On Aug. 18, Disney Junior introduced young viewers to its new series Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, which is the fifth TV series based on the Winnie the Pooh franchise. The show has the distinction of being the first Pooh project released by Disney after A.A. Milne’s original stories entered the public domain in 2022. We recently had the chance to chat with the show’s director /co-exec producer Elise Fachon, who is also the creative director of short-form content at L.A.’s own OddBot Studio, about her work on the show and her animation career. Here is what she told us:
Animag: Congrats on your latest project. Can you tell us a bit about your background in animation and how your interest in the art form developed?
Elise Fachon: I always gravitated to animated content. As a kid, I can remember making the girls at my 13th birthday sleepover watch a DVD compilation of animated Weird Al music videos. In the mid 2000s, I scoured the internet for early Flash animation — Homestar Runner, Making Fiends Weebls Stuff — it was all so silly and fun. My brother got me a copy of Spirited Away for my 17th birthday, and that unlocked a whole new level. I think I watched it seven times that first weekend.
I was drawn to anything animated because the worlds it offered were so varied and interesting. In live action, people were mostly just people, but in animation, the sky was the limit.
When was the first time you knew you wanted to work in animation?
I’ve known since my sophomore year of high school that I wanted to pursue a career in animation. I can pinpoint the moment, watching the “making of” for the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In it, there’s an interview with Thurl Ravenscroft where he talks about animation as a combination of art and theater – the two things I was most interested in at the time – and it all just clicked. Never mind that I was living in New Hampshire, a place where animation isn’t really considered a viable career, or considered at all, really.
What was your first job in animation?
My first animation job was working for Ghostbot in San Francisco. I worked there two summers during college: the first summer as an internship, and the second summer as an employee. I adored working there – Ghostbot’s team is made up of such kind and talented creatives who taught me a lot of what I knew about Flash. What I learned from them was invaluable to my career, and I am endlessly grateful for Ghostbot’s belief in me!
What are you currently working on?
One of my big projects is Playdate with Winnie the Pooh, which just made its premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Junior YouTube, but we have other shorts in development I’m also really excited about. Unfortunately, I can’t say much about them, but one is a property I’ve loved for a long time, and I’m really excited to share more about it once we’re further along.
What do you love best about working at OddBot?
Working at OddBot has been a lucky fit for me! I get to flex so many different creative muscles, whereas I felt a bit more slotted into one specific role at other places I’ve worked. Here, I’ve had the opportunity to come up with ideas, direct, draw, create and fix animation, record scratch audio, attend record sessions, project plan – I really get to use all of the skills in my toolbox. Plus, the culture allows me to be fully myself. I get to be a little silly or weird in meetings and my team puts up with my puns and portmanteaus!
The company culture is also one of creativity and respect, which I love. I think for a project to succeed, everyone on the team needs to feel valued — from Chris (our studio president) who values creative and dives in alongside us, all the way to our rockstar Pooh PA who always has exactly what we need before we even ask for it. Being respected and valued helps everyone to be their most creative. OddBot supports those core values.
Can you tell us a bit about Playdate with Winnie the Pooh? What makes this new take on Winnie the Pooh stand out?
I love how vibrant and colorful this series is, and the kid voices. Recording child voice actors has been such an inspiration; they bring so much joy to their roles. I love that this version has more core female characters. Kanga plays a bigger role and Rabbit is a girl in our version. Plus, I really love our new character Bea the beaver. I love the bright colors and playable design of the Hundred Acre Wood in this take.
It’s been a dream come true to work on this property. Like so many, the Winnie the Pooh brand has been special to me since before I can remember. There are a lot of new parents on the Pooh Crew, which brings even more purpose to what we’re creating. We’re keen to introduce the next generation to characters that meant so much to us.
How is it different from other Winnie the Pooh animated projects we have seen?
Visually, it’s quite different. The characters are younger versions of themselves, with kid voices to match their younger appearance. We’ve gone with a CG style, which is a big leap from the classic. The colors are brighter, the Hundred Acre Wood is more play-focused, and the designs for a few of the characters have eye-whites. All of these adjustments were the result of thoughtful and intentional change. It’s intimidating to take something beloved and try to do something different with it, but at the same time, change can bring about really cool new things.
We made this series for kids growing up today — and I sincerely hope they enjoy it!
