April 6th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
Stephanie Kaliner is the executive producer and showrunner of new DreamWorks Animation series Pinecone and Pony. It’s adapted from author Kate Beaton’s popular picture book “The Princess and the Pony” and premieres this Friday April 8th on AppleTV+. Pinecone, a curious and adventurous girl, and her best friend — a pony named Pony — learn about themselves and the magical, extravagant world around them. Kaliner discusses her animation inspirations and what makes this series special. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: Medieval times, jousting, warriors, wizards and forest creatures… were you interested in all of this when you were young?
Stephanie Kaliner: Oh definitely! Oh my gosh. Yes, I’m a huge fantasy nerd. So when this show came along, it had everything I loved all rolled up into one.
JM: And now that you’ve worked on this show, what do you think fascinates this generation of kids about medieval times and everything you capture in Pinecone and Pony?
SK: Well, I guess there’s always a way to make things feel fresh and new for audiences with the types of stories we’re telling and the themes. There’s always a way to put a fun medieval / fantasy twist on what feels like a fresh and modern theme. There’s a way of using the medieval / fantasy genre to express something new, even if we’ve seen that genre before.
JM: Pinecone and Pony have such a fun, energetic spirit to them. What were your goals in wanting to express this relationship?
SK: A big part of it is that even though they’re very different from each other in a certain way, they still really connect because they let the other person be themselves. And they honor and love each other as they are. They don’t ask the other person to change. Pony’s a lot more chill than Pinecone, and Pinecone’s really like, “Get in there and go!” She’s got these lofty goals. And Pony’s happy to just support her and be alongside her. And he in turn helps her slow down and ground herself. They give a lot to each other. But we also made sure to have an episode to show how they’re not codependent too. They also respect each other’s differences and let themselves be independent as well.
JM: That’s what you want in a friend. You want somebody to trust and you want to allow the other person to be themselves. You’re absolutely right. In the first episode, which is called “The Pwettiest Pony”, you have a lot of commentary on dog shows. I used to watch the dog show on Thanksgiving Day. I haven’t in the last few years. Why did you feel that was a must — to do this commentary in the first episode.
SK: There was a lot of inspiration drawn from Best in Show just because that’s such a funny movie, especially with the style of the commentating that’s going on. But also in that episode we wanted to express the main theme of the show that came out in the book. There’s more than one way to be. The main theme of that episode is how Pinecone thinks being a warrior is being tough and really serious. Pony’s showing her that “no”, you can show this softer side. Don’t be afraid to get cute and cuddly. There’s strength in that too. You can be just as fierce being beautiful and cute. It really helps show Pinecone that full spectrum. It really lets her be her full self and not just express one side of herself.
JM: Very true. The themes really come through in the first episode. And you’re so right about Best in Show — an iconic comedy. You’ve been in the comedy world a long time with some TV shows in Canada. Has Christopher Guest been an inspiration to you, and who are some of the other people that have inspired you in the comedy world?
SK: I love Christopher Guest movies because the characters are so authentically themselves, and that’s where all the comedy comes from. They’re so committed to these oddball characters… and making them feel real — you just laugh. And they’re not really telling “joke – joke – jokes” on the page. They’re just being themselves in an authentic way, which I love. The Simpsons is a huge comedy inspiration for me. The first eight seasons are {Kaliner does a chef’s kiss} perfect. (laughs) I love Bob’s Burgers. I love comedy that’s kind. I don’t think expressing themes makes something unfunny. Some people think, “If you’re learning then you’re not laughing.” But I really don’t think things have to be mutually exclusive like that. You could have a good, warm heart and still be really, really funny. I laugh so hard watching Bob’s Burgers, but I also sometimes cry.
JM: You gotta be looking forward to The Bob’s Burgers Movie coming out in a month and a half.
SK: YES! Oh my goodness. I’m so excited about that. (laughs)
JM: Some of your shows on Canadian TV have been more aimed at adults than kids, even in the animation world. Is it trickier to write comedy that you feel is going to land for kids vs. adults?
SK: I always try to imagine that adults are watching too. I’m an adult who watches a lot of kids TV. I’m a huge fan of Avatar, Hilda and She-Ra. I get a lot out of kids content. I hope that adults watch Pinecone and Pony too, especially because a lot of adults are fans of Kate Beaton. I hope that they tune in because we worked really hard and with Kate to be true to her voice.
At the end of the day, this is a show for kids. I’m not trying to lob anything over their heads for the parents where kids are gonna feel left out of the joke. I don’t like the idea that they’re gonna see their adults laughing and feel like, “Oh what are they laughing at? I bet they won’t tell me if I ask.” If the kids aren’t gonna laugh, then we’ll find a different joke. There’s always gonna be a funny joke that will make the kids and the parents laugh. I always remind myself that it’s for them. And the same thing when thinking of themes for the show. All of the writers on the show have told a lot of really personal stories to try to remember what it feels like to be a kid — to try to dig up old feelings we thought we could explore that felt authentic to being a kid.
Stephanie Kaliner
JM: Nice. The show is based on author Kate Beaton’s picture book “The Princess and the Pony”. How surreal was it for you bringing the book to life and for her seeing her story and that whole universe expand?
SK: She was just amazed. I think she felt really, really touched. She had done the book a while ago. Seeing all these different writers come in and add to her world… she said she felt really touched and also impressed by everyone and their skill set. It’s a different skill set than she’s had working on the books and comics. She got a lot out of it being a team experience. In a writing room, everybody’s adding onto each other’s ideas to make the product. And when you work alone, as she’s said she’s often had to do as a writer of books, she’s never really had that team experience before. She got a lot out of that. And seeing the show come to life: there’s so many more characters and it’s really taken on a life of its own. She said, “There’s the book… and there’s the show”, and she’s very proud of both.
JM: That’s fantastic. In the episode, “Try This Club on for Size”, it features some very encouraging lines: “Pinecone and Pony never back down from a challenge!” “To get over a wall, you gotta give it your all!” What was the biggest technical challenge you had to overcome when making Pinecone and Pony?
SK: A big part of what made this challenging was we did the whole show during COVID. We got the green light in May 2020. It was pretty early on in the pandemic. I literally just had a baby a month before.
JM: Wow!
SK: I was a new mom. So that was a challenge too! (laughs) And Kate had a baby. We both had these babies. I was literally nursing during it. So we would have our writing rooms on Zoom and I would literally tilt the camera up and use my breast pump… sorry if this is too much information… but we would be talking about the stories and you’re {she makes pumping noise}. But that’s what you have to do! You have to pump and run a show at the same time. And I did that for a year. It was very intense. And I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
JM: But it’s all paid off with the show! And I did read you gave birth to a son, but I did not know when it was. I saw on Twitter you wrote, “When it comes to this show, I’ve never been prouder of anything I’ve ever done (except for giving birth to my son. He’s very cool.)” Very funny. When did you officially know that you were a part of something special? Was there a specific day or moment when you knew, “This is the career highlight of my life”?
SK: Every day was so easy. I feel like there’s been times in my professional career when I’ve been… it’s not fun. On this show every day was fun. Even if challenges came up… the team on this show… everyone involved was so kind and so lovely that it honestly made everything easy. And I’ve never felt that kind of ease before on a job. I know everyone worked really hard and put in long hours. I don’t want to minimize that it was hard work. But at the same time, it just felt like there’s an ease to it and a celebration. Everyone involved was always so… it felt like their hearts were really being put into the work. And that made me feel the proudest of all.
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