July 7th, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
Chris Nee, creator of Disney’s Doc McStuffins and Vampirina, is now making a major impact at Netflix. She has several projects in the works for the streamer and two new series premiering this month: music event We the People (which debuted on July 4th) and family adventure Ridley Jones (which starts this Tuesday July 13th). Nee discusses the inspirations for both shows and what she loves the most about them. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: You have two shows debuting on Netflix at the same time. How does that feel?
Chris Nee: Well it’s not a good idea. (laughs) Just in terms of sleeping at night. No, it’s extraordinary, and of course you well understand the world of animation – it takes so long to make these shows. The soonest opportunity you have to put it out in the world and be able to talk about the reason you haven’t replied to anyone’s emails over the last two years, you take it. It’s a very weird thing to have two such different shows coming out at the same time but I’m thrilled. I’m so excited.
JM: Let’s start with Ridley Jones. Were you inspired by going to museums when you were young and the… wonder you experience (especially when kids go to museums)?
CN: Yeah. I grew up in Manhattan not far from the Natural History Museum and I used to go there a ton as a kid. And my mom was a real museum person. She ended-up working at the Met for a while, and when my son was little she would take him to the Met early in the morning and late at night (before or after everyone was there). So they would walk around these rooms by themselves and she would sit him down on the floor and they would be in these empty rooms with all of these old statues and paintings. And I thought, “That’s a pretty magical world.”
JM: When Night at the Museum came out at the end of 2006, I was just starting to review movies at that time. And there were a lot of other family movies out and this didn’t look that great to me. So I didn’t see it for two and a half months and then I finally went and I was blown away.
CN: It’s so great.
JM: I thought that it was an amazing concept. And it seems like you were also inspired by Indiana Jones a little bit with the fedora and her style. How has that [franchise] inspired you throughout your life?
CN: I grew-up in that era of the really fun, big family action/adventure movies that had a sense of humor. The entire genre. I was going to the movie theater in the ’70s [and ’80s]. I remember seeing Indiana Jones and The Goonies and Star Wars. It’s really a nod to all of those movies. The big thing I wanted to do was tell an action/adventure story from the point of view of a young girl, and I wanted a young female character to go through a hero’s journey. I don’t think we get to see that that often and it seemed like a perfect setting for that.
JM: And I think kids will enjoy that… the characters can go through the walls at night. It’s limitless – the possibilities. In coming up with those stories, how did you narrow it down to the kind of stories you wanted in this season and the kind of places around the museum for everyone to go into?
CN: For the most part, we’re always looking for a story where we can hook onto a real kid emotion. Whatever places would allow us to explore the things we felt were very human even while we were in the animated/crazy character world. That was always the space we were looking for. Dante for us represented a teen character. My son is 14 and a half and he’s almost 5’10”/5’11”, so he’s got those limbs that he can’t quite control. The tail on Donte represented that. Dudley the Dodo bird… I always love to write characters who are very in touch with their fear, and Dudley is that… and very afraid of being left alone. Peaches – getting to have a character who’s gone to space is so much fun. Ismat has all this history and pageantry being a mummy queen. The stories took us to so many extraordinary places.
JM: You also have little Pedro the Penguin. He’s so cute.
CN: He’s SO cute!
JM: How was it designing him and all the characters to get that cuteness but also a little bit of historical accuracy?
CN: And we’re working with Brown Bag Films, who I’ve been partnered with for Vampirina and Doc McStuffins. They’re so extraordinarily good. You don’t have to teach them how to make something that is cute. The challenge in terms of animation on this one was that the characters are such different types of characters. How do you make them feel like they’re from different exhibits but also still living in the same universe? But they did such a great job with that. And that voice for Pedro, you’re like, “I’ll save you. Of course.”
JM: Why not? Irresistible. Speaking of voices, Blythe Danner voices Ridley’s grandma. What was her attraction to this?
