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As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Rick Suvalle.
Rick Suvalle is the Creator and Executive Producer of the upcoming DreamWorks Animation preschool series Dew Drop Diaries on Netflix. The series follows a group of three-inch tall family fairies who live inside teensy fairy houses on brownstone balcony gardens in “The Big City.” They have been assigned to human families to secretly help around the house with the little things that can often fall through the cracks, like making sure your first lost tooth actually makes it under your pillow before bedtime or your favorite toy doesn’t get left behind at the park.
Read MorePrior to Dew Drop Diaries, Suvalle developed and produced Mattel’s Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go series and has served as a writer on many other animated series including DreamWorks’ Doug Unplugs, Disney Jr’s T.O.T.S. and Miles from Tomorrowland and HBO’s Esme & Roy. Suvalle also co-wrote the 2018 Emmy-nominated episode of Amazon’s The Stinky & Dirty Show where he also served as Head Writer for the series. Outside of animation, he has written several TV movies including Syfy’s The Hollow (2015) and Hallmark Channel’s Campfire Kiss (2017). Additionally, Suvalle has developed series for DreamWorks, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Fox, Mattel and Roadside Attractions.
Thank you so much for joining us today. I’m very excited, and I hope you are too. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts, a small idyllic town just west of Boston. My mother was a kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home mom who brought her knowledge of kids and creativity into our lives with various crafts and field trips from the local farm to Paul Revere’s house along the Freedom Trail. My father was a sales and marketing executive at Polaroid, so we had an unlimited supply of film to document these memories, well before the era of Instagram. He also had access to video equipment so when I showed an early interest in making short films, my father was my cinematographer. But I use the term “film” loosely, as I would just make video spoofs of current movies and edit inside the camera, so sometimes you can hilariously hear my father say, “Wait!” at the end of a shot. Since my parents were both so inventive, when I showed a real interest in the arts, they supported me one hundred percent.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
In 6th grade I was given the option to either do my homework or journal during study hall and I chose to journal, but instead of cataloguing my life, I wrote short stories and quickly decided that I wanted writing to be a part of my life. In high school I started acting in plays and really fell in love with theater. I eventually married my two passions and wrote a short play that was accepted into the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival, and I got to direct that play. It was then I knew that I wanted to write and possibly direct, for a living, so I majored in Film and Creative Writing at Hofstra University, in New York, where I continued to write and act in a few plays, but ultimately decided that I really wanted to be behind the camera. So, after college, I packed up all my belongings and drove out to Los Angeles.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
On the day I arrived in Los Angeles, I stopped at a news stand to buy a newspaper so I could look for a place to live, and saw Quentin Tarantino standing there, reading a magazine. I idolized Tarantino, so my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) prodded me to go say hello. And I did. And we ended up talking for more than 20 minutes about film and screenwriting. It was exhilarating and I felt like running into one of my heroes, on the day of my arrival in Hollywood, was a sign that I had made the right career choice.
It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I had written my first freelance episode of television and was invited to the set by the showrunner, Morgan Gendel, and when I showed up, someone handed me the script. But when I took a look at it, it was almost completely rewritten. I made the mistake of thinking I had done a terrible job, so when Morgan found me later in the day and asked, “What do you think?” I said, “Apparently I did a terrible job.” Morgan replied, “What are you talking about? I came here to ask you if you wanted to write another episode.” I said, “Really?!? But the script is so different from what I turned in.” Morgan said, “Just some of the dialogue. But all the scenes are the same and the structure you provided is still there. You gave us a script with great bones. But you don’t know the characters as well as us, so we just tweaked the dialogue.” It was then that I learned that television is a collaborative art. And that there are going to be changes that are beyond anyone’s control, even the producers, whether it’s fixing the dialogue or having a location fall out at the last minute and having to tweak the script to work with the new venue. I’m so glad I learned how television writing worked that day or I might’ve thought I was a bad writer and given up on my dreams.
Since that’s not really a funny mistake, I’ll give you a more recent one — on my current show, my fellow executive producer, Aliki Theofilopoulos, offered to do the voice of a cat character on the show and when I listened back to the recording, I thought it was terrible, so I had to have an awkward conversation with her and tell her that I wanted to replace her. She took it like a total pro, but asked to listen back to the track with me so she could get some constructive feedback. We listened together and then she said, “That’s not me, Rick. That’s you.” And it was! We laughed ourselves silly that day.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I’m currently the Executive Producer and Creator of a new DreamWorks preschool animated series called “Dew Drop Diaries” that recently premiered on Netflix. It’s about these tiny, but mighty fairies-in-training who secretly help families with children with the little things around the house, like finding a lost toy or making sure your first lost tooth makes it under your pillow before the Tooth Fairy arrives. It’s a show about resourcefulness, teamwork and girl power, mixed in with a sprinkle of gratitude. It’s a love letter to my two daughters. I also recently created “Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go” a new 2D preschool version of “Thomas & Friends” that is about to debut its third season on Cartoon Network and Netflix.
