The creator of Apple TV+’s new 2D kids’ show about a giant girl with a big heart who wears her emotions on her sleeve, based on her 2019 short film, discusses how the series grew out of frustration at not being able to show her own work after years spent writing on many notable animated series.
Writer and actor Emily Brundige has worked in the animation industry for well over a decade. In 2012, she wrote and starred in her own YouTube series, Pubertina, before going on to write for series like Star vs. the Forces of Evil, The Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans Go! Her 2019 short film, Goldie, which told the story of a giant girl who feels out of scale in her colorful little town, was born from her desire, once again, to create something of her own.
Goldie, an all-new 13-episode 2D series based on that short, debuts today, February 14, on Apple TV+.
“I had a lot of shows in development at that time and I was getting frustrated with not being able to show any of my work, and not being able to own anything,” shares Brundige. “I wanted to create this short film and just have something, an idea, a character, that I owned.”
Despite the short’s success - Goldie won “Best of the Fest,” “Best Children’s Animation,” and “Best Character Design” at LAAF 2019 - Brundige waited to pitch the film to networks as a full series.
“I wanted the short to kind of live on its own,” says Brundige, who spent the following years creating the Harvey Girls Forever! series and writing for shows like Amphibia, DC Super Hero Girls, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale, and Hilda. “So, it went to a lot of festivals and then, towards the end of the festival circuit, I started getting serious about pitching it as a kids’ show. Apple was the first network I pitched to and, thankfully, they loved it.”
She adds, “This was a very lucky, magical experience in my life where I set out to do something, and it worked.”
Check out the Goldie series trailer and sneak peek clip:
The series, produced by Mercury Filmworks, is a larger-than-life celebration of uniqueness and embracing one’s true self. Each two-part half-hour episode follows Goldie, a giant girl with a big heart, as she sets off on epic adventures with her best friends in their beloved town of Boysenberg. Together, they learn that being different is something to celebrate, and that there’s space for everyone in this world — even giants.
Brundige serves as executive producer alongside Daytime Emmy Award winner Clint Eland (Hilda) while Emmy Award winner Graham MacDonald (Mickey Mouse) directs, with Ben Greene (Hilda) serving as head writer.
“It just feels empowering to see a giant girl character as the star of a show, at least to me, because of that undeniability of her and her size and everything,” says Brundige who, back in 2019, had shared in previous interviews that she “felt a strong urge to create a larger-than-life character like Goldie — a giant girl who takes up space!”
Being a woman creator in a historically male-dominated industry like animation, Brundige was familiar with being someone who “took up space” in places that were not always friendly toward her doing so.
“I definitely have had a lot of ups and downs in this industry,” Brundige shares. “But actually, the whole making of the show Goldie was really healing for me because the Apple execs were so supportive. There was absolutely no prejudice that I felt for my being a woman. It was just pro-women leaders. It was a dream, and such a smooth process compared to other experiences I've had.”
Brundige has also found that, while working on and creating stories about encouraging young girls in their power, great magic can come from a show when the bizarre meets the feminine.
This is something The Powerpuff Girls – an Emmy and Annie Award-winning series about three girls spawned from mad science and trained to defeat forces of evil – tapped into years ago, which viewers adored. From crime-fighting science experiments to socially uncertain teen girls launched into worlds of frogs (Amphibia) and trolls (Hilda) to become heroes, great storytelling can originate from embracing female characters who are magnificently chaotic.
“I consciously wanted Goldie to be a girl who made mistakes and wasn't perfect, because I do feel like there's this conscious effort, a lot of times, amongst the studios, or just creators in general, to want to make sure the girl character always comes off confident and strong,” notes Brundige. “Goldie has a lot of confidence issues and is really clumsy, but she’s a great character who drives stories. As girls, at least in the past, we were kind of conditioned to be perfect and not take up space. But I feel that’s definitely changing for the better.”
The caricature 2D animation style works for Goldie’s clumsy, loud but sweet and sincere character. It’s also a style Brundige became familiar with during her time working on Amphibia and later Hilda.
“I am a comedy writer,” she states. “I like characters that can express all kinds of emotions. But, with the cartooniness, we actually tried to strike an interesting balance.”
She continues, “The show is cartoony, but not super cartoony. There's kind of a groundedness to it. And I think some of that inspiration came from Hilda. And, naturally, working with Mercury, they got it right away.”
The Goldie episode “Frand or Foe” certainly embraces that comedic writing and animation style to the fullest. It is also Brundige’s favorite episode.
“It's the most uniquely Goldie episode… what other show would have a premise about a giant not being able to fit in a bedroom when they're invited to sleep over, so the giant’s [dressed-up] hand takes their place?” Brundige shares, laughing. “It felt like this probably wouldn't happen on other shows.”
Goldie, at one point, even gets jealous of her own hand, feeling that her friends like her hand replacement better than Goldie herself.
“There’s also a scene where Goldie's hand is chasing her,” says Brundige. “I really loved how the storyboard artist and director pulled that off and made that work, because that was quite the challenge.”
The things Goldie can interact with as a giant, and as a curious young girl, also influenced the design of the show’s setting and town. There’s a long, slender pink and purple rainbow that weaves through the entire town that is at Goldie’s disposal whenever she’s in need of a rope for Double Dutch.
“That look was first created by my art director of the Goldie short, German Orozco, who I had worked with to find a unique, fresh look for the story,” explains Brundige. “When I got to working with Mercury and my art director on the show, Ross Love, we wanted to keep that because we all liked it. We thought it was really unique. I wanted Goldie to be able to interact with the rainbow and clouds and have them there for not only looks but also her convenience.”
Another one of Brundige’s favorite scenes is in the episode “Stuck” - it takes place between Goldie and her blue bird friend Romeo. In the episode, Goldie gets stuck in a fresh pit of concrete while jumping rope. Later, Romeo shows up with a blanket for her and Goldie sings a song about how this tiny blue bird raised Goldie from a baby after a stork accidentally dropped her into Romeo’s tree.
“I don’t mind being stuck when I’m stuck with you,” sings Goldie, recalling her childhood with Romeo, who plays the role of Goldie’s parent and friend.
“It’s really special to me because that's one of my favorite songs on the show, and I love how it showcases their unique relationship,” says Brundige, who is a mom herself. “There's also an episode called ‘Flying Solo’ that I call my ‘adulting episode,’ where Romeo leaves Goldie for a few hours, and she falls apart and can’t take care of herself without him.”
In the episode “Birds of a Feather” Brundige’s own daughter voices for a young girl character. In the episode, Goldie is trying to force certain people with things in common to become best friends. Later in the story, as the friendships begin to unravel, a little girl runs through the street and cries, “He’s not sharing with me!” referring to the little boy who is supposed to be her best friend.
“She was four and, of course, had said that phrase so many times in her life,” says Brundige. “But it was very special to me.”
As much as the show is meant to encourage young girls, or any kids watching the show, Emily also notes that she hopes girls and their moms will watch the show together and both enjoy how Goldie wears her heart on her sleeve.
“All the kids in the show, but especially Goldie, have a lot of problems come up that are relatable for kids and for adults as well,” shares Brundige. “I do enjoy Goldie’s wide range of giant emotions, and I hope others do too.”
To animation fans, Brundige teases a special surprise in the final episode of the season, “The First Snow,” where Goldie’s hand friend makes another appearance.
“We wanted the last episode of the season to have a little bit of a specialness to it, so we have a little bit of CG animation, which sounds like it wouldn’t work with this show,” admits Brundige. “But it will make sense when you see it.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