CN: She has grandkids [including] a granddaughter and a strong daughter [Gwyneth Paltrow]. She really loved the world and loved the idea of a matriarchy – the grandmother and the mother (played by Sutton Foster) and this amazing actress [Iara Nemirovsky] who plays Ridley Jones. [Danner] was actually a quick “Yes” and such a delight to work with. You’re just like, “Hi, Legend!”
JM: Let’s transition into We the People. I’ve screened three of the episodes so far. Is this really for you a new spin on Schoolhouse Rock?
CN: It’s Schoolhouse Rock, Free to Be… You and Me and Hamilton. They’re the inspirations. But for me, and for many people, we’ve watched our country go through a lot of turmoil in the last few years. I’m trying to work on things during the day that help me sleep at night. Being able to do We the People and Netflix getting so fully behind it… obviously the craziness of asking the Obamas to join you as producers, and they did. Suddenly we were on this trajectory to be able to make something really special that helped me look at the world around me and feel like I was talking to it.
JM: Yeah. I grew-up watching those Schoolhouse Rock videos over and over again at school. I think kids are going to get something out of [We the People]. They’re gonna learn about what’s going on in our country right now. They’re gonna learn about what they can do in the not too distant future. And see some cool animation as well. So you accomplish all of that.
CN: Yeah. And we have 10 different animation styles, so I really think they’re gonna be represented [well] and introduced to a whole language of our world, which is fantastic. We have incredible animators. Peter Ramsey joined us [and] Jorge Gutierrez, Tricia Gum and Daron Nefcy. We got the heavy hitters in the business to come and put their stamp on it. But what we know from those shows from our youth is that: We remember actual, factual information from them. We all know how a bill becomes a law because of Schoolhouse Rock. But I also know that it’s alright to cry because of the emotionality of “Free to Be… You and Me”. So if we can capture all of that with these incredible musical artists, hopefully we can give everyone a common language to talk about civics again.
JM: How challenging was organizing all of this – and in terms of giving everybody freedom but at the same time staying on the goals that you wanted from the beginning?
CN: I’m gonna sleep for the next year because it was challenging. I often had to apologize to the rest of the producers that I had this idea, especially with the 10 different animation styles and 10 different pipelines. We worked with Buck and Titmouse – extraordinary studios who made it easier. And the goal was to find the right people (which is sort of my philosophy always) and give them a lot of freedom to do their best. Everybody was on board with how important the project was, so people really wanted to impress. And they did. It’s been a long two years. We thought it was gonna be one year. It ended up being two. We’re ready for it to be out in the world.
JM: How do you approach a story that’s only four minutes [“We the People”] vs. 11 min. [“Ridley Jones”]?
CN: They’re really different. “Ridley” is really a written show, and that’s how I came up. I’m a writer first and foremost. That’s where I get in there and be the actual creative and sit down and write the scripts and generate them. In terms of We the People, it’s more being an executive producer and the person who puts all the pieces together, solves the problems and opens up the playpen and says, “Come do your thing.” I’m not the one writing those songs and animating the pieces. I’m the clear vision who’s gonna do everything I can to make sure you can do your best work.
JM: You have a lot in the works, right?
CN: Yeah. We have “Ada Twist, Scientist”, which is coming out in the Fall, which is also co-produced with the Obama team based on the incredible book series. “Spirit Rangers”… is one I’m executive producing and is being showrun by Karissa Valencia. It’s absolutely gorgeous. After that we have “Dino Daycare” coming up… and we’re also doing “Antiracist Baby”. We’re working on a lot!
JM: Wow. Netflix clearly loves you right now and is a powerhouse when it comes to animation. You being a core part of it is awesome.
CN: It’s amazing. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Netflix said, “We believe you and we’re excited to make what you wanna make.” You never quite believe that stuff and it turned out to be true. I’m excited to make stuff, so if you’re gonna keep saying “Yes”, I’m gonna keep giving you new stuff to make. And my poor team. I work with the best people but I don’t seem to stop. (laughs)
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