As a rising star, you’ve likely faced challenges along the way. How do you stay motivated and overcome obstacles in your career?
The life of screenwriter is filled with ups and down and in the beginning of your career there are a lot more downs than there are ups and there’s also a lot of false hope. I’ve had a movie greenlit, only for the studio to change their mind a few weeks later. I’ve had a network want to buy a show from me, only for the deal to fall apart in the negotiation process. More recently I had a project fall apart because of Covid. But each time that happens I give myself a day or two to feel down about it, and then I get back out there. I’ll either try to sell that script or show elsewhere, or I move onto another idea that I’m really excited about, and just start writing. It sounds cliché, but every defeat makes you stronger, because you’ve gained more experience and you’ve met more people, and that combination can only help you the next time out.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Diversity is extremely important to me, especially working in children’s television. It’s important for kids to see characters who look or act like them. My daughters are both Type 1 Diabetics and I remember the look on their faces when American Girl came out with a Type 1 Diabetic doll. They felt seen. On “Dew Drop Diaries” each fairy, while having fantastical skin colors like blue or magenta, all share racial characteristics with the children they secretly watch over because I wanted kids watching to imagine that if they had a Dew Drop secretly looking after them, that their Dew Drop looked like them too. On “Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go” I was fortunate to be part of the team that helped create Bruno the Brake Car, the first character in the Thomas universe who is neurodivergent. Thomas has a lot of fans who are on the spectrum, and it’s been so gratifying to hear them say, “Bruno’s just like me!” They are feeling seen. I want to add that diversity behind the camera is just as important. If you’re just showing a race or someone who sees the world differently, you’re missing a piece of the puzzle. You need to have people behind the camera who understand these characters. On “Dew Drop Diaries” over 40% of our writers were diverse, and on “Thomas” we hired neurodivergent consultants and writers. By doing this you make sure that your on-screen representation is accurate and true to life. And that’s what makes your characters relatable.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . Your first screenplay is not half as good as you think it is. While there are exceptions, it generally takes several years and scripts before you become proficient at the craft and even longer until you find your unique voice. I thought my first screenplay was genius — it was a mix of jazz music and scenes lifted directly from Rebel Without a Cause. I moved to Los Angeles with just that script, thinking I was going to make it. Looking back, I can’t believe how awful that script was. But there was a spark of potential in there and other people saw it, but ultimately it took several more screenplays for me to finally write something half decent. But all those terrible screenplays before that, helped me grow and learn as a writer.
2 . Learn to read the (writers’) room. Getting into a writers’ room for the first time is extremely exciting and it’s hard not to just start throwing out every “awesome” idea that pops into your head. When I finally got into a writers’ room, I would throw out hundreds of ideas. Fortunately, the showrunner appreciated my enthusiasm and pulled me aside to say that I might benefit from listening more and being more selective about the ideas I offer up. In other words, you don’t want to be throwing spaghetti at the wall, you want to be throwing darts at the dartboard. You’re going to miss sometimes, but your chance of throwing a bullseye is vastly improved. And sometimes just getting on the board is enough to spawn an even better idea that the whole team can work on and improve together.
3 . Your education in this business never ends. There is always more you can learn. And if you allow yourself to be a perpetual student, you’ll become a stronger writer. I’ve learned something new from every writer and producer I’ve worked with, that I’ve added to my bag of tricks. On my current show, my Script Coordinator, who had zero produced work, had an interesting way of telling a story that I hadn’t thought of before and now I have that knowledge for the future. Great ideas can come from anywhere and anyone, no matter how experienced they are, and if you’re open to that concept, you’ll be a better writer for it.
4 . Don’t just read good screenplays, read the bad ones too. You’ll actually learn more by reading bad scripts because you’ll understand why they don’t work, and you’ll prevent yourself from fall into those same traps. When I first started out, I only read great scripts, and as a result all my early scripts were poorly executed knockoffs of those movies. I couldn’t understand why my scripts were inferior. It wasn’t until I started reading bad scripts from other writers, that I started to truly understand the mechanics of what makes a good script.
