From Sushi Pack to Doc McStuffins, Polly Pocket, and Monster High, Shea Fontana has an extensive resume with her most recent work being the creator and writer of Mermicorno: Starfall. Based on the colorful creatures created by tokidoki under Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Simone Legno, Mermicorno: Starfall released on HBO MAX, has received 9.4 stars out of 10 on IMDb.
The show follows 4 Mermicornos Astra, Gwen, Squishella, and Nautique as they try to rescue little, adorable Pearl Girl from the clutches of the evil Ika Inkblot. But without their memories prior to the starfall (which is how they arrived in the ocean), how will they save Pearl Girl?
Alongside them is Kameko, a human girl who becomes a Mermicorno, searching for her missing father. Season 1 focused on character-driven plots, while solving problems using teamwork and self-confidence, aided by values and morals perfect for children to learn and apply in their daily lives.
Season 1 ended on a rather high-stakes cliffhanger, which begs the question what will happen to our Mermicornos next? I had the opportunity to interview Fontana, discussing the show, her role, and what's to come.
Q: How did Mermicorno: Starfall begin?
A: We partnered with tokidoki to develop something based on their Mermicorno properties. Mermicorno is a collectible toy. Tokdoki had been putting out the Mermicorno toys for quite some time, but they had not had any content about Mermicornos. They partnered with Atomic Cartoons, and Atomic brought me in to look at what they had and figure out how to make a show from this. That's how it all got started.
Q: Could you explain the process of writing and creating a TV show?
A: So when I started development on this series I really start with characters. With Mermicornos there was very little initial development. There was a lot of art from Simone, the creator of tokidoki and the creator of all the Mermicorno characters, so we had art for the main Mermicorno characters, but we didn't have names, they didn't have personalities, they were just art.
It was coming from that standpoint and really figuring out who are these characters, what do we want to see of these characters, and one thing that really inspired me coming into the property, and meeting Simone for the first time, was just how creative Simone was. If you follow him on Instagram you'll see that he's just constantly creating art, he is constantly coming up with these paintings, and as the creative behind the entire tokidoki brand he is overseeing this huge empire of creativity. So I started from there and really thinking about, as a writer and him as a artist, how we use our creativity to make magic in the world.
That's where the idea of these creative forces that the Mermicornos have came from, how Simone is a creative force in the world, he's constantly touching the lives of so many people with his art. I sat down from there and really the first step was a five-page pitch document in which, kind of explains to the companies Atomic and tokidoki what my vision for the show would be and how I see these characters coming together. That idea was in the initial five-page document. A lot of the big ideas of the series were already in there. We had the idea of the stars falling from the sky, and the Mermicornos not having their memories. Astra was there, the twist with Pearl Girl was in there, and it was really the thinking of this not just as these small, little, standalone episodes that you get a lot in TV.
That there would be a big story, a big serialized arc that's going to take us through the mystery of why these Mermicornos don't remember, what happened, what were they doing before, and really have this sophisticated storytelling for kids because we believe kids can handle it. We know that kids can understand these bigger concepts and really follow this story from episode to episode and understand how this story is progressing through the journey of the Mermicornos throughout the ocean. It started from there, a pretty simple overview of where I saw taking characters and that was expanded into what we call a series Bible. So that was maybe 25 pages detailing the season 1 arc as well as the other characters that we would be introducing, the other story ideas, the places that their going, and then we started scripting.
We had a pilot script, and we were working on art at the same time because this art of a little Mermicorno statue is one thing but figuring out how to bring that into animation is a totally different idea. So it's really figuring out how we translate the art from these incredible designs that Simone had done to actually making them move and how are they going to talk because obviously, they don't have mouths. What the art style would be and working with the team and how to figure out how we're going to make this show. It was a fairly long process, it's a process that's really iterative, you go back and forth and you discuss ideas and then you say 'Oh, that idea isn't going to work, we gotta figure out another idea', but it all comes together when you have a really great team of creatives and friends.
Q: To actually give each one (Mermicornos) a personality, how do we think this one would act, what do we think this one would do or say just by a design, it gives you a lot of creative freedom, correct?
A: Yeah, and one of the great things about working with Simone was how much freedom I did have. But it was a collaborative process that was supporting each other, back and forth, and having those conversations. 'I think Astra is this'. 'I think Gwen is like this'. Even figuring out the names was really fun because the original designs he had, they didn't have names. It's a great process.
Q: Did you work closely with Simone?
A: Initially in development Simone and the tokidoki team were very involved in the development. As we got into production, they certainly looked at episodes and scripts, but it was not necessarily an everyday kind of back and forth. But early in development, we did have a lot of conversations.
Q: How familiar were you with tokidoki and Legno's characters before Mermicorno: Starfall?
A: I knew about it. I definitely enjoyed it. I thought it was great; I love the designs. But now I've been immersed in the fandom. I have my tokidoki bag, and whenever I go to the airport, I'm like 'Look it's tokidoki, tokidoki, tokidoki', everybody has their tokidoki stuff and you really see how amazingly popular it is, kids, adults, and everybody really loves the tokidoki brand. I have grown and grown in my fandom of tokidoki throughout my experience with them.
Q: How were our Mermicornos Astra, Gwen, Kameko, Squishella and Nautique created?
A: So we knew that we wanted a core group and usually with a TV show five is a great number. With other shows that I have done that were ensemble shows, that this is truly an ensemble show, where different protagonists are leading each story. Its really about figuring out how the characters both work together and the ways in which they don't work together, which is often the more fun part.
We know that we wanted characters that were very different from each other, characters that had a lot of their own wants and goals. Like Squishella, she wants to be a famous pop star. She's going to go along on this journey, she's going to help Astra but her main objective in life is always to be a pop star. It's figuring out the different characteristics that really help bring those characters to life and make them relatable. We want them to feel fun, funny, and friends you want to hang out with. I think an important thing that is you want characters that have conflicts with each other. You don't want them to all be like 'Yay, we're doing the same thing, all the time'. You also don't want them to be mean.
You want them to be a group of friends you want to hang out with. You don't want them to be hostile to each other because that's not fun and not the kind of relationship that we want to show and emulate for kids. We want kids to want to be a part of this friend group and understand that you can get along with people that are different from you. You can be compassionate and have friendships with people who are very different from you. That's where I start with when I look at an ensemble like that. What are the different points of a star? What are each of the little points that you can have on the characters that make them very different and unique but also a cohesive bunch?
Q: Were there any real-life inspirations behind their unique personalities?
A: I think Astra and I have a lot in common. She has some anxiety issues, there is a lot of self-doubt that she has to deal with. I think a lot of this, certainly on the writing team, understood that, understood finding that self-confidence, finding the ability to share yourself with the world, to lead the charge. She (Astra) is thrown into this situation where she has to be a leader and that's not something she's really comfortable with when she starts out, trying to figure out how does she lead the team. There's certainly a lot of me in Astra and a lot of Astra in me, so there's a lot that we relate to there.
I wouldn't say there's specific people or characters that we were drawing from for the other characters. As a writer I'm sure I speak for the writing team, there's always a little bit of you in every character, a little part 'Oh I'm putting this experience into Squishella right now'. The experience where she is feeling kind of underestimated by the team, in the episode where she fights the sea beast and she thinks if she does this on her own, she's going be able to prove herself. I think a lot of us have been there, feeling like maybe people don't believe in you as much as they should and trying to prove them wrong and getting yourself in a little trouble with that. I think all the characters do have a lot of the creatives behind them in some way.
Q: What would you say is the hardest part of your job?
A: I love my job. My job is a dream come true for me. I don't want to discount any part of it. I think in some way, it can be the letting go of something. As a writer, as a executive producer, you go from it being your thing to everybody's thing. I think there is a part that it is a little hard, to be like 'Alright Astra's yours now, you can do whatever you want'. It's a little bit like you know your babies are growing up and you have to let go of them and let them out into the world. Maybe that's the hardest part.
Q: What is the most enjoyable part of your job?
A: I started as a writer and from there kind of worked up to showrunner/executive producer but certainly the writing is still the most fun for me. I love either, with the team of writers kind of getting in and figuring out what the story is, figuring out the emotional pull of the story is and that moment where something clicks into place and, 'That's it. That's where we're going with this. This is what it's all about in this episode', is really that kind of revelation. Like cracking a puzzle. 'We did it together'. I really love the writing portion.
Throughout the process, there is a lot of different parts that I found that I also really enjoy. I didn't know much about the sound design process before getting into the executive producer on shows and now I really love sound design and appreciate how much sound design can add to an emotional moment and how that really enhances the viewing experience, how that brings in the audience in a way that you can't as a writer. It's not part of what you're doing. It's a completely different set of skills but it's all working towards the same story and the same storytelling.
Q: What has been your biggest takeaway from your first job as a writer of Sushi Pack to your most recent Mermicorno: Starfall?
A: Having had now a twenty-year career in animation, I think the big takeaway is always about who your working with. It sounds very much like something I would write in a TV show but its really the journey, the friends you meet along the way. It's always about the experience and having those moments, the friendships that you click with people, you understand each other on this kind of cellular, creative level.
The director, Wayne, we're so close now. He just really understands the creative process. We really mesh well creatively. I think that's the big takeaway, it's not about if you are at a fancy studio or you're working on a high-profile project, it's really just who you're working with and how those relationships are and those collaborations are working.
Q: What is next for you?
A: I have a couple of things in development, we have more Mermicornos: Starfall coming out. (Episodes) 13-26 will be coming out and maybe they'll answer some more of your questions.
Stream Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 on HBO MAX.