When it comes to art and science, people don't like a lot of either. Instead of being open to it, they're closed off about it.

Working on 'Nightmare Before Christmas,' I had endless arguments, like the studio saying, 'You can't have a main character that's got no eyeballs!' 'How is anybody going to feel for somebody with just eyesockets?' You know? So, it's those kind of things that really wear you down.

In Hollywood, they think drawn animation doesn't work anymore, computers are the way. They forget that the reason computers are the way is that Pixar makes good movies. So everybody tries to copy Pixar. They're relying too much on the technology and not enough on the artists.

Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams?

I can't remember any dreams in my life. There's so much strange in real life that it often seems like a dream.

Things like 'mad as a hatter' or 'grinning like a Cheshire cat', are so powerful that music and songs incorporate the imagery. Writers, artists, illustrators, a lot of them have incorporated that.

Movies are like an expensive form of therapy for me.

When I was growing up, Dr. Seuss was really my favorite. There was something about the lyrical nature and the simplicity of his work that really hit me.

I think a lot of kids feel alone and slightly isolated and in their own world.

I did some sports. It was a bit frustrating. I wasn't the greatest sports person.