5 . Be willing to compromise. Too many new writers think they have an amazing idea that they’re unwilling to alter, but sometimes altering your idea is the difference between getting something made and having it live forever on your hard drive. When I first pitched “Dew Drop Diaries” to DreamWorks the characters weren’t even fairies. They were just these tiny humans who secretly looked after kids. DreamWorks asked if I’d be willing to make them fairies. Had I said, “No,” I probably wouldn’t have a show on the air right now. But I also didn’t just say, “Yes.” I thought about it and said, “By giving these characters magic and flight, we’d be taking away their kid-like resourcefulness. Things would be too easy for our main characters.” So, I suggested that we make the characters “fairies-in-training” — that they have wings, but they can’t fly yet and that they only have one magic power each. DreamWorks loved the idea, and we were off to the races. It’s because I was willing to compromise, and not dig in my heels, that the show got made. But beyond that, the compromise actually made the show even better.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
It’s okay to take breaks. You don’t have to write every day. Watching a movie or a TV show in the genre you are writing in is part of the process. Research is part of the process. And taking a day to yourself to do nothing is also part of the process. The key is to not force it… unless you have a deadline, but even then, you can still take small breaks, like a walk around the block, to help yourself reset and re-center.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people that have contributed to my success from my parents to my wife’s unwavering support to my manager, Jeff Aghassi, who has been in the trenches with me for almost 20 years. But I will say that my success in children’s television owes a great deal to Guy Toubes, one of the creators of the new “CoComelon Lane,” and also the creator of Amazon’s hit preschool series, “The Stinky & Dirty Show.” Guy and I had been friends for years and during the development period for “Stinky & Dirty” I was one of his sounding boards, so when the show eventually went into production, Guy tried to get me hired to write an episode of the show, but at that time I didn’t have any preschool experience on my writing resume (I had mostly written movies for Syfy and Hallmark) and Amazon was reluctant to hire me, as a result. But Guy believed in me, and he was determined to make it happen, so he made a bunch of calls and convinced other preschool showrunners to hire me, so I could build up some credits. Now with some preschool experience under my belt Amazon finally said yes, and to their credit, they thought I did such a good job on my first two freelance scripts that when Guy suggested they make me Head Writer on the second season, Amazon agreed. After that I began to get a lot more work in the kids’ space, including selling several shows of my own, and I owe that turning point in my career to Guy’s support.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I’m not sure who said this version of this quote, but it’s always stuck with me as it pertains to the entertainment industry, “Be careful who you step on, on your way up, because you might see them again on your way back up.” This sentiment says two things to me, first, this business is full of never-ending ups and downs; you’re going to go up and down that ladder several times, even in a successful career. And second, more importantly, be nice to people. I started out in the cut-throat world of live action television where your friends and colleagues actually root for you to fail. And what I love about children’s television is that it’s the opposite. Everyone is so nice and so supportive of each other, bending over backwards to help each other get ahead — sharing contacts, letting them know if they hear of open writing assignments, recommending people to their agents and managers. As John F. Kennedy famously said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Let’s lift each other up and help each other get ahead, because it benefits us all.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I’d love to sit down with fellow screenwriter Craig Mazin. He started out writing lighter fare, like the Scary Movie films and the Hangover sequels and then turns around and creates two incredibly powerful shows — Chernobyl and The Last of Us. From his Scriptnotes podcast, with fellow screenwriting great, John August (Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), you could tell Craig has always had this range in him. And I’ve always felt the same way about my career. Having started out writing fun monster movies and romances for TV, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and would do again in a heartbeat, I’ve always felt I had the ability to go a little deeper and expand my range. And while writing children’s television isn’t super deep, it can still be very meaningful and powerful, in its own right. So, I’ve felt this kinship with Craig, even though we’ve never spoken, which is why I’d love to just share a meal with him and talk shop.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights and your experiences with us.
Thank you. Same to you.
Originally Posted on Medium
With the release of Dew Drop Diaries, Rick was interviewed by several publications about the show, its origins and the production itself. He was also interviewed on the Juicebox Podcast (a Type 1 Diabetes podcast) about raising two T1D daughters, and how they became the inspiration for the show. Click on the name of each publication below to be taken to the original posting/interview:
AWN: Animation World Network (Season 2)
AWN: Animation World Network (Season 1)
We were lucky to catch up with Rick Suvalle recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Rick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I’ve been a professional television writer for over 20 years, always with the ultimate goal of one day creating my own series. And while I’ve been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to develop series, based on other people’s I.P., like “Thomas & Friends,” I still wanted to create something wholly original.
