His favorite movies includes Whiplash (2014), Baby Driver (2017), Lady Bird (2017), Whisper of the Heart (1995), and his least favorite movies includes Mulan (2020), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Earwig and the Witch (2020), Shrek the Third (2007), Cars 2 (2011), The Lion King (2019), and Minions (2015).
In 2021, James organized "Shiny Reanimated", A multi-animator project composed of more than 100 creators, reanimating Tamatoa's "Shiny" scene from "Moana".