#tgamm interview

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“I remember when my daughter was going through it,” recalls Bill Motz, a long-time Disney animation writer who has worked on shows like Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, and Big Hero 6: The Series. “And the timing is all different. You have friends who are blossoming way early, and other ones who look eternally 10-years-old. I remember with my daughter, her friends would suddenly sprout up and be twice as tall, and she always felt like she was left behind in some respects. When you are impacted by puberty, or when you finally get your period, all those things, it's a big life change, and it can really change the dynamics between your friendships and even how you relate with your family.”

So, when Motz and friend Bob Roth – another veteran Disney animation writer and producer – were first planning to approach Disney about incorporating a whole episode on periods in their series The Ghost and Molly McGee’s second season, the two co-creators were, understandably, nervous.

“We were all prepared to go to war,” says Roth. “But Disney was supportive from the moment they first heard the idea. We've seen a real shift over the course of our careers about the kinds of topics we can discuss and incorporate into the show. And I'm so grateful for that, because it makes the storytelling that much more fun and authentic and real.”

“We're delighted that we actually get to have this kind of conversation [on the show] and a little surprised that it hasn't been a bigger topic sooner,” notes Motz. “This is a key part of the human experience. And a lot of Pete's journey is in that episode, which is very reflective of my own. After all, our wish was for this to be a show for families. And we hoped that families could see themselves in it.”

“It's an opportunity for dialogue,” says Motz. “It's a way to initiate conversation. Parents always wonder when they're going to have certain talks with their kids about certain things and it seems so awkward and inorganic in how you try to bring it up. But if you have something that you could watch together and react to together, it makes it easier.”

Roth adds, “We’re the modern day, ‘How to talk to your kids,’ guide. Let's not pack these things away into the corner and pretend they don't exist.”

About the episode ¨Period Piece¨ tackling periods. Respect for the creators and the team for including these topics in the show.

Source: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/ghost-and-molly-mcgee-season-2-first-loves-and-first-periods

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #tgamm interview #tgamm news #Bill Motz #bob roth

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Since Molly McGee has now officially ended without showing adult versions of Molly and her friends, does that mean we can hope to see more adult!Molly in your future works? Also, the grown-up versions of Libby, Andrea, Ollie, Darryl and June?

Yeah, but give me some time to fully digest everything and do a rewatch and make my "Top 12 TGaMM songs of S2" list. Not to mention reading writers/creators interviews and whether or not it gets renewed (which I doubt considering that ending).

#ask #the ghost and molly mcgee

[ssunflowerfieldsz]

I’m new here, so tell me: What attracted you to TGAMM and what was the moment while watching the show that made you realize it had you in its grasp hehe….

Oh maan,

I had heard about the show before it even came out ( back when the fully animated intro first dropped ) and I thought it looked super cute, but at that moment I didn't really expect it to have such a grip on me haha

Then like a week before the show came out ( so sometime around September 2021 ) I suddenly became super interested in it because around that time there were a lot of interviews with the crew and cast that talked about how it was a show about "a ghost and the girl who brings him back to life" and I thought that sounded soo sweet,,🥺 and also Molly and Scratch's dynamic in general sounded like it was gonna be such a fun one ( you can't go wrong with the Grumpy + Cheerful friendship dynamic those are always very good imo )

And the show in general gave me Wander over Yonder vibes which I loved

I think I was hooked from the 1st episode?? But episode 3 ( the Bandshell two-parter ) had such a great mix of comedy and heart that it really solidified my love for the show.

(It also has the iconic "It was a Credit Union" scene soo yeah, still one of my fave episodes from season 1)

And then Scratch the surface/Friend-off and also the Hanukkah/ Christmas episodes aired and I was Obsessed

#asks #tgamm

[tgammsideblog]

Interesting info about the state of the Ghost World on Season 2 Source:  https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2023/03/28/interview-the-ghost-and-molly-mcgee-creators-bill-motz-and-bob-roth-on-going-deeper-in-season-2/

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #tgamm interview

[tgammsideblog]

Tgamm AMA Discord Summary (Bill Motz)

Will there be any human antagonists? ¨It’s a Spoiler¨

Andrea will be in Lucky Penny

Scratch butt joke started as a storyboard joke I believe by Alayna Cabral

All Night Plight episode builds up to the finale, but it's basically a separate story

The ghosts' ectoplasm colors don’t have any correlation to their death,  it's about a balance of colors within the Ghost World.

The process behind coming up with the songs consists in The writing team thinking about where a good place for the song would be, the kinds of things it should cover story wise, the thematics and emotional intent, and then they discuss it with Rob Cantor, often suggesting possible genres of music.

