Danger & Eggs is streaming on Amazon. Click on the photo to check out the pilot episode.
By: Mike Givens/TRT Assistant Editor—
Can any lessons be learned from a rambunctious teal-haired youngster and her best friend, who just happens to be an egg? Transgender graphic artist and writer Shadi Petosky thinks so.
“Part of it is definitely about managing feelings in scary situations and having a buddy to support you,” said Petosky, co-founder of Puny Entertainment and writer for “Danger & Eggs,” which recently premiered on Amazon.
The show follows young DD Danger (voice of Aidy Bryant), a precocious little girl with big aspirations—and an even bigger sense of adventure—and her best friend, Phillip (voice of Eric Knobel), a highly-cautious egg who strongly matches his companions sense of impulsivity with an almost equal measure of hesitance. [pullquote]“People are seeing anxiety; people are seeing deep feelings. Safety and responsibility are played out in an over-the-top fashion. It plays on kids’ anxieties in a world of really scary things,” said Petosky of the dynamic between the two characters.[/pullquote]
In the pilot episode, Danger and Phillip have a laugh-filled adventure in a large abandoned waterslide. The relationship between the two is driven by Danger’s eagerness to have fun, but Phillip’s worrying has a tendency to keep them from getting completely into trouble.
“People are seeing anxiety; people are seeing deep feelings. Safety and responsibility are played out in an over-the-top fashion. It plays on kids’ anxieties in a world of really scary things,” said Petosky of the dynamic between the two characters.
Coming in at just over 12 minutes, the episode is very accessible for kids, but also contains a few laughs for adults.
Shadi Petosky
“The feedback that I’m getting is that people are immediately attaching to the characters,” said Mike Owens, co-founder of Puny Entertainment and the pilot episode’s director.
Petosky said the personalities of the characters were largely the work of the entire creative team behind the show.
“Animation is a very collaborative process. These characters come from a lot of real places and real dynamics,” she said. “There’s definitely a lot of us as creators in there.”
Owens said the character of Philip was borne largely out of his own childhood experiences: “I was riddled with fear as a kid. My mother was an ER nurse, so I was always hearing the stories of people losing limbs and all of that stuff that a six-year-old shouldn’t hear.”
Amazon is currently streaming the pilot of the show and based on user reviews, the network could option a full season of it. As of the writing of this article, the show has 361 reviews and a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
There were a range of reactions to the show with one reviewer stating, “Simply stated, Danger & Eggs is smart and funny,” to not-so-positive feedback such as, “My kids (7-10) cringed and looked annoyed for most of it. There were a couple of laughs, but it is not something we would seek out.” [pullquote]Owens said the character of Philip was borne largely out of his own childhood experiences: “I was riddled with fear as a kid. My mother was an ER nurse, so I was always hearing the stories of people losing limbs and all of that stuff that a six-year-old shouldn’t hear.”[/pullquote]
User reviews aside, Petosky said she is excited about the project and the opportunity to show diversity.
“I want to make a very intersectional show. I want to show diversity without calling it ‘difference.’ It’s a show that takes place in an urban park and I want it to feel like that,” she said, noting that she likes exploring themes related to the dynamics between children and their parents, friendship, fears and feelings.
She also credited Amazon with giving the Puny Entertainment team the creative space they needed to produce a show that delves into the issues the cast, producers, director, and writers wanted to explore.
“The Amazon shows are very auteur-driven and each of our points of view will be seen in the final product,” she noted. “Amazon is attracting all of these indie filmmakers and optioning a lot of literature. It’s a very art-driven platform. Nothing is homogenized.” [pullquote]“Amazon is attracting all of these indie filmmakers and optioning a lot of literature. It’s a very art-driven platform. Nothing is homogenized.”—Petosky[/pullquote]
Petosky said she felt deeply appreciative of Amazon for optioning the pilot and said that shows like Emmy Award-winning Transparent helped make it easier for transgender artists and entertainers to produce authentic work.
“It feels empowering as a trans person to be in a building and see your culture’s name on the poster sitting behind the executive when you’re in a meeting,” she said. “Especially when I’ve thought for 20 years that being out as trans was a career ender.”
Danger & Eggs is currently streaming on Amazon.com.
