The short animated film screened at several film festivals, including Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in the United States. The 'Lupo' character was eventually licensed by the Converse athletic shoe company. This led to additional work, including animated commercials for Levi Strauss & Co. and MTV. He also originally created a mascot for Cartoon Network, known as the jester, as well as the mascot's bumpers. On April 1, 1994, Antonucci started an animation company named a.k.a. Cartoon, which produced the short-lived MTV series The Brothers Grunt, which began airing in 1994 and ended its run in 1995. Antonucci went on to work on MTV's Cartoon Sushi show in 1997, directing, writing and providing voices, in addition to being responsible for the title sequence of the show. Ed, Edd n Eddy Feeling confined to "gross" and "edgy" work, such as his series The Brothers Grunt, Antonucci decided to produce an animated children's television show again with his company a.k.a. Cartoon. He resolved, however, to ensure that the series was produced in a way similar to the cartoon styles from the 1940s to the 1970s. Antonucci spent months designing the show, before trying to sell it to Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon told him that they would take the show, if they also obtained creative control. Antonucci refused to give it, and instead took the show to Cartoon Network. A deal was ultimately made for Cartoon Network to commission the show, after they agreed to let Antonucci go in his own direction. Antonucci is a strong advocate of hand-drawn animation. The wobbling animation in Ed, Edd n Eddy is an homage to the hand-drawn cartoons with a style that harkens back to cartoons of the 1940s to the 1970s. To give the impression of movement, Ed, Edd n Eddy uses shimmering character outlines similar to Squigglevision. The crawling lines are not nearly as active as those in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, but are still visible, and Antonucci likens it to cartoons of the 1930s. According to Antonucci, the characters were based on real people in his life. The personalities of Ed, Edd, and Eddy are based on personal traits of himself, and the activities of his two sons. The Eds also possess personality traits similar to The Three Stooges, whose money-making schemes and antics also invariably backfire. The cul-de-sac children and the Kanker Sisters were all based on children he grew