What is Iwao Takamoto?
'''Iwao Takamoto''' (29 April 1925 - 8 January 2007) was a [[Japan]]ese-[[United States|American]] [[Animation|animator]], [[television producer]], and [[film director]]. He was a production designer for [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]] and the artist/character designer of [[Scooby-Doo]]. == Biography == Iwao Takamoto's father moved from [[Hiroshima]] to the [[United States]] for his [[health]]. He only went back to [[Japan]] once, and that was to [[marriage|marry]] his wife. Iwao Takamoto was born on April 19, 1925 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. After the bombing of [[Pearl Harbor]], Iwao Takamoto's family, like many Japanese-Americans, had to move to an [[Japanese American internment|internment camp]]. They spent the rest of [[World War II]] in the [[Manzanar]] internment camp. While he was there, Iwao Takamoto received basic [[illustration]] training from other people in the camp. Iwao Takamoto first started doing cartoons [[professional]]ly after the end of the war. He was hired as an assistant animator by Walt Disney Studios in 1947. Iwao Takamoto eventually became an assistant animator for the legendary Milt Kahl. He worked as an animator on such titles as ''[[Cinderella (1950 movie)|Cinderella]]'', ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'', and ''[[Lady and the Tramp]]''. Takamoto left Disney in 1961 and joined [[Hanna-Barbera]] shortly afterwards. He did many jobs there, but is probably best known as a character designer. He was responsible for the original character designs of such characters as [[Scooby-Doo]], ''[[The Jetsons|The Jetsons']]'' dog Astro, and Penelope Pitstop. He worked as a [[producer]] at Hanna-Barbera, supervising shows such as ''The Addams Family'', ''Hong Kong Phooey'', and ''Jabberjaw''. He [[Movie director|directed]] several feature-length animated films, including [[Charlotte's Web (1973 movie)|''Charlotte's Web'' (1973)]] and ''Jetsons: The Movie'' (1990). The inspiration for Scooby-Doo's creation as a [[Great Dane]] came from an employee