Read MoreI had pitched and sold several original ideas over the years, but most of them stalled out at some stage in the development process. I wasn’t sure what the secret ingredient was that would take things over the top, until I stopped searching and decided to create something more personal. I have two daughters with Type 1 Diabetes, and my wife and I have always taught them that they can still do anything they set their minds to. And it was this “can do” attitude that inspired me to create “Dew Drop Diaries” (now on Netflix), a series about tiny but mighty, fairies-in-training who secretly look after families with children, helping them with the little things around the house, like finding a lost toy or making sure your first lost tooth actually makes it under your pillow before the tooth fairy arrives. But because the fairies are in training, they have wings, but they can’t fly yet, so they’re forced to solve problems with a kid-like logic, often employing techniques my own daughters would use. Ultimately the series is a love letter to my daughters, which makes it all the more special that the series got made and kids around the world can now see it. And while the show isn’t about Type 1 Diabetes, it is inspired by my T1D daughters. Beyond that, I’m a huge T1D advocate, formally serving on the Board of Directors for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), so my hope is that my story can shed more light on this disease, which is why I made sure to also hire a Type 1 Diabetic on our crew, as well as casting Type 1 Diabetic actress Brec Bassinger (CW’s “Star Girl”) as one of the aspirational fairies on the show. This series is near and dear to my heart on many levels.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As I said above, I’ve been a professional television writer for over 20 years. I got my start thanks to a chance introduction to writer/producer Morgan Gendel, then a writer on “Law & Order.” Morgan had me out to the Universal Lot for lunch and we just hit it off – we both played clarinet in the 6th grade and we were both lactose intolerant. Morgan became a fast friend and mentor to me, reading and critiquing my scripts and getting me meetings and even my first agent came from a recommendation from Morgan. Eventually he went on to become the showrunner of Pamela Anderson’s post-“Baywatch” hit, “V.I.P.” and he gave me a job writing for the show. It was a ridiculously fun action-comedy series filled with car chases, explosions and homages to every great action movie we could think of. And even though I was just starting out, I learned so much about both writing and producing for television on my four years with the show. After “V.I.P.” I found myself writing movies for Hallmark and Syfy while dipping my toe into the animation world, where I had a chance to write for iconic franchises like “Spider-Man” and “Astro Boy.” But it wasn’t until around 2015 that I found myself writing for preschool animation and that became a real turning point for me. While there are a lot of limitations when writing for such a young audience, I loved the challenge, I loved pushing those boundaries and I loved the idea that even in some of the sillier shows, you’re still able to make a positive impact on the audience. My preschool animation career really took off when I was hired to write on Amazon’s “The Stinky & Dirty Show” where I quickly became the head writer on the series. After that a lot of doors opened for me, allowing me to write on and/or develop different series for various networks and studios. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to create the new “Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go” series for Mattel. It’s a 2D preschool version of the beloved series, where Thomas and his team are all now kid engines and they encounter kid-relatable issues like the fear of the dark or feeling left out. After that I went on to create my aforementioned original series, “Dew Drop Diaries” for DreamWorks where I’m serving as the Executive Producer of the show.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
This business is full of ups and downs, with more downs than ups, even in a successful career. But the key is to keep believing in yourself, even during those down times. I remember, after getting my first big break on “V.I.P.,” the bubble burst for the world of syndicated television and I found myself struggling to find my next writing gig. I was even competing against my own agent’s other clients. I still toiled away daily on my own scripts, but after two years with no money coming in and the upcoming birth of my second daughter, I had to do some real soul searching. While I believed in myself, I knew it was time to consider getting a “real job.” But what real world skills did I actually have? I eventually saw an ad online for a marketing job in Malibu that required no prior experience, and it seemed like a potential option. I was surprised how easy it was to get an interview, so I put on a jacket and tie (something writers never do) and I drove out to Malibu where I found myself in a room with at least 30 other applicants. My heart sunk. But then they called us all into a conference room where things went from bad to worse when I learned it was a pyramid scheme where we had to sell knives to our family and friends, hoping to turn them into knife salespeople too. I remember the owner of the business saying, “This may not be the job for all of you, and if you don’t think it’s right, feel free to leave now.” I looked around the room and no one was getting up. And then I just said to myself, “Screw this. I’m a writer.” And I walked out the door. And then the craziest thing happened. On the drive home, in my jacket and tie, I got a call from my new agent who said, “Rick, I just got you a writing assignment for a potential Syfy Channel movie.” I was back! But the key was that I never stopped believing in myself. And even if I did end up having to take a “real job,” it would’ve just been another bump in the road, in a career filled with ups and downs.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
When I had an inkling that “Dew Drop Diaries” was about to get the greenlight I decided to read Bob Iger’s “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.” It’s part memoir and part tips on how to be a good manager. And the biggest takeaway for me was the idea that it’s okay to ask for help. You don’t want to be like an actor auditioning for a part on a western and being asked, “Do you know how to ride a horse?” And then pretend that you do and then show up on set and fall off the horse on your very first day. Throughout Bob’s career he was smart enough to ask for help when he didn’t know how certain things worked. And for me, stepping into a huge job like showrunning an animated series, where I knew how to run a writer’s room and how to coax good performances out of voice actors, I didn’t know how to give notes on music or lighting. I didn’t have the prior experience or the vocabulary to even articulate what I wanted. But because of Bob’s book, I didn’t try to fake my way through those moments, instead I asked people with more experience to help me understand what I was looking at and how to properly communicate what I wanted to say. I think approaching the job as a perpetual student, and asking questions, allowed me to become partners with the people who worked on the show, instead of becoming a clueless dictator. As a result, I think everyone on the show felt ownership in the series and worked even harder to make something great.
Originally Posted on Canvas Rebel
Rick Suvalle is the Executive Producer and Creator of the new Dreamworks animated series Dew Drop Diaries, which will be debuting on Netflix in the Summer of 2023. He is originally from Wayland, Massachusetts, which is a suburb outside of Boston. Suvalle studied at Hofstra University in New York and earned a Creative Writing and Film degree. He originally moved to Los Angeles to write and direct film but later discovered his passion for working in television. The immediate fast-paced nature of television captured Suvalle’s heart, and he has been writing for television shows ever since.