The Mcgees had a dog pet in the concept show art, the creators never came up with a name for the dog but Bob, though, wanted to kill the dog and have it become a ghost.

Mayor Brunson’s sexual orientation is open to interpretation (in reference to some of his lines in Citizien Mcgee that he never married or had children)

We may learn how Scratch died in some future episode

The chairman communicates by using grunts and hisses.

The sobgoblins are a type of ghost, but different from the human derived ghosts. They are more like negative emotions that haunt us (like self-doubt)  that have become personified.

Andrea Davenport, like every character in the show, has her own journey

It’s impossible for a ghost to escape the Flow of Failed Phantoms on their own with enough willpower

Molly and Scratch are both a contrast and a complement of each other. But they are better together than they would be apart¨

The chairman shares some of those characteristics with the Grim Reaper

Scratch gets another solo song, but Bill Motz couldn’t remember how soon

Bill Motz love to have an art book from the series. They are looking into how Matt (Amphibia) and company have done theirs.

There wasn't any intentional connection of Tgamm to Lilo and Stitch, but Bill can see where there are some similarities between them

Molly and Scratch are Bill Motz’s favorite characters

The story behind Andrea’s obsession with her name gag was that Bob has a friend for whom the Andrea name pronunciation was important.

Bill’s favourite episode is "Festival of Lights." and some upcoming episodes.

The origin behind Scratch’s name will be answered in the show in the future

Scratch likes listening to jazz from the 40's-70's. Molly would probably consider that "chaos music."

What happens when a ghost enters in the flow: ¨It's not so much pain as a sense of loss... of everything that made them feel like "them"¨

The creators originally came up with the idea of the show 14 years ago.The relationship of Molly and Scratch is based on Bob and Bill (Bill being Molly and Bob being like Scratch)

There could be a Libby song takeover in the future

Originally Molly's name was Piper, but there was another show in development at Disney with a lead character named Piper, so we changed it to Molly. Scratch’s name came from Bill ¨It struck me as being this subtle torment... and itch you just have to Scratch.¨

We will see some light touches of Libby's Argentinian heritage. 

Ms. Lightfoot is Indigenous. She's played by Julia Jones, who is Choctaw and Chickasaw.

Libby's aspiration is to be a writer, she would like to write about turtles

There are going to be some romance plots

Matt Braly (Amphibia’s creator who is also Thai) helped with the Thai representation in Tgamm

Scratch really doesn't remember how long he has been in the ghost world since he died

They had an idea about that the real expert ghosts don't startle you at all. They're the ones that wake you up at 3am to make you worry about work or school or family, etc. You never even realize you're being haunted, you're just miserable.

There are going to be half hour episodes in season 2

It takes about a year to make an episode of the show, from story idea to final mix and delivery. The Tgamm work on multiple episodes all at once.

Molly wearing a blue wig in ¨Scratch the surface¨ isn’t intended to be a reference to Chloe from Life is Strange, a character voiced by Ashly Burch

Andrea Father’s name is Maxwell

Molly's disdain for maple syrup comes from the story editor Madison Bateman

Most of those quirky traits are direct lifts from the writing team. Madison hates syrup, Sammie Crowley hates close-up magic.

There is a design language created for the show, which means that there are frequently similar and unifying elements in the show that do not necessarily infer a story connection. (Similarities in design between Alister and Geoff doesn’t mean anything between them)

A number of people contributed to Scratch's design, including John Loter, Alex Kirwan, and Lead Character Designer Justin Rodrigues

Molly had many friends in other cities before she had to leave, which is why leaving has always been so hard for her, why having a "forever friend" means so much to her.

The word enhappify came from the creators looking for an "ownable" word that would be uniquely Molly's and tell you instantly her point of view on life.

The Ghost Council used to be human, in Chairman’s case: ¨If he was human, he's a very ancient spirit who has transformed over time into the embodiment of misery.¨

We will find out at least part of that story of why Libby’s mother moved to Brighton

 The person that's usually seen around Irving the Illusionist is called Rowdy Joe

We may learn more about Ghost lore in the future

The series will explore Molly’s hatred for street magic in the future

Google doc with the summary and questions asked:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vyP6934BoxTmltqAb50UoFZK2_OtmhZZnpLUXOLDu0Y/edit

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm interview #Bill Motz #Tgamm news #tgamm fandom #Tgamm discord

[tgammsideblog]

An Interview with Sue Ann Pien, June’s voice actress, talking about how her character gets represented in the show and how she helped with her writing.

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #june chen #chen family #sue ann pien #tgamm interview

[tgammsideblog]

New interview that talks about the themes of Season 2 and Scratch’s new role as leader of the Ghost World.

