I am reminded of a story from an article about one of the people who was working on Kung Fu Panda, about how he got into the industry. Could be apocryphal, I did read it in a mainstream internet publication.

The Jim Henson Company was hiring artists - after all, some of their work requires drawings of the Muppets. One of the prospective hires was not yet past being a teenager - some natural talent, but no formal training yet. And a BIG fan of the Muppets, it'd be a dream job - hell, it's why he applied. He went in for his interview and sat there in the waiting room with his portfolio in hand, checked out what he saw of the competition's portfolios.

And they were all better than him. Skilled artists with training and years of work. He got so disheartened that he gave up, sure he'd never make it. He left before his interview. But chance called to him - outside the waiting room was an open door leading to an empty boardroom, and for effect they'd propped up a set of the core Muppets - Kermit, Miss Piggy, etc. - on a table by the wall. He couldn't resist the temptation of having his idols sit for a picture for him, so he slipped in to the room, sat down, and started to draw.

Time passed. The kid didn't notice. The inevitable happened, someone who worked for the company entered the boardroom: The man himself, Jim Henson. And he saw this kid sitting there, drawing. So he pulled up a chair, said "hi".

The kid was scared, caught red-handed sneaking around the building, but Jim calmed him down and started a conversation. They talked about the kid's day, why he applied, how he left before his interview, why he left. Jim looked through his portfolio, asked some questions... and then offered him the job.

This time, the kid's shocked. How? Why? Why not any of the trained artists?

Jim Henson's answer? "We can teach you to draw the Muppets like they do. We can't teach them to love the Muppets like you do."

(And now, to see this article with this story in mind, I am deeply saddened.)