Megan McCarthy, the Emmy-nominated author and producer recognized for “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” and “Centaurworld,” has taken on a brand new problem as showrunner for Apple TV+’s animated sequence “BE@RBRICK.” Primarily based on the long-lasting collectible figures from MEDICOM TOY, this 13-episode sequence produced by DreamWorks Animation and Dentsu Inc. follows Jasmine Finch and her bandmates as they pursue their musical desires in a world the place everybody’s function is decided by their “painted-on look.” With authentic music from Grammy Award-winning producer Timbaland, the present goals to empower children by the common language of music.
What impressed you to show this into an animated sequence? And what was your strategy to bringing its legacy to life?
This was one thing that the oldsters at DreamWorks had the foresight to understand had one thing there that would translate into actually nice storytelling. I imply, it’s this unbelievable iconic model that individuals are already tremendous curious about, and so why not develop out of that? And so for me, I used to be not a collector of BE@RBRICK prior.
And now I see them in every single place and know much more about them, clearly, however I simply love this. I like the collabs that they do. I like that it actually spoke to creativity, to music as effectively.
They do lots of issues with musicians. In order that type of intrigued me, after which I simply love this concept that the BE@RBRICK all look the identical, however once they’re painted, they turn out to be distinctive.
That’s type of the place their worth comes from, and that simply inherently was a narrative in and of itself, and so it was actually about increasing upon that and discovering, OK, effectively, what if there was a world the place you didn’t get to resolve the way you had been going to be painted and you’ve got these hopes and desires of what you needed to be within the passions that you simply needed to pursue and people had been denied? And that felt actually related and it felt simply ripe for actually enjoyable tales in a extremely distinctive world.
With it being a music pushed present, how did you’re employed with Timbaland and the music crew to create a soundtrack that enhances this story?
The present is a couple of group of youngsters who wish to be in a band. So we knew that, if we’re going to root for that band, they higher be actually good and have actually good music, and so, , why not attain out to the man that creates all the very best music? Timbaland. In order that was actually key. We knew it wasn’t a musical by way of they wouldn’t be strolling down the road and breaking a track about their emotions, that it could actually be efficiency primarily based.
This band would launch music, would placed on exhibits in issues like that. So we knew that was key, and in order we wrote every episode, we might take into consideration what efficiency would occur or what music would they launch or type of what kind of fantasy sequence that displays the sorts of songs that they’re doing could be.
After which we might work with Timbaland and his crew to craft one thing that felt very of the now, very related, but additionally spoke to the bigger themes of our present and did seize the sentiments and feelings of our characters, however in a approach that felt like you might very a lot hearken to this outdoors of the present and wish to put it in your Apple Playlist.
How do you and your crew craft the principles of this world whereas retaining it participating for younger audiences?
We spend lots of time on that lots of time on the on the world constructing, and ensuring that although we had these characters that had been all the identical design in type of by way of their form, that all of them nonetheless had actually distinctive recognizable iconic appears primarily based on type of what their career could be or in the event that they had been college students or as soon as we bought to the band and what their outfits would could be, making these all really feel actually distinctive and particular. So we did spend lots of time actually crafting what the characters would appear to be in order that so that you’d actually have interaction with them, that you’d be excited to spend time with them and that they felt very three dimensional, though lots of them just isn’t three dimensional, it’s painted on.
BE@RBRICK delivers highly effective messages about empowerment, self expression. How did you make sure that these messages had been successfully woven into the storytelling whereas retaining the present enjoyable and entertaining?
I believe it was you begin first with character, making the characters really feel actually genuine, making them really feel like, Hey, that character jogs my memory of me or jogs my memory of my mates as a result of they actually do have feelings which are relatable, however we additionally had been very comedy ahead. We stated this isn’t an after faculty particular. We’re not making an attempt to, hit folks overhead with this message the place they’re like, nice, I don’t I’m not within the present.
I get it. So comedy was key and comedy comes from the characters, nevertheless it additionally comes from how we’ve constructed the world. There’s lots of actually foolish runners, primarily based on the truth that there’s painted on parts on this world. So within the faculty, there’s lockers which are painted on. So within the background, you’ll see a child like making an attempt to open their locker, however they’ll’t as a result of it’s painted on. So comedy was all the time on the prime of our minds each time we went into an episode.
How’s it been working with Apple TV?
It’s been incredible, they had been extremely supportive of this proper from the get go. All of us actually had been on the identical web page of the present that we needed to make, the tone of the present that we needed to make, the model of music that we needed to make use of. So it was actually nice, you all the time get notes on issues once you’re making one thing.
However that’s essential as a result of you may actually get too near one thing and never see the forest for the timber. In order that they had been actually nice at serving to us simply make the present higher and stronger and have been extremely supportive.
What can followers count on from BE@RBRICK? And are there any thrilling developments on the horizon?
We’re actually centered on this season, and I believe that we’ve finished a extremely good job of reaching a extremely satisfying conclusion in these 13 episodes. I like cliffhangers, the episodes themselves have numerous cliffhangers, nevertheless it was actually essential to me that you simply finish these 13 episodes feeling like, “sure, I’m so glad that I watched that to the tip. I bought precisely what I hoped to get in very surprising methods”. So yeah, the main focus has simply been proper now on nailing this and getting folks actually enthusiastic about it.
