Interview: Chatting With Skybound Animation's Marge Dean

BC: Hey Marge, first off, how have you been doing lately? 

MD: Very well. It's a busy time as we are working hard on Season 2 of Invincible as well as developing other amazing animation projects.

For those who may not know you, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm an animation producer who's been working in episodic animation for the last 30 or so years.  I've worked with some great teams over the years, from Ren & Stimpy, to The Ricky Gervais Show, Scooby Doo, Robot Chicken, and even a Peanuts movie.  I love the medium of animation in all its forms.

Prior to Skybound, you had been working as the head of Crunchyroll! What was your time like there and managing the studio through the pandemic?

Working at Crunchyroll was very interesting.  I was brought into the magical world of anime at a depth that surprised me.  I came to admire the talent in Japan and have gratitude that they have always understood that animation is a medium and not a genre. As far as working during a pandemic, we had a pause for about two weeks as we came to understand what we were dealing with and what technology was available to help us continue production. Animation crews had a very easy shift to remote working, unlike Live Action productions.  Since most of the work is solitary work done on a computer, it was not difficult to shift to the virtual pipeline. Many studios, including Skybound Animation, have not shifted back to 100% in-person. I doubt we ever will. We now have the capability of working with people anywhere in the world; which just means having access to more diverse talent.

You took over as head of Skybound Animation Studio about a year and a half ago. How did the opportunity come about to take the job?

I have been friends with Rick Jacob and David Alpert for 20+ years.  We met many years ago in Korea at a digital conference and stayed in touch.   With the pending sale of Crunchyroll to Sony, I had been looking for a new opportunity and happened to connect with Rick.   I mentioned my interest in something new, and the rest is history.

When you first came in, what did you think of the current state of things, and what was the first project you took on?

When I started, there was no studio in Los Angeles.  And the main task presented to me was to get Season 2 of Invincible set up and into production. There was no crew other than Robert, Cory, and Simon Racioppa. We had to build a team as well as open a physical studio space.  It was a busy but exciting time.  I love start-up projects.

How has it been working with the team on Invincible and bringing that modern superhero comic to life on Amazon?

Amazing and challenging. The team is so talented, but the show is huge! Aside from it being an hour-long episode, the scope of the project is the biggest that I've ever worked on.   We're estimating that the assets that need to be created are twice as many as a normal action show, but the episodes are thrilling and beautiful.  The story and voice acting are on point, like Season 1, but we are pushing to continue to improve on the animation and the team has succeeded.

When you're looking at projects to work with or create, what are some of the key things you hone in on as a reason to push forward?

We like big and expansive worlds and stories that are mature and compelling, and that tie into the universal discourse happening among us.  It's not just what people are talking/thinking about now, but what will they be talking/thinking about two-three years from now when our show comes out.

Are there any areas in the animation wing that you're looking to expand on or help make the company more robust where it isn't at the moment? 

I am looking to streamline our 2D pipeline further, but Animation is also working very closely with Skybound Games to figure out a way to align our pipelines to take advantage of efficiencies.  We all know in theory that there should be synergies between the two mediums, but there are many challenges to figure out how to do them on the respective timelines.  This is the first place that I've worked, where succeeding in figuring this out actually seems possible.

On top of your duties at Skybound, you also serve as the President of the Women in Animation. How important is that role and organization to you, as well as to have in Hollywood these days?

This answer could be pages and pages. WIA (Women in Animation) is the more impactful advocacy group in Hollywood today.  Our committed board and excellent staff are smart and nimble.  We work closely together to determine concrete actions we can take to change the environment in Hollywood for women, trans and nonbinary folks.   I'm very proud of the work that we've done and the measurable impact shown by the significant rise of gender-underrepresented people working in the animation industry.

Where do you hope to take the organization over the next few years? And for those who want to get involved, how can they go about doing that?

We are diversifying over the next few years.  We want to be more global, welcome women, trans and non-binary folks of all kinds (thinking intersectionality) into the community, and we want to expand to all forms of animation, including VFX and gaming.

Obviously, you can't break NDAs, but is there anything you can talk about for upcoming projects from the studio?

Season 2 of Invincible is coming, and it's going to blow your mind!