Apple TV+'s latest original series is the wacky, children's animated TV show Wolfboy and the Everything Factory. Created by Toff Mazery and Edward Jesse and produced through HitRecord and Bento Box Entertainment, the animated series follows a young boy wearing a wolf mask who doesn't fit in at school. Soon the boy discovers a world of adventure in a fantasy realm populated by mythical figures known as Spyrtes. Starring Archie Yates (Jojo Rabbit) and executive producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the animated series brings zany energy to the forefront while reminding audiences that even misfits deserve a place to belong.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Yates and Gordon-Levitt shared how they brought their energy to the freewheeling fantasy show and explained how Wolfboy's heart amidst its cartoon chaos sets it apart from much of its children's programming counterparts.
With Wolfboy and the Everything Factory, what was it that attracted you both to this project?
Archie Yates: In all honesty, when I was reading the script after this was first offered to me, I was like, "This script is strange! I'm not sure I like the sound of this one!" Over time, I started finding out more about it, and gradually I came to like it to the point where I was like, "Yeah! Why not?"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: The origins of this project are with an artist named Toff Mazery. I knew Toff through HitRecord, which is an online community that I've run for a long time. It's all about creativity and collaboration. Toff was just such an outstanding member of the community and we had done lots of collaborations together. He's such a talented artist, writer, collaborator, and musician. I asked him at one point, "If you could do anything at all and make it into a TV show, what would you make?" He came up with Wolfboy and the Everything Factory. For me, this has all been about supporting the imagination and creativity of this one artist that I love and that's the origin of it.
Archie, like you said, this show is bananas, just off-the-wall. In playing Sprout, how is it keeping the energy up as you delve into this fantasy world?
Yates: Keeping my energy up was actually quite hard because Sprout's voice is really energetic and I'm doing it all the time when I was recording. I had to shout a lot and at some points, it got really hard, my throat started hurting after we had done the recordings and I started drinking a lot more water.
Joe, what was it about Toff's vision and art style about this? And as a father, what do you look for in children's programming that really intrigued and hook you with this?
Gordon-Levitt: I feel like a lot of children's programming nowadays is just looking to stimulate and everything goes so fast and so frenetic and it's not necessarily about anything. It's just about stimulation. Wolfboy and the Everything Factory has such sincerity to it. It's not just about keeping your attention. It's really about something, about using your imagination and creating a change in the world and how powerful that can be. The underlying heart of it is probably my favorite part.
Joe, I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit -- what made Archie the perfect actor to bring Sprout to life?
Gordon-Levitt: It's that sincerity that I was just talking about. He's able to play a yellow and green plant Spryte but do it in a way where it feels honest. You can tell it's coming from his heart and that's no small feat as an actor.
Created by Toff Mazery and Edward Jesse, Wolfboy and the Everything Factory is streaming on Apple TV+.