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #scratch mcgee #The new paranormal Tgamm #tgamm interview

[tgammsideblog]

Not sure if i have linked to this before. This is an old Ashly Burch interview from last year (2021) in which Ashly talks about her getting casted for The Ghost and Molly Mcgee and some things about mental health.

Worth of mentioning near the 8:34 time stamp that Ashly brings up an upcoming Season 2 episode exploring Molly’s mixed race identity and how she feels about that. It’s pretty interesting.

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #molly mcgee #ashly burch #tgamm interview

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Another interesting interview about Season 2!

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm season 2 #Bill Motz #bob roth #tgamm interview

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New interview with one of the Tgamm storyboarders, Waymond Singleton!

Time: (2hrs long)

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm interview #tgamm crew

[tgammsideblog]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ufi5dG-Gs0krJ3-lCoFVmX_12_DPtuX55PCiWd8WvPs

Link to the summary of the latest Tgamm Discord AMA with Bob Roth and Bill Motz!

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm interview

[tgammsideblog]

Tgamm S1 Ep 20-B ¨Molly vs The Ghost World¨ Episode Analysis

While Scratch is being put on trial for being friends with humans in front of the Ghost Council, Molly tries to find a way to go to the Ghost World and look for Scratch...

Starting from when segment A ¨The Jig is Up¨ left, Scratch is brought to the Ghost Council by Jinx, who reveals that Scratch is friends with a ¨living person¨. The members talk about how that is a very serious charge against the ghost rules and begin the trail.

Back on the living realm, Molly is trying to do astral projection with Libby helping her. This gets them nowhere and they aren't sure of what else they can do. Then Molly happens to have the idea of summoning Geoff by spelling his name.

Suddenly Geoff appears. Molly begs for Geoff to let her go to the Ghost World using to a ghost portal, to which the green ghost hesitates for a few moments, since humans aren't allowed in the Ghost World or usually can't go there. Molly still decides to jump through the ghost portal, only to find out why is that the case: Her own spirit becomes separated from her body when going through the portal, leaving an empty husk that barely has any emotions. Libby explains to Molly that she is now a ¨wraith¨ and she would remain as such as long as her spirit doesn't return to her body. Since Molly is now a ¨ghost¨, she can go to the Ghost World now. Quickly, Geoff and her go to the spectral realm while Libby stays to keep an eye on Molly's husk until they return with Scratch.

In this episode we get a better insight of what it was established in previous episodes: the Ghost World lives in misery and joy itself is seen a some type of poison. As Geoff puts it ¨joy is not allowed¨. The Chairman feeds off from the misery he causes to humans and ghosts. He keeps his position of power by keeping the Ghost World as miserable as possible and tries to get rid of anything that radiates joy.

This brings a lot of problems to Molly since her spirit is full of joy energy. Almost everything she touches turns into joy like changing its shape and getting flowers growing around them. The visuals of Molly's powers are pretty cool. It's fun to see the contrast between the more cold colors from the Ghost World and how Molly accidentally changes it wherever she goes.

It's worth of mentioning Geoff's role in this episode: He guides Molly through the ghost realm, helps her with avoding Jinx and the sobgoblins and, when they are cornered, he uses the sobgoblins as nunchucks to fight the rest, giving time for Molly to escape. Throughout all this, Geoff acts seriously since he knows that Scratch is in danger. He is willing to defy the Ghost Council's authority to protect his friend, showing how loyal he is.

While this is happening, the trial takes place. There is a sequence of ghosts from previous episodes getting interviewed like Sonia, Harriet and the doctor from ¨Scaring is Caring¨. It's a clever way to bring back all these characters and showing the consequences of it when it comes to Scratch not being able to hide his actions anymore.

Just before Scratch is about to send to the Flow of Failed Phantoms, Molly shows up. Scratch begs for Molly to leave but she pushes and calls out to the Ghost Council for saying that they shouldn't throw Scratch to the Flow only because he happens to do things differently from them. Keep in mind that Molly is a teen girl who turned herself into a ghost and went throught the Ghost World because she wanted to save her friend. Despite fully understanding what is happening, she is willing to do anything to help Scratch. She isn't only positive but a very brave girl to stand up against someone like the ghost rulers.

Jinx shows up and throws Geoff to the Flow for helping Molly and Scratch and calls Molly a ¨menace¨ for her joy powers. This leads to Scratch to talk about how Molly thinks it is better to be nice and help others to make the world a better place and, in a rare genuine moment, he admits that Molly is right for doing all those things. Scratch admits out loud that Molly is his friend and ¨he doesn't care who knows it¨. This speech is the culmination of the development Scratch got in this season so far. He finally stands up against the Ghost Council, who spent this entire season (and years) abusing and treating Scratch as worthless. He gains the courage to speak up against those who have been pushing him down for years and being honest about who he really is.

