Eric Fogel Talks Megamind Rules!

The TV Kids Festival conference agenda wrapped with Eric Fogel, executive producer at DreamWorks Animation, taking delegates behind the scenes of the new animated series Megamind Rules!

The series for Peacock, launching March 1, serves as a follow-up to the 2010 animated blockbuster Megamind. You can watch Fogel’s keynote session with TV Kids’ Anna Carugati here.

“It’s been over 13 years since we caught up with Megamind,” Fogel said. “In that original film, he went from being a supervillain to a superhero. As a fan, I was really excited to catch up with him and see how he’s been doing in this new role as the hero of Metro City. For a lot of people, that curiosity sparked this new chapter. We’re picking up just a few days after the events of the original movie. So, thanks to the magic of animation, it’s as if no time has passed at all. We just jump right back in, which is really fun.”

In addition to the new series, there’s an animated special, Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate, in which “Megamind has to learn to trust his friends and how to work as a team in order to win the day,” Fogel said. “The movie ends with the introduction of a nefarious character from Megamind’s past whose name is Machiavillain. In the series, Machiavillain is going to be working very hard to destroy everything Megamind has built in order to lure him back to the world of villainy. The series slowly builds on this tension, and the stakes get higher and higher as it becomes a roller coaster ride to the big finale.”

Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, who wrote the original feature, penned the special and are working on the series. “Maintaining continuity with that original film was really important to me,” Fogel explained. “My goal was to get as close as possible to the look and feel of the 2010 film. Having Alan and Brent return for this was absolutely crucial. As the original creators of Megamind, they know the world better than anyone. They’ve really been amazing collaborators.”

On appealing to fans of the original while attracting new audiences, Fogel commented, “Firstly, fans will be delighted to learn that Megamind still has a hard time pronouncing certain words. In addition, both the movie and the series will delve deeper into Megamind’s world and his mythology. He will also be reuniting with a fan-favorite character from the original film that I’m not going to spoil, but I think it’s going to be very satisfying seeing these two characters come together again. We’re also introducing a brand-new character named Keiko Morita, who brings a teenager’s point of view to the show and teaches Megamind a few of the modern conventions. We realized pretty early on that it’s really funny seeing Megamind playing off a teenager.”

On choosing an animation style for a show, Fogel commented: “Story always comes first. Relatable characters, conflict, humor and heart are the keys to a successful show, no matter what platform you’re on. In terms of animation styles, CG is the clear frontrunner, but it’s really just a means to an end. It’s a tool that has allowed filmmakers to push and stretch the limits of animation, as far as their imaginations will allow, which is really exciting. If you look at a film like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, it had a very painterly quality. Or Spider-Verse or the recent Ninja Turtles movie. These films are mixing hand-drawn scribble-style, stop-motion animation styles and CG, with results that are really stunning.”