Dylan’s WWE Figures had a chance recently to connect with an incredibly talented animator, Captain McKay Random, who’s YouTube page is a must watch. Make sure you’re following him on Instagram, @CaptainMcKay, but equally as important, read our interview.
Q: What is your process for deciding storylines?
A: Basically it’s just whatever interests me. Sometimes they’re based on actual storylines I’ve seen, whether it’s wrestling or from comics, TV, etc. Then I alter things to apply it to what I’m going to need for the animation I want to create. I look at it and think, if I can make it work the way I want it to, then I’m gonna go ahead and do it.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the dream matches in JWF?
A: It’s something wrestling fans always speculate. It’s always “this guy was better than that guy” or “I want to see X fight Y, both in their primes, that’d be cool!” I’m no different – I think seeing Bret Hart against Kurt Angle, with both at their peak, would be an awesome match that would probably be a favorite of mine. So, I decided I would take a shot at making my own versions of these dream matches.
Q: How about the return of JWF Warzone in the near future?
A: Possibly. JWF took on a life of its own, and there are a lot of people who mention it to me, almost daily, and say they want it to come back again. And yet, JWF videos don’t get the types of views that some of my other videos get. So it becomes “do I take time and put effort into making something with an audience that only a limited amount of people watch” vs “do I take a chance, spend time on a new idea, and see what happens.” There’ll be more JWF for sure, but I can’t say exactly when.
Q: You mentioned Kurt Angle in your second answer, I’m curious, will we see him returning to JWF?
A: Most likely. Kurt’s too good not to use.
Q: What was your motivation behind the picture federation version of JWF?
A: Boredom, mostly. Plus I always liked storytelling, and wrestling booking is a great method of storytelling. So that wound up being a good hobby of mine for about two years or so.
Q: One promo which I especially enjoyed was the spirit lives promo. Was Sting always a part of that plan or was it meant for someone else to be involved?
A: The Spirit Lives promo was originally just an Undertaker promo, never intended to be for anything other than just a test run animating Mattel figures. That video was the first time I’d animated any WWE Mattel stuff, so it was just me messing around. When the time came for One Night Only, I decided to take that promo and insert it into the storyline as the angle that everyone saw, where someone is using that promo to get inside Undertaker’s head. And yes, the plan all along was to have that person be Sting. It’s been three years since One Night Only, but finally it’s been revealed.
Q: Where did the idea of X-Men brotherhood come from?
A: I’ve been an X-Men fan since I was a kid, and really wanted to try writing my own stories. I always loved the idea that these are superheroes, and yet the people they save don’t always appreciate them. Plus, add in the fact that certain members on the team don’t always get along. It’s more interesting to me than a lot of other comics, and I’ve always enjoyed that.
Q: Being based in New York, how would you characterize the stock in local stores when you’re out toy hunting?
A: Surprisingly, my area is decent with the stocking of figures. It takes longer to get to this area, but once they show up, I don’t usually have trouble finding things I need.
Q: I’ve been watching you for the last few years, so being a fan, I’d like to know where the fight videos come from? For example, Batman vs Terminator.
A: Those come from a basic idea, and I just go with what I think works. I pick two characters with pretty equal attributes and make them fight, just to stir up some interest. At first, they were meant to be short, quick projects – for example, Batman vs. Deathstroke was a two-day project and it got great feedback, so I moved on to Superman vs. Thor. The thing is, I always try to tell stories in my animations (because people fighting for NO reason isn’t interesting to me, I need to know what’s at stake). That’s why the fight videos have become longer since Superman vs. Thor. As for Batman vs. Terminator, that’s my favorite video on my channel right now, hands down. I like the idea of Batman having to use his mind and his gadgets, rather than his fighting skill, to take on an adversary that he’d never be able to beat one-on-one.
Q: What made you decide to do the Batman slaps series? Can you give a hint on who will be slapped next?
A: That started as an idea just to do a quick animation and see what people thought. I had just bought the Mezco One:12 Batman and wanted to animate something, and thought that him going around angrily slapping people was a funny idea. As for who’s next, well…it really depends on what figures are available in my collection and who the next person is to do something that angers Batman.
Q: When will we see a Dragon Ball Z stop-motion?
A: I definitely want to make a really good DBZ video. I’ve got enough figures to make it work, and the teaser I put up got people interested to see some more. It’d be a fun project.
Q: When do you expect we’ll see the next Godzilla aftermath video?
A: I want to make the next one this summer. I took some time away from that series to do other things, and since then I’ve wanted to finish up. I’m really happy with my Godzilla animations. They’re also favorites of mine, even though, numbers-wise, they don’t tend to do as well as other videos. In spite of that, though, the Godzilla series will be back.
Q: Where did your obsession with Mike Haggar come from?
A: Playing Final Fight as a kid. Here was this guy who was the mayor of this city, when his daughter gets kidnapped by a gang. Now, he COULD just get the entire police force out looking for her, or he COULD call in favors from other politicians…but instead, he puts on his old wrestling gear, walks from one end of the city to the other, and beats up every single gang member with his bare hands. THAT’s how Haggar handles business. What’s not to love?
Q: You brought up the idea of doing a submit a question video. How will that be set up and presented?
A: Think “Dear Abby.” I haven’t gotten the right kinds of questions that I’m looking for yet, basically I’m looking for advice column type things. The ones I’ve gotten have been more akin to personal opinion or preference. But essentially, it’ll be a write-in advice show, with a host who provides terrible advice and mocks the people submitting questions.
Q: What would you like to say to your fans who are reading this article?
Thanks for watching, and please keep watching. And if you’re watching, take your favorite video and share it. That’s the most important thing I could ever ask anyone for, sharing my videos so that other people can see them. Having subscribers is fine, but only if those subscribers are actually watching videos. I’d much rather build an audience of people who will actually watch a video, rather than just click “subscribe” and never watch another video again. Sharing is the best way to do that, and I have to give a huge thanks to anyone who shares my videos. I’m glad people enjoy my content, and stay tuned for more.
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