As result of their defiance, Molly and Scratch are send both to the Flow of Failed Phantoms. They try holding on for a few seconds and right before they are sucked in, Scratch grabs Molly's hand and tells her that ¨You were the highlight of my afterlife¨. This line holds a lot of emotional weight to it, because before meeting Molly and the rest of the Mcgees, Scratch felt very alone and miserable. This started to change when the Mcgees moved in and over time became a family to him. Molly inspired Scratch to open up to others again and for him to ¨feel alive¨ again.

After they get sucked into the Flow for some moments it appears that's the end of it until some sparks of joy energy appear in the Flow: It turns out that by throwing Molly into the flow, that made it change because of her joy powers. All the ghosts that were trapped in the flow get freed while Molly gives a speech about how ¨joy is more powerful than misery¨ and explodes the flow surrounding herself and Scratch with joy energy. Molly approaches the Chairman, defying him, she touches him and the Chairman suddenly is taken over by Molly's energy and he disintegrates, only leaving the robe behind.

Geoff appears and hugs both Molly and Scratch. Molly says that she is leaving with Scratch and threatens the Ghost Council and Jinx if ¨they have a problem with that¨. Scared by her power, they answer that they can leave without any problem, letting Molly and Scratch return safely to their home in the human world.

Back in the Mcgees house Molly returns to her human body and the Mcgee family celebrates Scratch coming back to home. Scratch talks about how Molly defeated the Chairman, exaggerating some parts of it. Then he tries putting a curse on the Mcgee family, a callback to the first time he met Molly, and stops in the middle, clearly indicating that it was a joke. The episode ends with Scratch talking about eating something while the rest of the Mcgee family is smiling at him.

In conclusion: While feeling rushed in some ways because it has many things going on, ¨Molly vs The Ghost World¨ is a great emotional conclusion for Scratch's conflict with the Ghost Council and Season 1 as a whole. In spite of its writing being slightly inferior to the one of ¨Out of House and Home/ Home Is Where The Haunt Is¨ it is still a good double part episode with great visuals, some shocking twists and cathartic character moments, specially for Scratch.

#the ghost and molly mcgee #tgamm #Tgamm episode analysis #Molly vs the ghost world #scratch mcgee #molly mcgee #jinx the ghost #the ghost council #tgamm season 1 #libby stein torres #tgamm analysis

[tgammsideblog]

Highlights from The Ghost and Molly McGee early streaming panel

They talk a bit about how the show was created. How they came up with the concept years ago and what is mainly about. Most of this has already been explained in interviews and articles about the series

Bill Motz mentions how they have an idea of where they want to go with the show and how it’s going to end- He talks about how the story could go for a few seasons as long as the series keeps being getting renewed

Season 1 is described with words such as ¨Fun¨, ¨Resilient¨ and ¨Joyful¨

It’s explained that the one thing that stayed the same since they came up with the concept years ago was the scene about a ghost putting a curse on a girl. They mentioned how Molly’s character went through multiple changes- like when Ashly became Molly’s voice actor they changed a few things about Molly’s ethnicity and her family.

The show is going to have references to other Disney shows

¨Will be Scratch’s backstory be revealed?¨ ¨Yes¨

They talk about how they work with multiple music genres

Andrea’s character is based from a girl from college (Her gag about not liking when people not say her name correctly). It’s mentioned how we are going to learn more about her character in future episdodes. 

Favourite episdoses: ¨Game Night¨- An episdode about Granma Nin coming to visit (It could be The Best Nin-intentions¨) and an episode about Hanukkah

An upcoming episode about Hanukkah is confirmed

There is a two part episode about the McGees family that tackles a serious topic

There are hints about the story and characters that pay off in later episodes

There is a talk about how they often come up with new ideas while the staff team hangs out. One aspect about Molly not liking magic shows is based of an storyboarder of the show

Both Bill Motz and Bob Roth talk about how important it was for them to get the right voices for the characters and how animation is collaborative process

There is an episode in season 2 that is about Molly’s mon inner thoughts

Darryl, Molly’s younger brother is described as someone who has different moral code from Molly’s. He is mind is wired differently. He doesn’t always think about the consequences of his actions and is opportunistic.

Molly sometimes takes ¨things too far¨

The LGBT+ representation is ¨not what people are expecting¨

They talk about other types of representation that are going to be included in the show

They mention how the series tackles with economic problems like when a family isn’t able to afford a vacation trip.

