Dew Drop Diaries: Rick Suvalle and Aliki Theofilopoulos Discuss Fairies and An Attitude for Gratitude

In an exclusive interview with CBR, the creators of the new Dreamworks series discuss the inspiring gratitude and resilience of kids.

The newest children's series to come from DreamWorks Animation, now available to stream on Netflix, Dew Drops Diaries follows three fairies, the Dew Drops -- cheerful and soft-hearted baker Eden, introverted yet inventive Phoebe, and outgoing, fearless Athena -- as they aid three different children living in the big city. While the fairies have special powers, they are still small beings in a big, big world, and the children they're helping sometimes feel just as small. But between magic, determination, and some quick thinking, the Dew Drops and humans find ways to turn situations around and find plenty to be grateful for.

In this exclusive interview with CBR, creator and executive producer Rick Suvalle and executive producer Aliki Theofilopoulos discuss the ideas behind Dew Drop Diaries, world-building, the importance of fostering resilience and gratitude in kids, and the heartwarming, real-life inspiration behind the series.

What inspired the creation of Dew Drop Diaries? How did you two develop and create this series?

Rick Suvalle: I'm the father to two Type-1 Diabetic daughters, and my wife and I teach them that they can still do anything they set their minds to. When I was creating the show, I wanted it to reflect that same "can-do" attitude. I felt that making the protagonists these tiny fairies who defy the odds despite their sizes was the perfect metaphor for being a little kid.

Alika Theofilopoulos: Rick created the concept of the show and had done such a fantastic job growing his ideas with the development team at DreamWorks. Once it was greenlit, I came on to help develop and expand the world even further, pushing a rich design style and color palette that would further build on what Rick had created and help bring the aspects we were most excited about to life.

Eden, Phoebe, and Athena have a natural and likable dynamic. How would you describe the three fairy leads, and what is the main inspiration behind each of their personalities?

Suvalle: Because the show is an ensemble, I wanted to make sure each character felt different and unique, like my own daughters, who have very different personalities. So Eden is kind of bubbly and optimistic, while Phoebe is a bit more cautious and level-headed, and Athena is full of energy and will literally leap before she looks. She loves to parkour! We also wanted to make sure each of our Dew Drops had their own unique "fairy-bility," or magic power that fit with her personality and their environment and would help someone that tiny. We gave Eden the ability to talk to animals because she's been assigned to a family with lots of pets. Athena's been assigned to a family with three rambunctious kids, so we gave her super strength. And Phoebe lives with a family that includes a budding musician and a father who is an inventor, so we made her a DIY crafter and gave her a Magical Melody that can brighten someone's mood.

Theofilopoulos: I absolutely love that while our fairies have such unique and different personalities, they are all still friends. We get to celebrate what makes each fairy so uniquely and wonderfully themselves while they also support one another. I feel like this is such a great example for kids! No one is trying to make the other one something different. They really do celebrate each other's uniqueness and special abilities. I also love that they have unique physical appearances, body types, and color palettes.

The three fairies are the main heroes, but the three humans and their families are also important players. What is the inspiration behind the human children and their families, and how do you balance the dynamic between the humans and the fairies?

Suvalle: The human characters were developed in tandem with the fairies so the Dew Drops could better assist their families. For example, in one of our families, there's a girl named Harper who loves to bake, so we made Eden a baker as well, which is why she was assigned to that family. As for the balance, while we often see a child's issue unfold in an episode, like forgetting their lucky penny before their big piano recital, we really see the show through our Dew Drops' eyes as they rush through the city to get the penny to the recital. So while the child is clearly nervous, we're feeling those nerves through their Dew Drop. It's this shared emotion and empathy that makes our characters feel so relatable.

Theofilopoulos: We have this intersection going on with what one of the human children is going through and what one of our fairies is going through. What I really appreciate is that we don't just have our human child struggle and learn something while everything is just perfect for the fairies. Our fairies understand and empathize with their human child as they are having their own experiences and struggles to surmount too. We purposely even change perspective in our show visually, mixing wider shots, which are more like what our human point of view might be, vs. camera angles that are more "fairy point of view" to get a sense of how our fairies are feeling.

Both of you previously worked on another DreamWorks series, Doug Unplugs. Like Dew Drop Diaries, it's about empowerment and exploring the world. What were your experiences working on this show, and did your time working on it influence Dew Drop Diaries in any way?

Suvalle: I was just a freelance writer on Doug Unplugs, but it was a great experience seeing how the DreamWorks pipeline worked, and it gave me the opportunity to meet and work with Aliki, who has this incredible energy and animation prowess. When Dew Drop Diaries was greenlit, and DreamWorks told me Aliki was available and asked if I'd like to partner with her to produce the show, I jumped at the chance. I couldn't be happier with that decision. She brought so much of herself to the show. She could literally fix a drawing with a single pencil line! She was also my biggest champion and supporter. It didn't hurt that we were both fans of the Grateful Dead.

Theofilopoulos: I have to agree there is something truly special about Deadheads! Having mutual taste in music is a perfect gateway into greater things, no? Yes, I was an Executive Producer on another CG preschool show, Doug Unplugs for DreamWorks and Apple TV+. DreamWorks introduced us when we were looking for someone to freelance a script, and Rick wrote a wonderful episode! I noticed how wonderfully charming his writing style was, and this stuck in my mind. Rick got how to convey that childlike wonder into the character voices on our show, and it was clear he saw the joy in writing for a preschool audience. My time working on Doug Unplugs definitely influenced my work on Dew Drop Diaries because, as you mentioned, it was about experiencing the world and empowerment. There was [also] the special friendship dynamic and care for one another in that series that I always like to see with characters I work on.