Q. Why do you choose to focus on creating for a younger audience compared to a more mature one?
Read MoreI’ve always been a fan of animation, and I had done some animation writing early in my career for MTV’s Spider-Man and Cartoon Network’s Astro Boy, but it wasn’t until I started writing for Amazon’s preschool series, The Stinky and Dirty Show that I really understood how preschool shows work. Unlike shows geared for a 6 to 11-year-old audience, like SpongeBob Squarepants and Steven Universe, younger kids see and comprehend things differently. They don’t understand stakes or ticking clocks, typical things you find in storytelling. But little kids do understand that the ice cream will melt before it gets to the park. So you have to find different ways of creating stakes. And I really enjoy finding these new ways into stories. But I also enjoy writing for older audiences as well.
Q. What would you do to make your current projects appeal to preschoolers?
Coming up with great and relatable stories is the most important thing. But beyond that, you have to stay in the moment. Younger kids live in the moment, so you can’t really comment on off-screen events like you would in a sitcom where a character comes in and says, “I had a terrible day at work. Let me tell you all about it!” With younger kids, you want to talk about something that is happening right now. And because of short attention spans, you have to restate the goal of the episode multiple times in the script so the viewer doesn’t forget. For example, if you are trying to bring that ice cream to the park on time, every now and then, you want a character to say something like, “We have to get to the park before the ice cream melts!”
Q. What are some of the most important qualities for an executive producer of animation to have?
You need to realize that television is a team sport. Being a showrunner is like being a team captain. You may not know how to be an offensive tackle, but you need to know how that player functions in the game. I don’t know how to model an animated character, and I don’t know how to use the software that does it, but I know enough about how modeling works so that I can give good notes and suggestions to the modeler. Another important quality is appreciating the value of everyone on the show, whether it’s a new production assistant or another producer or one of your executives. You need to realize that everyone on the team is trying to make the best show possible.
Q. What are the toughest aspects of making an animated series?
One of the tougher aspects of making an animated series is finding the balance between budget and creativity. Often people think, “Hey, if I can write it, they can make it.” That’s only true if you have unlimited time and money. The reality is animation has limitations, just like live-action. A writer can’t just say, “I need an army of ten thousand soldiers.” It would be too costly. So instead, we have to get creative and frame a shot in a way that it will look like a lot of soldiers while only using a few. Another challenge showrunners face is that sometimes a network or studio has different wants and needs than you have, so you have to figure out how to make everyone happy, including yourself. Also, in kid’s television, there are often 52 episodes in a season, so coming up with 52 story ideas can be tough! So I always have new writers pitch me ideas. Even if they aren’t great, I can usually see a diamond in the rough and work with them to create something great together.
Q. As you recently have heard, the Writers Guild members have been on strike and have reached the news nationwide. As a creator, producer, and writer for major animation companies, what are your thoughts on this?
I am a member of both the Writers Guild and the Animation Guild, and while the Animation Guild is not on strike, I’m out there on the picket line as a live-action writer. But it’s been so heartening to see so many of my fellow animation writers joining us on the picket line, helping us fight for some necessary changes to how the business works, especially when it comes to A.I. and how writers are staffed on short-order streaming shows.
Q. How well do you handle stress and pressure?
I think I handle stress and pressure pretty well. It helps to be organized and have a schedule. During the writing phase, I might have five different writers turning in various stages of scripts in the same week, but instead of having them come in all at once and overwhelm me, I’ll have a writer turn in a first draft on a Monday, and have a second writer turn in an outline on a Tuesday and a third writer turn in their final draft on a Wednesday, etc. At the same time, I’m also giving music notes, animation notes, and lighting notes, so I’ve always got a lot on my plate, and creating a schedule helps tremendously. It also helps that I’m a bit Type A.
Q. How do you handle animators who turn in their assignments late?
Once you work for a big company, it’s rare that people are chronically late. You’re going to have difficult shots here and there and difficult scenes that may require a little more time. Fortunately, there is a little buffer built into the schedule. But if things are a little too late or take a little too much time, you have to steal time from one stage of production for another. So, if they’re late on animation and the next phase is lighting, we may have fewer days for lighting. If being late was chronic, you would have to talk to that person or that department and see what’s going on and figure out what we can do to accommodate them and possibly bring in some additional help.
Q. What are your favorite animation shows?
I love adult and prime-time animation: The Venture Brothers, Rick & Morty, Bob’s Burgers, and Family Guy. I really like those–it’s very different from what I personally write. But at the end of the day, writing is writing. I also love South Park. It’s got a very simple style, but the creators made that part of the charm and the humor.
Q. What are some funny moments that happened in the studio?
In terms of funny moments, occasionally, I’ll get in an animatic (rough animation) and I will catch an artist trying to sneak in something funny. In my current show, one of my characters, who is a fairy, was bending down and picking up something heavy, and the storyboard artist wrote on the character’s shirt, “I love sumo.” It was only in one frame, but I caught it and shared it around the office, and we all had a good laugh.
