Fans of Disney TV’s live-action ZOMBIES movies will be able to enjoy a new animated take on the popular franchise, beginning this Friday (June 28). The show, which features the voices of Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly and Chandler Kinney, will allow viewers to tag along with Zed, Addison and the entire Seabrook crew as they go through the trials and tribulations of high school life. In this musical comedy-adventure toon, Zed and Addison use A-spen’s alien time warp technology to start their senior year all over again, so they can redo it with all their friends.
The series’ talented showrunners and executive producers Aliki Theofilopoulos (Mickey Mouse, Phineas and Ferb, Harvey Girls Forever, Dew Drop Diaries, Doug Unplugs) and Jack Ferraiolo (Amphibia, WordGirl, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz) were kind enough to answer a few of our questions about their cool summer project. Here is what they told us:
Animation Magazine: First up, congrats on the debut of your show on Disney Channel and Disney+ this week. Can you tell us a little bit about how and when you started working on this project?
Jack Ferraiolo: About two years ago, development came to me and Aliki with the idea of turning the ZOMBIES movie franchise into an animated show. We loved the idea of working on a high school show because of the storytelling opportunities inherent within that setting. We also thought the movies were fun and were gifting us a strong ensemble cast with characters that we both identified with and felt we could stretch even further. Also, Aliki and I had never worked together before, and we were really excited to pair our sensibilities in telling goofy and fun high school stories. Aliki and I are both goofy and fun, so we thought it was a good opportunity.
What is it about the new series that really captured your interest and imagination?
Aliki Theofilopoulos: The idea of taking this exciting Disney franchise and bringing it to life in an animated world which, thanks to this fantastic medium would give us the opportunity to push ideas conceptually and visually, was something that really appealed to us both. We both love shows with strong ensembles that focus on strong characters bouncing off each other, like Freaks and Geeks and New Girl, and were inspired to implement that kind of storytelling into an animated series.
Where is the animation produced and which animation tools are used to create it?
Jack and Aliki: The animation is produced at Atomic Cartoons, our partner studio in Canada. It’s a CG animated show storyboarded in Storyboard Pro.
How many people work on the show with you?
Aliki: Do Mickey and Donald count?
Jack: I’m not great at math, so somewhere between 30 and 165,000 people.
What do you love about this show?
Aliki: I love our crew! At each stage of the production from starting with the spark of an idea in the writers’ room, to finalizing a script draft, to the incredible performances from our actors, memorable music created by our songwriters and composer, storyboards that soar, gorgeous designs, and incredible color and lighting that brings our crew to life — every person pluses the work at each stage, pouring their hearts and souls into the work, and you really just feel it.
Jack: I love that we have a fun cast of diverse personalities to tell ridiculous stories, in which we can take a relatable problem and blow it out of proportion. Despite this, we all strive to keep the characters and story grounded in the emotional truth of being a teenager, like being the new kid in school or being possessed by the spirit of your girlfriend’s Grammy with the sole purpose of building a spaghetti waterfall.
What would you say is the most challenging aspect of creating ZOMBIES: The Re-Animated Series?
Jack: Having so many great characters, it’s hard to sometimes service all of them in our stories. We’ve come to love our cast and sometimes it’s difficult to decide which characters to focus on.
Aliki: I wish I had Eliza’s cloning device, because I want to be at all our meetings and help with drawings and designs at the same time. I want to be involved in every aspect of the production, but as EPs we have to make hard choices about where we spend our time.
The show certainly had an unusual path to production, first appearing as a series of shorts and then being greenlit to series. How did that impact the project as a whole?
Jack: It was very tricky at first. We were trying to produce the shorts while also getting the ball rolling on the series, and it seemed like we were trying to do everything simultaneously. It took a total team effort — from writing to production to design to art and animation — to get everything done on time. Our team mantra has become, “We did the things we were supposed to do,” and that was only possible because of the talent, passion and hard work of every member of our crew.
This past year has been a bit of a rocky period for TV and streaming animation. What is your take on the overall state of the industry? Do you see silver linings ahead?
Jack: It’s hard to tell the future of any industry right now, particularly because things are changing so quickly. I think we should do what we have always done, which is focus on telling good stories. It’s the only thing we can truly control.
Aliki: I totally agree; my hope is that great storytelling, which is important to children and adults alike, will endure despite the changes to the mediums in which we tell these stories.
What do you think young viewers love about the show?
Aliki: We think young viewers will love seeing the characters they already love from the franchise come to life — building on existing friendships, creating some new and interesting pairings, and even introducing some fresh, new faces! We really tried to focus on telling compelling stories that will put these beloved characters into some especially fun and ridiculous situations, and we think fans of the movies will enjoy seeing them grow in new directions.
ZOMBIES: The Reanimated Series premieres this Friday, June 28 at 8 p.m. EDT on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+.
