Tell me a little about your previous work experience.
Wellman: Mostly script coordinating and freelancing on other preschool shows for Disney Junior, Nickelodeon, and Netflix.
Hohlfeld: I started writing in regional theatre then went into feature films where I worked for about 15 years. When some people I’d worked with in Disney live-action features moved onto TV Animation, they asked me to take on a Winnie-the Pooh project. I did two theatrical releases and several specials, and on the strength of my connection with the franchise I was asked to develop a new show. I came up with My Friends Tigger & Pooh, which I produced and story edited for two seasons.
Dubuc: I started as an apprentice staff writer—a great entry-level position the Guild offers—on Kim Possible. From there, I wrote on a lot of shows—action, comedy, preschool, some freelance and some staff. I became a story editor on My Friends Tigger & Pooh, and after serving in that capacity on other shows, I went on to executive produce on Transformers: Rescue Bots and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Johnson: Most of my resume consists of series and animated movies from the action/adventure realm, with a heavy dose of superheroes. Years as head writer at Marvel and Hasbro have preceded shows written for a younger audience (Transformers: Rescue Bots, Miles From Tomorrowland).
Haney: Before The Rocketeer, I was staffed on The Lion Guard at Disney Television Animation. That was my first writing gig and a crash course in all things writing for television animation—including talking animals, S&P notes, and how to move props when your characters don’t have opposable thumbs. Before writing full time, I was a Story and Editorial Coordinator at DreamWorks Animation on Kung Fu Panda 3 and Trolls.
Silver: My most recent job was co-story editing the Disney Junior show Goldie and Bear. I’ve written for many kids shows for Disney and others, and also developed some single camera comedy pilots for networks.
Walk me through your typical day.
Wellman: I generally support the writing staff and production to track the scripts and our notes from the network.
Hohlfeld: As a staff writer, my duties are pretty clear-cut and simple—I write. Or I get ready to write, or think about getting ready… With so many episodes to come up with—48 11-minutes—we’re always looking for story material. We generate story ideas individually and also sometimes brainstorm as a group for both ideas and story-breaking (working out the beats and plot points). Then we go through the writing of each step of each episode—premise, then outline, then first draft, second, maybe third, and record draft. With notes on all of it coming in between drafts so there’s always at least three to five different episodes I’ll be working on at a time.
Johnson: Once I’m thoroughly sick of checking in with Social Media, I get to work. The writing process involves overseeing the development of Springboards (a short paragraph story pitch), Premises (the springboard expanded to one page), Outlines (the premise expanded to five pages), then various drafts of the script (outline expanded to 18 pages). As story editor (head writer), I give notes on the first internal pass of each of these steps that come from the writers, and upon receiving their V2 (version 2), I do my own pass and send it up the ladder to Nicole. She does a (hopefully) small pass, and then has our Script Coordinator submit it to Disney. Network notes are then addressed in pretty much the same order.
Haney: Coffee. Lots of coffee. And then I typically start the day reading through what I wrote the previous day and/or rereading another writer’s outline/script/etc. to get in the right mindset and voice of the show before getting back to my own work. From there, it’s all writing, with the occasional break for a meeting. Or snack. Or to bother Claudia.
Silver: It depends on where I am with a story/script—I might be coming up with ideas for new stories, or writing an outline or draft of a script, or incorporating notes on a draft from Greg and Nicole or Disney.
Dubuc: My current job requires a lot of communication with all the departments in production—and I have a fantastic team that makes it a real pleasure. As a showrunner, I collaborate with our supervising director on episodes, oversee animatic edits, take an edit pass on writing distributions, discuss designs with the art director and artists, liaise with the Disney executives, plan with the production crew, meet with board artists and directors for script handouts/questions, call animation notes, attend sound mixes and do music spots. Oh! And write!
Do you often collaborate with educational consultants on the show?
Hohlfeld: They weigh in a lot during development. They run the testing which is done in storybook form.
Johnson: For some shows, it make sense to have a curriculum but for a show that’s kind of a Disney Junior’s superhero show like The Rocketeer there’s a little bit more of a balance.
Dubuc: Sometimes we’ll get a prompt specifically from the educational consultant. Some shows actually have a cultural consultant if they have characters that are of a specific ethnicity they want make sure they get that right. Sometimes consultants can help you with pronunciation if you have a component of a different language.
Johnson: We had a NASA consultant.
Wellman: Dr. Randy Wesson of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He had all kinds of amazing insight for our space stories.
How often do you collaborate with the artists?
Johnson: Every show is different but the most productive shows are ones that don’t have walls put up between the departments. So we work closely and as often as we can with the designers.
What are the best parts and most challenging parts of your job?
Wellman: How rewarding watching a first cut is, and seeing all the disparate parts pulled together—lines recorded in different places, rough designs, and seeing the story on its feet. And the “challenge” of being a small part of pulling it all together is what makes it so rewarding!
Hohlfeld: The most challenging thing is coming up with new ideas. While every show has its tropes and usual stories to tell, our stories have to fit our very specific world, but still be kid-relatable, character-driven, and simply told. We make sure the stories don’t get too complex, and yet still interesting. Another challenge is addressing and dealing with notes from different sources—studio execs, educational consultants, S&P. And, as always, the mere act of writing—of finishing a scene knowing it checked all the boxes story-wise and was funny and well-paced—is the most satisfying thing of all, and why we’re all still in this profession.
Johnson: The best part of my job is seeing stories materialize that are unique to our particular series. Meaning they wouldn’t work for another show, but can only exist with our specific characters living in our specific world. The most challenging part is in the beginning of almost any series, where tone and humor and heart all need to find their rightful place until finally, the series finds its legs. Once that happens, we can then enjoy the best part of the job.
Haney: Best part is the people! My favorite days are when we have story breaks and/or brainstorms and all get together to talk character and story. The most challenging, other than cutting down my scripts to only 19 pages, is finding creative, entertaining solutions to notes. Nothing sucks the fun out of a script like having to stop the flow of action to over explain something. It’s a challenge, but I enjoy finding the most fun, streamlined way to get big ideas across to our young audience.
Silver: I love the people that I work with—it makes coming to work every day a pleasure.
Dubuc: I’m surrounded by tremendously talented people, and it’s inspiring to create this show with them. The most challenging part is getting a note that you don’t agree with but aren’t allowed to ignore. The best strategy (after a long walk and perhaps some growling) is to try to find a solution that addresses the note but still satisfies you and serves the story.
.png)