Originally Posted on 60 Seconds Online Magazine
Former Wikia admin, EpicLafiteau, got in contact with creator/former producer, Rick Suvalle via email for an exclusive and exciting new interview, here on the Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go Wikia!
1. To start off, did you have any prior knowledge of Thomas the Tank Engine before joining the reboot?
Absolutely! I was about 12 years old when the original series premiered. At the time I was a fan of stop motion animation as well as Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation, so seeing a show with radio-controlled trains was really cool to me, especially with Ringo Starr narrating, as I was, and still am, a huge Beatles fan. I discovered the CG version of the show when I had my own kids and we watched a lot of those episodes together. And my kids collected the wooden railway toys. We also read the Railway Series books to our kids. So, I definitely had a working knowledge of the franchise before I began.
Read More2. Did you feel any pressure while creating the reboot due to the past lore?
Definitely. It’s a beloved franchise and I wanted to make sure I was respectful of the source material. But my job was also to create something new and exciting for a younger audience. So, I had to work hard to find that balance. And hopefully some of the following answers will shed a little light on that process.
3. All Engines Go is a separate series, set in a different canon from the original show. Were there plans for it to be a continuation, as it was marketed as Series 25 before it had a title?
There has been a lot of confusion in this area. In a nutshell, All Engines Go occupied the slot that would’ve been used for a potential Season 25 of the original series. And to make matters even more confusing, until we had a name for the new series, we just called the show “Season 25.” And because it was sold to Cartoon Network before we had the name, sometimes they mistakenly refer to the show as “Season 25.” But All Engines Go was always meant to be its own thing. As for any plans for the original show to be continued, not that I’m aware of. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen, as these really are separate shows.
4. How limited were you and the crew when it came to which characters or locations you could or couldn’t include?
It wasn’t a matter of who we could or couldn’t use, it was more about the budget. Meaning that our budget only allowed for a certain number of characters and locations to be designed/created, which I know can be frustrating for older fans, wanting to see some of their favorite characters and locations. The original “Thomas & Friends” spent 24 seasons building out its world, so if All Engines Go continues, I’m sure more favorites will make their way into the series. But I definitely tried to sneak in other locations. I would try to put in places like Callan Castle and Devil’s Back into the scripts, but once those episodes would go into production, we’d realize it was cheaper to use a location that we had already created, so I would have to tweak those scripts. But there are some fun new locations coming up. And a few old favorites that will pop up from time-to-time. For example, there is an episode coming up that will feature the beaches of Norramby.
5. Were there any characters you wanted to include but weren’t allowed to?
All Engines Go really focuses on our seven main “kid” engines, which is a large ensemble for a kids show, but I really wanted to include fan favorites like James and Emily, so that’s why you see them, and some other favorites in the background with one or two speaking lines. But now that they are created, hopefully as the show progresses, we’ll see them more and more and perhaps we’ll have stories that revolve around them, as well.
6. Bulstrode is one of the characters who wasn’t present in the Thomas series at the time of its ending, and hadn’t been for several years. It came as a shock to most older fans to see such a classic character return, albeit in 2D form. Did you just need a “big boat character” or was there a request for him to come back? Bulstrode has been relevant in the toys over the years, at least.
To be honest, I needed a barge and Mattel told me that Bulstrode was available to be used. I wasn’t too familiar with him, so I had to do some research into his character and his capacities. When I discovered he was a grumpy and disagreeable character, I decided to soften his personality for AEG, as we already had Cranky to fill the role of being a bit on the “cranky” side of things.
7. With the effects of the pandemic forcing people to work from home, as a producer, did you find it easier or difficult to make compared to some of your other works?
We started production before the pandemic, but with Nelvana being in Toronto and Mattel being in Los Angeles, we were already set up to work remotely, so there wasn’t a big change for the show itself. I did miss breaking stories with writers in person, but we quickly adapted to working together via Zoom. But all of our recording sessions and art discussions, etc. were already happening via Zoom, and other video conferencing programs.
8. Is there anything you would like to say to the older fans of Thomas who have been watching for years? I understand a lot of them aren’t happy seeing a brand new show, especially targeted at a much younger audience. I would like to say, I feel a big reason as to why there is so much negativity around the reboot is because the original show was sort of dropped off without a proper ending, and immediately replaced. Perhaps if the shows were running side-by-side, there would be less of an issue.
First off, I totally get why older fans have an issue with All Engines Go – it’s geared towards a younger audience, it’s a different animation style, and the main characters are now kids. But I think you’re right, part of the issue is that the original series seemed to just end and then suddenly there is this brand new show occupying its place. But the good news is, if they didn’t say the original series was cancelled then there’s always the possibility it can continue. Regardless, as a fan of Thomas myself, one of my goals in creating All Engines Go was to bring in new, younger fans to the franchise, so that they can ultimately discover all of Thomas – the model train episodes, the CG episodes and the Railway Series Books.
