [Explore all 82 Lee Unkrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/) ## More Animation quotes > [If I'm doing a voice-over session, like animation or something, and I'm doing three different voices, you've gotta separate them. You've gotta find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/if-i-m-doing-a-voice-over-session-like-animation-or-something-and-i-m/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [I was always into cartoons and animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nonito-donaire/i-was-always-into-cartoons-and-animation/) [Nonito Donaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nonito-donaire/) > [What's unique about Disney Animation, many of the films have this perennial quality about them. They don't seem like old films, they still seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/what-s-unique-about-disney-animation-many-of-the-films-have-this/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [I was always tinkering around with stuff but nothing serious at the time. I was doing animations and drawing like crazy, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-vangaalen/i-was-always-tinkering-around-with-stuff-but-nothing-serious-at-the/) [Chad VanGaalen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-vangaalen/) > [In feature animation, cartoony or exaggerated animation is almost taboo. There is this precedent that if you do that kind of stuff people won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genndy-tartakovsky/in-feature-animation-cartoony-or-exaggerated-animation-is-almost/) [Genndy Tartakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genndy-tartakovsky/) > [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I took a lot of influences from Studio Ghibli, which is the Japanese animation studio that made 'Spirited Away' and 'Castle in the Sky.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-took-a-lot-of-influences-from-studio-ghibli-which-is-the-japanese/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [I've worked in animation for a long time. I started in Spain and I wanted to make feature films. That desire to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-garcia/i-ve-worked-in-animation-for-a-long-time-i-started-in-spain-and-i/) [Raul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-garcia/) > [If you were to look at an old 'Betty Boop' cartoon or an 'Out of the Ink Well' animation, there are many things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-seibert/if-you-were-to-look-at-an-old-betty-boop-cartoon-or-an-out-of-the-ink/) [Fred Seibert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-seibert/) > [Animation has always been about technology. You can't have animation without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wedge/animation-has-always-been-about-technology-you-can-t-have-animation/) [Chris Wedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wedge/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Tigress is my alternate personality, especially with children. I love animation because you get to do things you don't normally get to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-yuh-nelson/tigress-is-my-alternate-personality-especially-with-children-i-love/) [Jennifer Yuh Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-yuh-nelson/) > [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) [Browse all 837 Animation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Unkrich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunately-what-we-do-in-animation-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunately-what-we-do-in-animation-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/lee-unkrich-8261_animation_it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunatel_2039855.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a strange business, and unfortunately, what we do in animation is a mystery, especially the directors.” — Lee Unkrich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Unkrich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-unkrich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a strange business, and unfortunately,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunately-what-we-do-in-animation-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-unkrich/it-s-a-strange-business-and-unfortunately-what-we-do-in-animation-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```