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Denis Thomopoulos

Los Angeles, California
Member/Activist
Angeles Chapter

When it comes to speaking out about the environment, Denis Thomopoulos lets his animals do the talking. His cartoon animals, that is. In 1998, he founded Hippo Works (www.hippoworks. com), an environmentally-themed online cartoon featuring Simon the Hippo and a host of other animal characters. Weekly episodes of "It's a Jungle Out There" are syndicated to subscribers and Web sites such as AOL's Kids Channel.

Thomopoulos drew his first hippo as an undergrad at Georgetown University, where he created a best-selling t-shirt. "I wasn't thinking about becoming an artist," he says. "I wanted to be a professor." He earned a Masters in English Literature from Oxford University, but then went to work in London for David Puttnam, producer of Local Hero and Chariots of Fire.

"I grew up in the entertainment business," he says, "so I moved back to Los Angeles to continue a career in film." While visiting his mother, he saw a college drawing of a hippo, and in a "blinding revelation," realized "my heart lay with the hippo."

He got a job in corporate communications that offered him enough free time to develop Simon the Hippo and other characters. At work, he was responsible for "this new thing called a Web site" and colleagues suggested he put his characters online. Soon an educational company discovered his work and licensed and distributed it to schools. "Some friends say my cartoons could be a little scary for kids, with themes like global warming and animal extinction. But as much as I want to entertain kids, I think it's important they confront reality." He is now working on a global warming show to be broadcast next Earth Day.

Published: December 8, 2006