With Spidey and His Amazing Friends already a hit with younger viewers, Disney Junior and Marvel have teamed up once again, this time putting the spotlight on Tony Stark in Iron Man and His Awesome Friends. Executive Producer Sean Coyle and Co-Executive Producer/Story Editor James Eason-Garcia bring years of Disney Junior experience to the project, with backgrounds spanning shows like Puppy Dog Pals, Elena of Avalor and T.O.T.S..
Coyle, a longtime Disney collaborator and baseball fan, recently returned to the East Coast after two decades in California. He started
his animation career at Disney, working as an editor on such iconic series as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and “Phineas and Ferb.” His additional credits include Wander Over Yonder, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, Tron: Uprising, The Replacements and Hulu’s adult animated comedy The Awesomes.
Eason-Garcia, a lifelong comic book and Disney fan, cut his teeth on animated storytelling after studying film and visual studies, attending Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), studying film and television, before going on to pursue a master’s degree in Visual Studies at the University of Colorado Denver.
Together, they are shaping Marvel’s next generation of heroes for the youngest viewers and Popped’s JJ sat down with the duo recently to talk about how this new animated series came together, the rise of Riri Williams, and why Tony Hale as Ultron might be the most fun villain casting yet.
Executive Producer Sean Coyle on Developing ‘Iron Man and His Awesome Friends’
JJ: First of all, what led you to making Iron Man and His Awesome Friends? I know Spidey and His Amazing Friends had already been going for a while and was pretty popular, still is. But what made you decide to go with Iron Man next? And what did you think you could do differently to Spider-Man?
Sean Coyle: You’ve sort of teed up the answer already a little bit. Because of that success of Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and wanting to continue that collaboration and relationship between Marvel and Disney Junior, it just made sense to expand this animated preschool universe. Iron Man just seemed like the logical next character to break through with.
For myself and for James, it was an easy decision. They came to us like, “Hey, do you want to work on an Iron Man show?” And we were like, “Yes, yes, we do.”
The fun challenge was figuring out the best, most fun and engaging way to create an entry point for young audiences. A lot of kids might not actually know who Iron Man is. They might have seen the merchandise or caught glimpses of the MCU over their parents’ shoulders, but they really don’t know these characters yet. So getting to create our own interpretation of Tony Stark, Riri Williams, and Amadeus Cho was both fun and a huge honour. We are crafting that first Marvel experience for these kids, and that is a responsibility we take seriously.
Co-Executive Producer/Story Editor James Eason-Garcia On Choosing the ‘Iron Man and His Awesome Friends’ Trio
JJ: You mentioned your lead trio, Tony, Riri and Amadeus. One thing I was wondering is, what led you to picking that trio? Specifically Amadeus? Riri and Iron Man are both iron-based heroes, but Amadeus is mostly known as the Totally Awesome Hulk. Did that play into the name Awesome Friends?
James Eason-Garcia: For us it was always about building a team of super geniuses. We really wanted to explore which Marvel characters were not just heroes, but also brilliant minds. It was always going to centre around Tony Stark, and Riri Williams is just a fantastic character.
We asked, who else has that kind of young energy and intelligence, and who would kids really respond to? And kids love the Hulk. So Amadeus Cho, as a super genius who is also a Hulk character, just felt like the perfect third to round out the trio.
Bringing Riri to a Younger Audience
JJ: You mentioned Riri. She has had a spotlight on her recently with the Ironheart series. What was it like introducing a younger Riri to this much younger audience? What excited you most about bringing her to life in this way?
Sean Coyle: The timing with Ironheart was kind of amazing. I do not know if it was 100% calculated, but it was definitely a happy coincidence.
Something James and I really focused on with the writers and the whole team was making sure the audience understands that it is not just about the suits. It is about who is inside them. There is that joke about 60s Batman, his utility belt always had the perfect solution. And sure, these iron suits can do almost anything, but where is the fun if they solve every problem for you?
We really wanted to show these characters’ smarts, their teamwork and their friendship. Kids should come away thinking, not just “I want to be Iron Man,” but “I want to be Tony,” or “I want to be Riri,” or “I want to be Amadeus.” That connection to the human side of these characters was one of the biggest challenges and also one of the most rewarding parts of the show.
Casting and Character Voices for ‘Iron Man and His Awesome Friends’
JJ: In animation, anyone can be anyone and Tony Hale as Ultron is so fun. If you could dream cast any character, even someone who might not work in live-action, who would it be?
James Eason-Garcia: Oh man, I do not want to tip my hand too much about future voices. But honestly, we have been so lucky with our cast. The writing is strong and fun, and then the voice actors, Tony, Vanessa Bayer, Talon Warburton and all the kids, we just love watching them work. They are so good and bring so much joy. Honestly, we are just grateful for whoever we get next. You never know who is going to pop up.
Sean Coyle: I think selfishly, knowing that a lot of the MCU stars have kids of their own, we keep joking, like, one day, are we going to get a call from Chris Hemsworth saying, “Hey, my kid loves your show, can I be in it?” Or Robert Downey Jr. saying, “This is brilliant, I want to do a voice.” The dream is the phone rings and it is one of them. Has not happened yet, but we are ready when it does.
Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends premieres on Disney+ on August 11. Check out a trailer below.
Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends follows the adventures (and misadventures) of best friends and super geniuses — Tony Stark, Riri Williams and Amadeus Cho — as they work together to solve problems, both big and small, and protect their city. In order to help them save the day, the Iron Friends each have their own Iron Suits that allow them to fly and give them enhanced super-strength.