What are your biggest challenges?
Breaking short stories isn’t necessarily easier just because they’re shorter. Sometimes, it can be really challenging to tell a full narrative in a shortened amount of time. I do find that rewarding though, boiling a story down to its most essential elements. When I’m trying to break a story, I’ll block out a chunk of time to really dive deep.
Additionally, our shorts team is much smaller, so if one crew member is out, we work extra hard to make sure they’re covered. We all pitch in and help, or pull in additional resources if needed. It can make it hard to take a step back from work, but I think it also helps everyone on the team feel valued and needed, which I love. I never want to let my team down, but work-life balance is also important to stay creative, and that’s something I prioritize.
I love books, and I read most mornings, and go for runs when I’m feeling creatively stuck, and I like to try new recipes in the evenings. Making sure to have experiences outside of work makes you creative at work, and maintaining work-life balance helps me recharge so I can be the most creative during the day.
Who are some of your animation idols?
Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, Aardman Animations to name a few. I’m also really grateful to Weird Al for having so many animated music videos. He was a big inspiration to me as a kid, and I was introduced to so many animation styles because of his music videos.
What is your take on AI and how it is threatening some of the jobs in the industry?
It takes time to learn this craft, and a tool that can produce an image instantly devalues the discipline and hard work spent learning what makes good art. AI-generated art is unregulated, so the current databases use copyrighted art from artists to “create” their AI art, something many people don’t realize.
Unless AI becomes well-regulated, with artists compensated for willingly opting into a database, I think it’s unethical and problematic. It also disincentivizes emerging artists, which concerns me for the greater future of art production. We need artists. Without true art, there IS no AI “art.” If we turn to AI thinking it can replace art… well, that’s a bleak world where computers do the creative work. I do think humans will always make art, and it will always be superior to anything created by AI. Art is meant to communicate a feeling; something simply AI can’t do.
Can you talk a bit about the evolving role of women in the animation industry over the past couple of decades?
It can be a challenge to be a woman in this industry. I’m used to hearing “women can do/have it all” from folks who don’t realize there are things that need to change for that to be realistic — not to mention the impossible standard a do-it-all mentality sets. I talk to friends and colleagues who (myself included) feel like they’re falling short when, in reality, we aren’t being set up for success to begin with.
I’d like to see our industry – and culture at large – work on addressing some of the very real issues we still face, things like access to affordable childcare, lack of diversity in leadership positions, and societal expectation of family structure. It’s… a lot to tackle, and that can feel overwhelming, but I do find comfort and solidarity in a community of women in animation that I see growing.
In the more than a decade that I’ve worked in this field, I’ve seen a positive shift. Crews are more diverse and because of that, the narratives being told are for more varied audiences. I find myself watching animated shows where I think, “this is for me!!” which isn’t something I experienced as often growing up. Being on the other side and working in the industry, I can make things that might have resonated for me when I was small and support and nurture the people I want to see succeed. Change is happening, and while it is incremental, it is heading in a direction that gives me a lot of hope.
What kind of advice would you offer young women who would like to get into the animation business?
One of my favorite bits of advice is to cultivate an attitude of fearlessness. There are times in my career I tried to do something that didn’t seem likely or even possible, only to have it succeed. You never know what you’re capable of until you try! Support the community around you and look out for each other. Lift each other up! All boats rise with the tide. The animation industry is small, and you’ll find yourself working with the same people for years, so cultivating a positive relationship is helpful.
Last, I know it’s corny… but being true to yourself is really great advice. Create the kinds of characters you want to see, tell the kinds of stories you want to tell, and be your authentic self because you belong in this space. I’ve thought about this a lot especially as a woman in a leadership role: Is it appropriate to include gifs in emails to execs? How many exclamation points before I seem unprofessional, etc.? It can be intimidating to sometimes be the only woman in a room, and observe as others lead differently. But, ultimately, I want to be the kind of leader that feels natural to me, exclamatory gifs and all! And if that style of leadership looks a little different from what’s been the norm for decades, maybe that’s a good thing.
Playdate With Winnie the Pooh is produced by OddBot Inc. in association with Disney Junior. The show premiered on Disney’s YouTube channel on Aug. 18 and will be available on Disney Junior.
You can watch the trailer below:
