You may have struck gold reading this article as Apple TV+ is introducing a new series to the streamer, Goldie, which premieres on Feb. 14!
Set in the vibrant and whimsical town of Boysenberg, Goldie is centered around a giant girl who feels out of scale in her colorful little town, only to realize she takes up just the right amount of space. The series is an expansion of Emily's own award-winning short film of the same name. Brundige's short won a Special Mention’ Kids’ Choice Award, Palm Springs Int’l Shortfest 2019, 'Best of the Fest,” “Best Children’s Animation,” and “Best Character Design” at LAAF 2019.
The voice cast features Jessica McKenna (The Mighty Ones), Emmy Award-nominee Dee Bradley Baker (Phineas and Ferb), Amari McCoy (Spidey and His Amazing Friends), Vedanten Naidoo (Little Girl, Little Boy), Grey Delisle (The Fairly OddParents), and James Sie (Stillwater). The series will also feature comedic powerhouses as guest voices such as Cree Summer, Al Yankovic, Nicole Byer, Maulik Pancholy, Maria Bamford, and Henry Winkler. Goldie is produced by Mercury Filmworks, Emmy Award-winner Graham MacDonald (Mickey Mouse), with Ben Greene (Hilda) as head writer. Brundige serves as executive producer alongside Daytime Emmy Award-winner Clint Eland (Hilda).
With her unique blend of artistic talent and storytelling prowess, Brundige and Apple TV+ bring a series that’s as visually captivating as it is emotionally resonant with young viewers and their families. Brundige is a true creative force—artist, writer, and visionary developer, who speaks about her time working on the short film to prepare for a new audience to introduce Goldie to. Read on as we find out more about what makes Goldie such a shining star for viewers to see.
Goldie, the short film, has won so many awards and is critically acclaimed. How did that recognition impact your journey to creating the series, and did it change your approach in any way or open any new doors?
Emily Brundige: It helped me as an artist. As an individual because I've had ups and downs in this industry. When I stopped to create something of my own, to see it be accepted so much and for people to like it the way they did was very validating and reassuring because it's always scary when you put your work out there. When something that you believe in so much, others do, as well, it's a nice feeling.
Goldie is such a unique character. Were there any qualities or themes that came from you personally?
EB: There's a lot of me actually in Goldie. Maybe I'm not as expressive as she is, but just like me, she struggles with confidence and is a people-pleaser. She has a lot of these flaws that I have, and I think a lot of girls, especially seeing that it's okay, a character like that, have those characteristics and be okay, I think is a comforting thing to be able to see. She can flood a whole town with her tears but she's still going to be loved even with that.
Animation is such a rich medium. I went to your website and saw the creative team. There's a lot more animation work that you have to do for all of these storylines. As you adapted your short to a series with Apple TV, what was your approach to design?
EB: We had one set for the short. For the show, we had to create many sets and expand them literally and visually into a whole world. That's what the team had to do and create a consistent visual language with the character design. That was another thing that had to be finessed. From a writing standpoint, we have to be able to develop the characters more and their relationships more. There's not necessarily an ongoing arc that we're following, but we do get a chance to see different sides of different characters, which is nice.
Were there any specific emotional themes that you were looking to include as the show progressed outside of the pilot?
EB: A lot of the stories came from the writers. The emotional problems that the characters have are both kid and adult problems naturally, because [the writing] came from adults who were at the same time reflecting on themselves as kids. I really like that aspect. I feel like both kids and parents can relate to the kinds of stories we tell.
Where did you pull details of the show with the name of the town and characters?
EB: I get a lot of inspiration from Pippi Longstocking and those stories. From the get-go, even with the short, I wanted to base the town on a quaint European town feel and with a really close community and a mayor who's super friendly friendly, and personable, almost like a friend. That's why Goldie's outfit looks German.
I definitely didn't want it to feel exactly of our time and place. Boysenberg is its own idealized little town that I wanted to feel timeless. We don't do too much with technology on the show. It exists, but it's not huge and not heavily featured.
That's really refreshing, considering how much technology is pushed onto young people. What do you want this show to be for people?
EB: Especially now at the time it's coming out, more than anything, I just want it to feel like a warm hug. A very positive experience watching the show, and I want it to feel like to be a happy escape for people right now.
Surprise! We have an exclusive clip for you to watch below on Apple TV's official YouTube channel:
All season 1 episodes of Goldie premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, Feb. 14.