A Gentle Celebration of Friendship

Showrunner Rob Hoegee hopes Apple TV+’s Frog and Toad series will spark a new interest in the classic book property.

- By Ramin Zahed -

“I am very happy. This morning when I woke up, I felt good because the sun was shining. I felt good because I was a frog. And I felt good because I have you for a friend. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to think about how fine everything is.”

— Arnold Lobel’s Days with Frog and Toad: Alone

Arnold Lobel’s charming tales of friendship between two gentle amphibians have captivated audiences ever since the first volume of the Frog and Toad stories was published in 1970. The world created by the beloved American author and artist has inspired a wonderful new animated series, which debuted on Apple TV+ in April.

The show is exec produced and run by Emmy winner Rob Hoegee (Stillwater, Niko and the Sword of Light), with animation produced by Titmouse studio. Adrianne Lobel, Adam Lobel and Titmouse’s Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina are also executive producers. The very impressive voice cast features Nat Faxon and Kevin Michael Richardson as Frog and Toad, as well as Cole Escola, John Hodgman, Yvette Nicole

Enthusiastic Adaptation

As Hoegee tells us in a recent interview, the Lobel books are personal favorites from his childhood. “Over the years, I sometimes get the question: if you could adapt any book what would it be,” he says. “For me, it was Frog and Toad Are Friends. I adored the books when I was a kid, and loved them even more when reading them with my own children. Unbeknownst to me, Apple had just gotten the rights. So, when that came up as a possibility for me, I’m pretty sure I screamed. Fortunately, it was taken as a sign of my enthusiasm. I was then introduced to Adrianne and Adam Lobel, who are Arnold’s children, and shared with them my vision for a what series could be. Thankfully, it was what they wanted to see in a show as well. So with their blessing, I got started right at the start of the pandemic.”

One of the reasons Hoegee was drawn to the stories was that they are beautiful examples of how much can be done with so little. “You have to remember that these were written as ‘easy readers,’” he explains. “There are easily millions of children who learned to read with these books. But behind that simplicity is a richness of both character and story that is undeniable. They can be funny, emotional, sweet, silly and profound, simply with the turn of a page. So many of the moments are relatable to both kids and adults. These are stories — and characters — that stick with you.”

One of the first objectives for the creative team was to bring on an art director who understood the books, the illustrative style and how they could be translated to animation. “We were fortunate in finding Keika Yamaguchi for that role,” says Hoegee. “Not only is she a children’s book illustrator herself, her experience as a background painter really brought the world into focus. We knew this had to be ‘hand drawn’ in every sense. It had to look like the characters from the books come to life.”

Hoegee says one big difference is that unlike the books, which have very simple backgrounds (sometimes none at all), the animated version required a richer environment for the show in both color and detail. “Arnold Lobel’s style is so gestural in his characters, we would also have to capture that style as well,” he points out. “Those drawings are not easy to animate, so a lot of time was spent with character design to find a style that looks like the books, but can move like a cartoon. Supervising director Sarah Johnson was instrumental in helping with that as well.”

The production team used Toon Boom Harmony to produce the animation. “Replicating the scratchy, almost etching-like line work from the books was essential, and it was felt to be the application best suited for it,” says the talented showrunner.

Hoegee says the varying length of Lobel’s 20 original stories posed a challenge as they needed to be translated to 11-minute episodes. Some easily filled out the episode, while others amounted to not much more than a scene. “This would mean expanding those stories quite a bit,” he says. “On top of that, we would need to supplement the book stories with original episode ideas. The challenge in both cases is making this new material read as if it came from the books. Arnold Lobel is a brilliant artist, and as a writer he is just as formidable. Getting his distinct style down was something our story editor Patrick Rieger and our staff writers Gia Godfrey and Lexie Kahanovitz worked very hard on.”

Critics and general readers have also discovered a subtle celebration of queer love in Lobel’s books, and that important quality is not lost in this translation. “We set out to make a faithful adaptation of the books,” says Hoegee. “In that sense, for someone wanting to look at the show through a similar lens, they’ll find that the optics still align. Everyone that worked on this show — and that includes a significant number of those who would identify as LGBTQ+ — brought their own interpretation of Frog and Toad in with them. It was important for me to let as much of their own personal expression through to the screen as possible. These are two characters formed from many different voices, but they still remain uniquely Frog and Toad — and exactly as we each remember them.”

Hoegee says he is big fan of the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Leiji Matsumoto (Space Battleship Yamato, Space Pirate Captain Harlock). “A serialized space opera after only knowing Scooby-Doo was mind-blowing for the 10-year-old me,” he notes. “It’s still my all-time favorite animated program. And even though most of his work is live action, I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan. His style and attention to detail really resonates with me.”

Respect and Connection

When asked about the secret of successfully adapting books to animated shows, Hoegee says loving the source material is the most import thing. “When you have a deep connection to the book you’re adapting (or comic book or old TV show) there is the added pressure of ‘not screwing it up.’” he notes. “Another important aspect is respecting the intent of the author or creator you are adapting. You have to find the core value of the material and make sure that shines through. Sometimes you are lucky and are able to go right to the source, as I did with Jon J. Muth on Stillwater. In the case of Frog and Toad, since Arnold Lobel is no longer with us, I was able to rely on Adam and Adrianne Lobel for insight when I needed it.”

As Frog and Toad find new fans around the world this season, Hoegee and his team are super proud of what they’ve been working on for years. “These are timeless characters loved by millions — including and especially everyone that worked on this show. Some on our crew almost came to tears when they learned that the ‘top secret project’ they were applying for was Frog and Toad. It’s that special to so many people. We hope that the audience feels the same sense of joy watching it that we had in making it” ◆

The first season of Frog and Toad is currently streaming on Apple TV+.