Before Universal released DreamWorks Animation sequel The Croods: A New Age in theaters last year (to a respectable $216 million worldwide), DWA was already looking to continue the adventures of The Croods and their new family companions, The Bettermans. Spinoff series The Croods: Family Tree debuts this Thursday September 23rd on Hulu and Peacock. Executive Producers Mark Banker and Todd Grimes describe the key story, animation and voice acting decisions they made together.

Jackson Murphy: Mark, when did you find out that DreamWorks wanted to take The Croods: A New Age movie and turn it into a spinoff series?

Mark Banker: I got a call sometime in late 2019. A New Age was in production. I got a call from Peter Gal [Chief Creative Officer at DreamWorks Animation Television], who asked me if I might be interested in seeing an early cut of the movie and talking about doing a new Croods series. Went to the DreamWorks campus and saw an animatic cut of the movie. It was in great shape. Very funny. I loved the first movie, so it was an easy “Yes”. The next week I came-in and pitched what I’d do with the series and probably a month later I was writing the Pilot.

JM: Wow. That is cool.

MB: Very quick.

JM: Yeah, and to be able to go in and see an early cut of the movie like that. I’m sure you had to keep a lot of things a secret but I’m sure that was a really cool experience for you.

MB: So many things. And fun to see a movie like that that early on. A lot of it was hand-drawn panels. There was some unfinished animation. But they had put it together in a way that it played as a little under two-hour movie. Pretty cool to see that process.

JM: Todd, A New Age was in the Top 3 at the box office for 14 weeks in a row. It came-out at Thanksgiving and ended-up doing really well all things considered. As you were making this show, were you following the box office and the growing popularity of that movie?

Todd Grimes: Oh yeah. I think we all were. I think we all were on the edge of our seats. Like Mark said, we had gotten to see earlier iterations of it at the studio, and we were like, “This looks amazing.” The first film but a notch above with these amazing new environments and places to go with these characters. And then the introduction of the new characters and new creatures. I think we all felt like it was gonna be a hit, so when it came out we were right there tracking it. It wasn’t a surprise that it did so well. And of course, thankfully for us, it bode well for our show. (laughs)

JM: Good. Mark, what do you like the most about how The Bettermans and The Croods interact with each other and their playful nature?

MB: I love that this is sort of a classic comedic show set-up. It boils down to The Odd Couple: an evolved family in The Bettermans and a primitive family in The Croods. At the end of the second movie, they move in together and our series picks up right where that leaves off. The series is about these two very different families trying to figure out how to co-exist in a way that doesn’t lead to bloodshed. It’s a lot of fun because it allows us to dig deeper into the characters and explore different pairings of them. I believe there’s 10 main characters. There’s a big sandbox to play in.

JM: Sure. And Todd, how important was it to have Kelly Marie Tran return as Dawn Betterman?

TG: That was fantastic. When we started working on the show, the film was still in production. We weren’t entirely sure we were gonna be able to have Kelly on the show, so it was a fingers crossed kind of thing. Our casting department spoke to her people and we talked about it. We really wanted Kelly because she was part of the evolution of that character on that film. She created the character with the writers and director on the film. It was a no-brainer who we would want most for this character. We hoped for the best and then when we heard she was gonna do it, we were like, “Yeah! Amazing!” We were really excited, and she knew the character really well. She picked-up right where she left off with the character on the film and kept Dawn alive the way she did in the film and it was amazing.

JM: She’s having a real voice acting moment now with this and Raya and the Last Dragon. Mark, in terms of the rest of the voice cast and in working with the casting department, how was it trying to find voice actors who can sort of impersonate Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann and Peter Dinklage?

MB: I’m in awe of this cast and how good it is and how each of them has inhabited these characters. It’s really amazing. Specifically for the Grug character, who was played by Nic Cage in the movies, the actor Kiff [VandenHeuvel] was someone I knew before the show, who did a play with my wife. He ended-up, by coincidence, in casting choices. And when we were listening to the samples, they played his audition and Todd and I were like, “So that’s Nic Cage. What are the actors doing it?” And they’re like, “No. That’s Kiff.” And I was like, “Wow. He sounds more like Nic Cage than Nic Cage.”

There’s another actor, Darin Brooks, who plays Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds in the movies). I had seen Darin years ago in a show called Blue Mountain State. I remember seeing him back then and making a note in my head that if I ever needed to cast someone to play Ryan Reynolds, Darin Brooks has the same energy and [is] funny. It only took 13 or 14 years before I had a chance to do that. It’s kind of amazing how it all played out and that it ended-up being him because that’s real. We got Amy Landecker taking on the Ugga role [Catherine Keener in the films]. She’s so funny and has made it her own. All the cast has jumped into this. Matthew Waterson who plays Phil [Peter Dinklage in “A New Age”]. I don’t wanna leave anybody out! Artemis [Pebdani] did the voice of Gran a little bit in the movie and is now doing the voice on the show. We got so lucky that this cast is incredible.