9. Was there any intention to make James a background character like Edward and Henry despite him being one of the most marketable and well- known main characters of the previous series? The reboot seems to focus on the smaller engines like Thomas, Percy and Diesel so I can see why James was not intended to be featured frequently.
You’re exactly right. The focus of AEG is on the smaller “kid” engines and we were only allowed to use a limited number of characters. The intention wasn’t to make James a background character, the intention was to find a way to somehow get him and other fan favorite engines into the show, and for now that was making them background characters. But as I said above, the great news is that now that some of them are designed, their roles could be expanded in future episodes.
10. From a writer’s perspective, what process went into creating brand new characters such as Kana or Sandy?
When I was offered the job to create AEG one of the exciting things for me, was the ability to create some new characters (along with getting to play with beloved existing ones.) One of the things we wanted to do with the series was to modernize certain aspects of Sodor, which is why we changed Whiff’s Waste Dump to Whiff’s Recycle Plant and why we decided to add an electric engine to our core team. For Kana, I was inspired by the Japanese high-speed rail engines, which helped inform Kana’s personality as someone who loves to go fast and often “leaps before she looks.” As for Sandy (and our new version of Carly), I wanted to create “hands” for our characters. I had previously worked as the Head Writer on another talking vehicle show called “The Stinky & Dirty Show,” where the trucks used their wheels as hands. But trains are restricted by tracks and they don’t have hands, so by making Carly a crane engine, she could use her crane to pick up things for Thomas and the other engines. And by making Sandy a little rail speeder, fix-it engine, she could offer another pair of “hands” for our characters.
I know what your readers are thinking, “But the engines do use their wheels as hands!” To that, I say, you should’ve seen the early animatics where they were all gesturing and pointing with their wheels, and even picking things up. I had to fight really hard to eliminate most of that kind of behavior. We compromised with allowing the engines to use their wheels to switch points. There’s still some small gesturing throughout the series and occasionally you might see the engines use their wheels to hold something when there were no other options, but for the most part, they don’t use their wheels as hands. Now back to Sandy. For her personality, in preschool television we often have little sister or little brother characters who aspire to be like the bigger kids. It’s a way “in” for our youngest viewers to feel like, “Hey, I could hang out with Thomas too!” And by being the father to two daughters, I wanted to show that girls can do anything boys can, and that’s why she’s all about adventure and getting her “hands” dirty, so to speak. But she quickly became a favorite. And just to give you a bit of trivia, Glee Dango, who plays Sandy in the U.S. voice cast, originally auditioned for Kana, but when we heard her voice, we knew she was the perfect Sandy.
11. You recently revealed Kana’s original name to be Akira. By any chance, is this a reference to the manga/movie of the same name
Yes, Akira was definitely a reference to the movie. But while we were developing the show, we considered making the character be Kenji’s younger sister and wanted them both to have names that start with the letter “K.” But ultimately, we felt it might seem strange, to our younger viewers, if her brother lived in another country and we wanted Kana to be from Sodor, like the other engines. So we abandoned the idea that Kana and Kenji were related, but the name Kana stuck.
12. There are plenty of songs already featured in the episodes of All Engines Go that have been seen so far. What is the process of writing a song, especially when it comes to Thomas & Friends?
The original plan was to air episodes in pairs (two eleven-minute episodes to make up a half hour of television) and that the first episodes of the pairs, would always have an original song. But Cartoon Network decided to break them up for whatever reason. So out of the first 52 episodes you’ll see 26 new songs. As for the song writing process, the writers of the episodes would write the lyrics to the songs in their episodes. We would then hire some amazing composers to bring those songs to life. A bit of trivia: When I wrote the pilot episode (“A Thomas Promise”) we hadn’t decided if we were going to have original songs in the series yet, so when we finally made that decision, there wasn’t a single good spot for a song in the script, and that’s why you have a song (“I’m Gonna Chug”) that stops and starts throughout the episode. After that, most of the songs are all sung at once.
13. Lastly, did you or any of the staff use the Thomas Wiki during any writing or production for reference?
I used the Thomas Wiki all the time. It’s an amazing resource. As much as AEG deviated from the original series, I wanted to stay as true to the characters and the world as much as possible. Even though Thomas and Co. are kids in this version, Thomas still wants to be “really useful.” Percy is still Thomas’ best friend who loves to deliver the mail. And while the original Percy liked to play tricks on other engines, that’s not a good thing to model for younger viewers, but I still tried to tap into that trickster spirt and made the AEG Percy love to tell jokes and create puns. So I basically softened that aspect of his personality. But it had been a while since I watched Thomas, so the wiki was a great refresher for me throughout the development process and beyond. And I know many of my writers used it as well. So, thank you, and the entire Thomas fandom for helping maintain such an amazing website.
We would like to thank Rick Suvalle for his time and patience during this interview
Originally Posted on All Engines Go Wiki
In advance of the debut of Syfy Original Movie Roadkill, Dread Central had an opportunity to chat with screenwriter Rick Suvalle about his approach to this project and how he managed to make it slightly different than the average Syfy Original entry.