Libby as a character is described as introvert, a foil to Molly and Scratch, someone who is anxious but is sure of who she is. She likes poetry and has references to her culture

The shows was inspired by multiple things. One big sourse of inspiration are cartoons from the 50′s

After that there is a 15 minute segment about an storyboarder from the show showing how to draw Scratch step by step

#The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm #tgamm interview #Bill Motz #Bob Roth #Disney Channel #The Curse Of Molly McGee

[tgammsideblog]

Tgamm Inklusion Comics Live Stream Summary

Bill Motz and Bob Roth brieftly talk about the concept of the show

The main influence for the show besides their friendship, was Ashly Burch and her Thai heritage. Thai culture was important for show’s development such as how ghost are seen and when it came to choosing the voice cast for Molly’sfamily.

There is an upcoming episode about a Thai festival that honors ghosts with food

They looked for writers who could help with the Thai culture as well as other culture references.

The individual stories for the episodes are created first and then the songs, which are called ¨song bursts¨ by the Tgamm crew.

Gramnda Nin’s theme is based of traditional Thai music

They talk about the side characters and how they came to be. They talk about Libby’s character concept.

Andrea was supposed to be ¨Tammy¨ in the original pilot. She was an antagonist. They later received feedback and decided to make her a more complex character.

They show a plush of a tiny ghost character that’s going to appear in the future episodes (image below)

Bob Roth mentions how he is a fan of Star Wars and an adult comic series called sagas. Bill Motz brings up an artist called Waysingleton.

They talk about how they balance between the creepy elements in the show with the lighthearted parts.

Image of the new ghost upcoming character:

#tgamm #The Ghost And Molly McGee #tgamm news #tgamm interview #Bill Motz #Bob Roth

[tgammsideblog]

The Ghost and Molly Mcgee youtube livestream summary

Crew participants: Bill Motz and Bob Roth (Creators)-Dana Synder (Scratch)- Ashly Burch (Molly)- Lara Miller (Libby)- Steve (Excecutive producer)

Favourite episode:

Ashly: The Best of Nintentions

Dana: Mama's Gotta Hustle

Lara Miller: Friend Off

Bob Roth: Innocent Until Proven Ghostly

Bill Motz: Festival of Lights

Favourite part about Molly and Scratch's friendship

-Ashly says that she loves how Molly and Scratch help each other to be better people.

Does Scratch little house's decoration has a meaning behind it?" "Maybe"

Lara Miller is happy that people like Libby

Libby's mother name is Lya (I couldn't get this one)

Bill Motz "The last five episodes are wild"

Ashly talks about how Lara, Dana and her used to work together in OK KO Let's be heroes! Show

Ashly says that Molly would like watching Amphibia

Bob Roth likes the ghostsonas the fandons creates. Bill Motz adds that their own ghostsonas appear in the last five episodes.

Dana makes a joke about Scratch's ectoplasm is under -3C

"How old Scratch is?" "Spoilers"

"Are we going to learn about Scratch's past?" "Yes"

Steve-excecutive producer show- joins the stream

Favourite songs from the show:

Steve: "It's a Loose Loose"

Dana: "Together Forever"

Bob: "Fried Food"

Lara: The slam poetry song from Talent Show

Ashly: "My best friend's Bat Mitzvah"

Bill Motz shows a pre demo intro song when the show used to go by "The Curse of Molly Mcgee"

Ashly and Dana sing My Best Friend Bat Mitzvah!

Ashly sings "Just Give"!

Cut concepts from the show:

Darryl has a twin sister who acted like his lawyer in some episodes

Tammy used to go by Andrea in the pilot episode (The Unnatural)

The B plot in the pilot was about Darryl running one his scams by selling hot dogs

The show didn't use to be a musical at the start

Molly had a baseball song in the pilot, this would have taken place while Scratch gets summoned by the Ghost Council

They mention the "It was a credit union" twitter account

The winners fron the poster contest are said

They talk about their favourite and least favourite parts of the animation process

Ashly mentions how she loves to see the fandoms' reaction to watching the episodes.

#the ghost and molly mcgee #tgamm #bob roth #bill motz #disney channel #lara miller #dana synder #ashly burch #tgamm interview #tgamm stream

[tgammsideblog]

Very interesting information about Scratch's character in latest interview.

Link to the interview: https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/amp/news/the-ghost-and-molly-mcgee-interview/

#the ghost and molly mcgee #molly mcgee #scratch the ghost #tgamm #disney channel #bill motz #bob roth #tgamm interview