22 EMMYmix
in the
WrappingupthefirstseasonofNetflix’sBoJackHorseman
four years ago, creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and
coproducer Kate Purdy (The McCarthys, Cougar Town)
decided to develop a new project that explored such
complexissuesasmentalhealthandthenatureofreality.
“IfellinlovewithRaphaelandwhathehadtosayaboutthisworld,”Purdy
recalls.“Then,westartedtalkingaboutourownlivesandfamilies.I toldhim
aboutmygrandmotherGeraldine,whohadschizophrenia,andmyfears
aboutmentalhealth.I wasgoingthrougha divorceanda hardtimeinmylife,andasa result,I wasdiscoveringalternativehealingmodalitiesandmeeting
shamansaroundtheworld.”
TheycreatedUndone, abeautifullycraftedandhighlyoriginalseries
settopremiereonAmazonlaterthisyear.Ineighthalf-hourepisodes,the
rotoscope-animatedseriesfollowsayoungwomannamedAlma(played
byRosaSalazar),whosurvivesanear-fatalcaraccidentandbeginstosee
visionsofherlatefather(BobOdenkirk).Thenshediscoversshecantravel
throughspaceandtime.
Executive-produced byBob-Waksberg,Purdy,NoelBright,Steven A.
Cohen and Tommy Pallotta,the show features a
multicultural cast that includes Angelique Cabral,
ConstanceMarie,SiddarthDhananjay,DaveedDiggs,
JohnCorbett,JeanneTripplehornandTylerPosey.
Oneoftheshow’ssecretweaponsisdirector
HiskoHulsing,a Dutchindieanimatorbestknownfor
hisaward-winningshortsJunkyardandSeventeen.
“OurproducersNoelandStevefoundHisko,whois
absolutelyamazing,”Bob-Waksbergsays. “Itwas
hisideatouserotoscopyfortheanimation,since
hewantedtocapturethemicroexpressionsofthe
characters’faces.”
Purdyadds,“Wewanteda stylethatfeltrealand
grounded,butwasanimatedenoughsothatwhen
crazythingsstartedtohappen,youwouldn’tfeellike
weweresuddenlybreakingtheshow.Weneeded
thisseamlesstransitionbetweenwhatwasrealand
unreal.”
Thankstothecomplexproductionprocess,“It’s
almostasif wemaketheshowthreetimes,”shesays.
“First,weshooteverythinginliveactioninHollywood.
Then, that footage is sent to Minnow Mountain
Studio in Austin, where they rotoscope it and choose
which lines to animate to get all the expressions
and emotionality. Finally, it goes to Submarine in
Amsterdam, where Hisko oversees the animation.
They oil-paint the backgrounds, and all the different
elements are added in the compositing process.”
Bob-Waksberg and Purdy are already making
plans for the second season, but for now he has only
great things to say about their wild animated ride.
“One of the joys of this seemingly endless process
is how many artistic collaborators we have along
the way who find ways to elevate the piece,” Bob-
Waksberg says.
Purdy puts it a bit differently. “It’s like labor pains,”
she says. “Every step of the process is incredibly
painful, but when it’s all done, you just think about
how blissful and beautiful it all has been.”
—Ramin ZahedALTERED STAT E S
With a mix of mind-bending mediums, an animated series gets personal and universal.
In Amazon’s Undone, Alma (Rosa Salazar) asks her father (Bob Odenkirk):
“Am I losing my mind, Dad?” He replies, “No, no.... Uh, yes and no.”AMAZON