I can tell you from personal experience writing a Syfy Original Film is not easy. You know going in budgets are thin (transparent even), the special effects aren’t going to be very good, and casting is always a game of Russian roulette with four bullets in the cylinder. So, as a writer, you have to try and compensate for all of those hazards up front: use modest locations, limit special effects screen time, and include no complex dialogue or characters which require too much acting muscle. Yet, you still have to deliver the goods and tell a compelling, visually interesting story even though you don’t have the luxuries afforded even the most modestly budgeted theatrical release. As we know all too well, many fail in this endeavor.
Read MoreBut Suvalle manages to pull off all of the above with Roadkill. He finds creative solutions to the problems faced when penning one of these movies, and while his script definitely benefits from solid casting in the final product, as screenwriter William M. Akers says in his awesome book on screenwriting, Your Screenplay Sucks, if you haven’t written a quality script, you won’t attract quality talent.
DREAD CENTRAL: Roadkill (review here) revisits the well-used premise of a group of young people heading out for a weekend of fun and partying, only for it to go horribly wrong when they run afoul of backwoods locals. Knowing this, how did you approach it differently?
RICK SUVALLE: Roadkill has a certain action movie element to it. To me it’s kind of like a horror version of Speed where you’ve got this group of kids, trapped in a speeding RV, and they can’t stop or slow down or the Roc will get them. I felt like this was enough of a departure from your typical horror movie that I wasn’t afraid to use tried-and-true horror conventions like a group of kids heading out for a weekend of fun only for it to go horribly awry. In fact I purposely tried to sprinkle in various classic horror moments throughout.
The backwoods locals – in this case Irish gypsies – were a different story. I initially only had them in one scene that led to the kids getting cursed. But Syfy really loved the gypsies and wanted to see more of them, and I think they were absolutely right. The gypsies added a whole new level of terror to the story. And it didn’t hurt that they cast Irish native Ned Dennehy as the lead gypsy. He is one creepy villain in this movie.
DC: Was the Roc always part of the premise? Or did that come later?
RS: The Roc actually came much later. The story was originally conceived with a demon-type creature on the roof of the RV that remains there for the entire movie, trapping the kids inside. You would only see glimpses of the creature until the very end. I saw this as a way to make the film on a micro budget. But when Syfy got involved, they wanted Roadkill to fit into their Saturday Original Movie line-up, and that meant having a really cool creature that you could actually see. We went through dozens of potential creatures. We even whipped open the Monster Manual from Dungeons & Dragons for inspiration and eventually realized that the perfect foil for kids in a speeding RV would be something that could actually keep up with them, like a mythical bird of prey. Once we locked in the Roc, I tweaked the mythology to make it work for the story.
DC: Most regular genre viewers will relate what happens to the protagonists to other movies like Pumpkinhead and Drag Me to Hell. How is your take different?
RS: In both of those films, as well as in Roadkill, the protagonists get cursed, resulting in a creature or supernatural force coming after them. But in Roadkill not only do you have the curse and the creature, but you’ve also got the gypsies coming after them, too, and the gypsies are almost more scary and menacing than the creature itself. What also differentiates Roadkill is our core concept, that it has an action movie element to it. Our heroes are always on the run, whereas in Drag Me to Hell Alison Lohman’s character is gradually stalked while she goes about her day-to-day life.
DC: In most of these films the order in which characters are killed off is usually predictable. What’s interesting in Roadkill is the way some characters come to the forefront, then kind of step back for other characters to emerge, which kind of shuffles the expected kill order. Was that hard to structure without losing focus on whose story this really was?
RS: This was actually my first venture into horror so after watching a bunch of these films as research, I did notice the predictability of the pecking order and thought it would not only be fun to change it up a little, but I thought it would also help keep the audience engaged and on their toes. Wondering for a change, “Who’s going to die next?” And surprisingly it wasn’t that difficult to achieve. I knew from the start exactly who I wanted to make it to the end, someone we wouldn’t expect. After that a new pecking order kind of emerged naturally.
As for keeping focused on whose story this really was, I purposely made several characters potential heroes so that whoever stepped up or whoever died next, we would root for them or be bummed out when they got a talon to the face.
DC: Most Syfy Films tend to use a lot of humor. Roadkill is different in that it plays like a straightforward horror film. There’s not much levity. In fact, it gets downright dark in the third act. Was there a sense from the beginning that this film was going to be different in that regard? Or is that something that just sort of happened on its own during the writing process?
RS: In the early drafts of the film there was actually a LOT more humor, partially because I come from an action-comedy background, but I ultimately found that some of those jokes were undercutting the really scary moments in the film so I scaled it way back. But I have to give credit to the director, Johannes Roberts, for taking the darkness to the next level.
DC: This is your first foray into horror; any other genre projects on the horizon?
RS: Yes! I’ve been hired to write a new horror film that I’m really excited about. I can’t say more, but I’m trying to once again flip some of the genre’s conventions on their head.
Originally Posted on Dread Central.