In a time when the entertainment industry is making great strides when it comes to diversity with films like Wonder Woman and Black Panther, who would have thought one of its biggest steps forward would come from a children’s cartoon? Well, that’s exactly what we’re seeing in the form of Danger and Eggs, the animated series created by Shadi Petosky and Mike Owens. It tells the story of young daredevil D.D. Danger and her anxiety stricken friend (and giant egg) Phillip and their adventures inside Chicken-Paw Park.
In the 13-episode first season, D.D. and Philip not only faced condemned water slides and secret underground laboratories but issues such as politics, gender, and sexual identity. The stories are handled in a way that are accessible to both children and adults; not only can families watch the show together, but they can talk about these concepts together as well.
At San Diego Comic-Con, we engaged in our own conversation with the creators and cast of Danger and Eggs, tackling just how important a show like this can be in a world like ours.
“We wanted a series that both kids and parents could enjoy together for same reasons,” said creator Shadi Petosky, stressing that she didn’t want to rely on the sort of jokes that children would take one way and adults would take another.
If you’ve seen the show, you know anxiety is a huge part of Phillip’s character. As co-creator Mike Owens said, “This is who Phillip is. It’s not something you poke fun at. I’ve seen that before. This is who this character is, and we love him for who he is.” Owens described the character’s friendship with D.D. as “an acknowledgment that someone is going to have his back and let him be him. It’s the joke that he’s so fragile [being an egg], and how he is able to step through being that fragile.”
To that end, Aidy Bryant, who plays D.D., added, “I feel that anxiety can feel so lonely sometimes, that you are alone inside your own head. I love that D.D. and Phillip are able to talk about it and think about it and get through it together in some way.”
Phillip himself, Eric Knobel, spoke to how Phillip evolves as the series goes on: “Phillip’s issues weren’t something to fix, but just something to deal with when they happened,” Knobel said. “Even though he was still nervous and automatically saw all the bad angles, he was still down for the adventure.”
The importance of a show like Danger and Eggs applies to both children and adults alike. It’s about understanding someone’s differences, as well let educating that differences are not negative, but what makes people unique.
“Media is such an important part of kid’s lives,” said Jasika Nicole (Fringe), who voices the character, Reina. “This show is a wonderful tool to help get kids talking about these issues at such a young age where they might not normally get a chance [to do so otherwise].”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz, who plays Sheriff Luke and Captain Banjo, brought up how she was “astounded” that the season finale, “Chosen Family,” started with D.D. and Phillip getting ready and excited for Pride Day, which she had never seen done in a children’s show before. “I could see two women in the show holding hands, and that says to a child, ‘love is love is love is love,'” she said. “And that is a huge message to give to a child.”
All episodes of season one of Danger and Eggs are streaming on Amazon.
So what do you think? Will you and your family be checking out Danger and Eggs? What other issues would you like them to have covered? Let me know on Twitter or sound off in the comments below.
Images: Amazon/Puny Entertainment
