Apple TV+’s WondLa cast and creatives discuss the new series, including the stunning feature film quality animation, in this interview.
WondLa follows a girl named Eva who is forced to flee her underground sanctuary. When she arrives on Earth’s surface, it is nothing like she expected it to be, and nothing like she trained for. There are a plethora of unique creatures living on the planet, not all of which are friendly. Is she the last human? She goes on a journey to find out.
We spoke with the incredible talent behind this new Apple TV+ series – Teri Hatcher (voice of Muthr), Jeanine Mason (voice of Eva), Bobs Gannaway (Showrunner, Executive Producer), and Tony DiTerlizzi (Author of The Search for WondLa, on which the series WondLa is based) – about the stunning animation, which is feature film quality, and the important messages it delivers.
WondLa’s Animation Is Feature Film Quality
Tony DiTerlizzi: I’m a huge fan of animation in general. I love Pixar. I love Disney. I love Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films. Those movies are the same audience that I’m trying to reach with my books. So I;m just incredibly excited to be able to work with Bobs Gannaway and John Lasseter and David Ellison and Dana Goldberg at Skydance. They were so respectful of the source material and of me, and that’s unusual. You don’t normally see that in adaptations.
Teri Hatcher: The animation itself is for all ages, because it’s special and beautiful. I’ve just never seen a series at this level. And I have done other animated things that I feel this way about also, in that you just have so much respect for the mastery of skill of so many people that it takes to put these kinds of projects together. So it really is just an honor and a treat to get to be a part of it.
Bobs Gannaway: I’ve worked in animation for a long time. When I started out, there’s TV animation and feature [animation]. Now with limited series and streaming, there’s this hybrid of series, but of higher quality. We want it to be of the highest quality that we could possibly do. So both Skydance animation, and Apple TV+, were committed to a high quality animated series. Everybody was on board for aiming for a feature quality show, a feature quality look of picture. But that only get you have halfway. There also has to be a feature quality level depth of storytelling.
Jeanine Mason: The pitch was we’re making feature quality animated series, and it would be insane to not be a part of that. I’ve got to be honest, often, with the reality of budgets and time and turnover, you often get accustomed to your darlings being killed off and not everything being up to the quality that was promised. That could not be further from the truth with this combo of Skydance and Apple TV+. I am blown away byt the visuals of this show. And the storytelling. And how committed they were to not dumbing down anything or making it more steril or easier to digest because it’s made for children. It’s so honest and it’s been the most dream collaboration. I’m obsessed with the show.
Be sure to watch the full interview for more details on this beautiful Sci-fi series, coming to Apple TV+ on June 28th.
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About WondLa
Forced to flee her underground sanctuary for Earth’s surface, Eva discovers a world unlike anything she expected; as she journeys across perilous terrain and unknown civilizations, Eva asks whether she is the last human.
WondLa starts streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, June 28th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.