Rick, your daughters have been a big inspiration for the conception and development of Dew Drop Diaries. What is it about your children that inspires you most? How do they affect the story, themes, characters, and lessons in Dew Drop Diaries?

Suvalle: My daughters are my heroes. Having to deal with the daily management of Type-1 Diabetes is a huge burden, but they never let it stop them. And it's that persistence that inspired me to make this show. You see that same persistence in our Dew Drops. But beyond that, my daughters' regular lives as kids and the situations they've encountered growing up, both difficult and hilarious, definitely inform how I approach stories and character moments in the show.

Aliki, you have quite an incredible background as an executive producer and =artist. You've lent your design and animation talents to beloved films such as Disney's Hercules and Tarzan and Phineas and Ferb. How did these previous experiences influence your work and designs here on Dew Drop Diaries?

Theofilopoulos: My time working in 2D at the Disney Feature division and my years spent on Phineas and Ferb heavily influence every single show I work on. To begin my career working on beloved Disney classics with some of the greatest animators of our time was beyond an honor. I was lucky to receive this amazing training in animation and animation principles that inform my work to this day. Even working in CG, I can do a draw-over over CG images to help explain animation notes or notice red flags in some of the posing in a storyboard, thanks to having this incredible foundation during a very special time in animation history.

With Phineas and Ferb, this is when I became more of a storyteller. I was not only storyboarding but writing episodes too, which helped me become more comfortable with story structure and showcase my more comedic side. It is also where I learned my showrunning style, thanks to Dan Povenmire and "Swampy" Marsh.

What are some of the most rewarding and challenging things that come with writing for children versus adults?

Suvalle: The biggest difference between writing for adults and preschoolers is that little kids comprehend things differently. They don't understand stakes or ticking clocks, typical things you find in storytelling. But what they do understand is that the ice cream will melt before it reaches the park. So, you have to find different ways to create stakes. I really enjoy finding these new ways into stories. Also, preschoolers live in the moment, so you need to stay in the moment when you're writing for them. You can't talk about something that's occurred off-screen like you would in a sitcom. Everything needs to happen on screen.

Younger kids also have shorter attention spans, so you typically need to restate the goal of the episode every few pages. Though I'm finding adults' attention spans are shrinking these days, so I often find myself restating the goal in my grown-up scripts too. Regardless, I love the challenge of creating stories that will resonate with our youngest viewers and their parents, which is why you'll find a lot of multi-level jokes and action-adventure movie homages in our show.

Theofilopoulos: I have only written for children in my career, but there is a difference in writing/storytelling for preschool children vs. the older age group. It is about that clarity on screen but also, keeping the jokes and storylines a bit more safe for younger kids. Extreme emotions, characters being mad at each other, or extreme danger are scary for preschoolers, so we try not to push too far in that respect. But we do make sure our stories are entertaining and funny. We might do so at a slower pace and in a more visually clearer way.

What I love about writing for children is the great responsibility that is there to tell stories that matter, resonate, and help this age group. I remember when my kids were very little, something might be going on in their lives, and they would say things like, "This is like when Kai-lan lost her lovey too," or, "This is like when Oswald brought his pillow to the sleepover." They would refer to experiences a character went through in the shows they watched to help understand something they were going through. I love that we get to help children in this way with our stories too.

Between the fairies' friendships with each other and their effects on the children, gratitude is an important recurring element in this series. What inspired this theme, and what message do you want your audience to take from the lessons in Dew Drop Diaries?

Suvalle: When we finally locked in Dew Drop Diaries as the title of the show, we knew we wanted to include a "diary moment" in each episode. [Since] the human kids in the series are being helped, it felt natural for the kids to whisper, "Thank you," when they suspect they're being helped by a Dew Drop. But we still wanted that "diary moment," so we took it one step further and had our Dew Drops end the episodes bringing up what they are grateful for, whether it's their friends helping them recover a lost toy or helping them raise their spirits when they're feeling down. They do that via their unique gratitude journals, where one Dew Drop draws what she's grateful for while another keeps mementos from the day's adventures in a memory box. But it's our hope that our young viewers will find their own unique ways to express their gratitude, whether it's a hug from a grandparent or scoring a winning goal.

Theofilopoulos: We learned that practicing gratitude raises self-esteem in children. Although in the storytelling alone, the themes are present throughout, we loved the idea of wrapping an episode with our fairy taking a moment to notice and acknowledge something they were grateful for, plus express this in their own way. As Rick mentioned, our hope is that kids at home will also practice gratitude by looking at their day and noticing the silver linings.

What is your favorite thing about this series?

Suvalle: One of my favorite things about the series is that we got a chance to play with fairies in a new way. Unlike other fairy shows that typically take place in the forest or a garden, our series takes place in the city. This allowed us to play with size and scale in a fresh new way, seeing the Dew Drops hitching rides under baby strollers or using a soccer cleat as a canoe, or squaring off against a robot vacuum cleaner and thinking it's a monster. As for behind-the-scenes, the entire process of creating the show was an amazing experience. It takes a village to make a TV show, and I felt so supported by everyone at DreamWorks and our partner studio in France, TeamTO. Everyone who worked on the show, from the P.A.'s to the animators to the directors, took ownership in the show, and helped bring this series to life.

Theofilopoulos: I'm not sure if I can say that better myself! This was a special opportunity to tell stories in a different way, from different perspectives that we were used to - literally! Tiny fairies in the city presented unique opportunities for some really interesting camera work, texturing, and designing! It's a world that's been truly fun to play in as a creator! Behind the scenes, it's about the people. I've had a fantastic partner and friend in Rick, and the team at DreamWorks and TeamTO have been a dream to work with. I think everyone's passion for the project can be felt in the end result.