JM: That’s an amazing story about [Darin]. You never know how life goes!

MB: Right?!

JM: I talked with Joel Crawford for “A New Age” and some of the people behind “Dawn of the Croods”. There’s an importance of the hand-drawn cave drawings – it’s a consistent theme throughout this entire franchise. How important was it for you to incorporate that fun element into this show?

TG: It was very important because it’s part of The Croods‘ paradigm. It’s their version of taking pictures. It’s how they remember things that they do. That’s something that’s important to people in general: remembering their adventures and their lives growing up and their baby photos. The idea that the characters use art to remember their past is something that I thought was brilliant in the first film and it’s carried through in the other iterations of the franchise. It’s something I really love about the show. It gives us a chance to occasionally do something different visually. We can break away for a moment to see really beautiful artwork that’s hand-drawn and break away from the norm that we have of the show, visually. To keep that alive was really important to all of us. It’s a really fun tool and I wanna do more of it! (laughs) Mark, write more 2D sequences into the show! (laughs)

JM: That’s one way of getting them in! I also really like the bear-acudas! Mark, how was it designing them and making them kind of a supporting player in the show?

MB: One of the fun things about this world and the croodaceous era people weren’t aware existed in history is that all of the animals are hybrid animals of existing animals we know. Bear-acudas was one of them. It’s a bear with a fish tail and fins and legs and it’s horrifying. But we’ve had a lot of fun in the writers’ room coming up with all different types of hybrid animals and bear-acuda was one that won the hybrid animal tournament that we have about once a week.

JM: (laughs) Speaking of tournaments and gameplay, I really like the competitive game episode of the show. Todd, what’s the most competitive you’ve ever been? Maybe it involves working on this show. Maybe it’s just playing board games at home.

TG: The most competitive I’ve ever been? Wow, that’s a good question. Probably doing this type of work. Probably working with Mark. (laughs) Mark is the hardest working man I’ve ever worked with in entertainment and keeping up with him is probably the most competitive I’ve ever tried to be, I think. (laughs) We have a great working relationship. He’s made me better and I hope I have as well made him better. (laughs) We’re always trying to make things funnier and better and using the tools of our experiences together to try to make the show the best it can be.

JM: That’s high praise you’re giving Mark there, Todd.

TG: Well-deserved.

MB: I don’t want it to seem like we are competitive with each other because Todd and I worked together before on [The Epic Adventures of] “Captain Underpants”, so we had the benefit of working together for years. And so going into this show, we had already established a great shorthand. It’s funny: most of the time we sort of have the same feelings about things. It’s kind of like, if we’re watching a cut or looking at something, one of us will say something before the other one gets there. Or one will go, “I have something in 10 minutes.” “I have something there too.” Now we just share a brain, which is kind of nice. It’s very efficient. I could not ask for a better partner in this than Todd. He’s amazing and what a wonderful experience this has been to put together this show with him.

JM: Yeah. Perfect duo and relationship and it’s translated into such a success, which is great. Mark, who is in your animation “Family Tree”? Who are the people that you wouldn’t be in this profession without?

MB: Okay. I’ll let you go first, Todd. I gotta think about that one.

TG: I would have to say my family. I’ve been married for 21 years and my wife has been with me the whole time in moving everywhere I go for every job I have to do and supporting me. Probably that and also the colleagues and people I’ve worked with over the years. It’s such a small industry that most of the jobs you get subsequent to the one you’re working on largely are dependent on people you’ve known in the past and who have liked your work. You can always relate to having gotten a job or come upon a job based on people you know and who you’ve worked with and who you liked working with and who like working with you.

JM: That’s a smart answer in multiple ways. Not only about the people you’ve worked with but your wife will be pleased with that answer when she reads this. Mark, what about you?

TG: Now you have to say your wife, Mark!

MB: (laughs) I too am going to start with my wife, who is an actor, which is fortunate because she understands the ups and downs of this industry. We’ve actually had the honor of getting to work together on a number of animated shows. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without her. We share a sense of humor, so I would put her right at the top of the heap of course! There are so many wonderful people in the animation industry that I’ve worked with over the years that it’s hard to pinpoint some. But specific to this job and my time at DreamWorks just because it’s kind of a fun story: Peter Gal… he and I met probably 20 years ago when we were both at different studios in different positions. And we’ve moved around all over the industry, but anywhere he went… he gave me a call and tried to get me work. Once again, when he landed at DreamWorks, he reached out and he was the person who reached out on this show. So I will be forever grateful to Peter Gal for constantly remembering me and putting me in positions where I can do the best job in the world.