Posted in: Books, Games, Paramount+, Pop Culture, Tabletop, TV | Tagged: Pirate's Booty, The Elephant & Piggie Show!, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Kemper on Pirate's Booty Activities, Elephant & Piggie Show, and More

Ellie Kemper (The Office) spoke with us about her latest children's promotion with Pirate's Booty, Paramount+'s Elephant & Piggie, and more.

Ellie Kemper has come a long way in her career since her early days in sketch comedy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Important Things with Demetri Martin, before her breakout role on NBC's The Office, in which she appeared in 104 episodes across five seasons. She's also landed memorable roles on comedies like Bridesmaids (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), and The Mindy Project. She remained active on the scene, landing her biggest break as the star of Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, playing the titular character in all four seasons. Kemper spoke to Bleeding Cool about her latest promotion with the Pirate's Booty brand of snacks with craft-based workshop activities and games for kids, how doing children's programming takes on a different perspective as a mother herself, and reuniting with Kimmy Schmidt co-star Tituss Burgess for the Paramount+ animated series adaptation of Mo Willems' The Elephant & Piggie Show!, and more.

Ellie Kemper on Pirate's Booty Partnership, Embracing Children's TV Shows, and a 'Kimmy Schmidt' Reunion for 'The Elephant & Piggie Show!'

Bleeding Cool: How did your partnership with Pirate's Booty come about? What did you like about this opportunity, and what did you like about helping to organize the activities for it?

Kemper: When I heard "Pirate's Booty," I was like, "Well, 'Yes!' Whatever is the question, 'Yes!'" because I love that snack and I have for years. I have passed on that love of my snack to my two boys. I have a six-year-old and a nine-year-old. Pirate's Booty is always in our pantry. So yeah, we're like legit fans of the snack, and then when I learned what the campaign was, it was a double down on the "Yes," because Pirate Booty and I partnered to come up with this Captain Bob's Summer Quest Activity Guide where the focus is on imaginative play. It's a nice alternative to screen time.

None of these activities involve screens, and, selfishly, I was happy because it felt a little nostalgic to me. A lot of the activities in this guide are in the same world of things that I used to do as a kid, and it's been fun for me to participate in them with my kids, set them up, and watch them do their thing with it. A favorite of ours has been Captain's Closet, which is a dress-up game, and so my kids are dressed up as pirates. It's a lot of fun, because who doesn't like pretending to be a pirate? Things like that. We've also done the Fly Your Own Flag, which is really fun. I get sometimes intimidated by craft projects, but this one is a really low lift. You're using an old t-shirt and a broomstick from around your house to make a flag, and then you get to design the flag. It's sweet and lovely [giggles], so a long answer to your question, but that's been my experience of the partnership so far.

What was the process for creating those activities, and was there any trial and error before determining the cut?

Yes, Pirate's Booty did a lot of the, I've got to say, "heavy lifting" on the actual "kernels" of the idea, and then I got to weigh in. It's always nice when someone lays the groundwork, then you get to weigh in and start like collaborating with them. So yeah, it came about pretty organically, and some of my favorite activities are the ones that I got to hone a little bit more. As I said, what's nice about them is that they aren't…nothing is too complicated, which is a real draw for me as a parent, because sometimes when you see an activity, a toy, or whatever it is, and you think, "Oh boy! I got to assemble that. How long is that going to take?" I get all these different tools for this, and these activities are not like that: "This is like a measuring cup, or like a water bottle and measuring spoons to make a shark alarm." Okay, I can do that. So, really easy.

Are there like more activities planned for release than there were in this initial set?

Not that I know of. I would be eager to continue, but not that I know of; that's definite.

I want to shift to another project that you're working on with 'The Elephant and Piggy show, and I was wondering what resonated with you about those Mo Willems books, and how you got involved? Was there a coincidence that you also got Titus Burgess on board?

Listen to me, I know…No, it's not something that I told him about. It happened with forces greater than I. I was so happy that we are teaming up again to do this. But no, I said nothing; I don't think he said anything. It was meant to be; it was fate. It's been really delightful to be able to work with him on anything, and this show. 'The Elephant and Piggy' series is very special to me, because I read those books to my kids when they were little, and then they started reading them to themselves, and I'm such a fan of Mo Willems and his universe. What I like about that series is that it's…yes, it's for kids, but when I tell you I have gone through many of those books not dry-eyed, ha-ha, it's true, because those books really speak to something very special in adults as well. So, I really enjoyed working on that.

Does doing something like a children's show represent something that you've been wanting to do for some time, or is it something that represents sort of a break compared to what you've done before, and as far as the content's concerned?

You know, I have done other shows for children. Sophia the First (on Disney Jr), I got to work on, and that was a real joy for me. I was Crackle the Dragon, and that was a lot of fun. This is probably the first one I majored in when I was a mom, because when 'Sophia the First' was out, I don't think I had kids yet. You sort of come at it or understand it from a different point of view, which has been fun.

Jumping around a little bit, you have another thing I saw coming up called 'Drop-Off,' and you got such a talented ensemble on there (with Michaela Conlin, Nancy Lenehan, Chet Grissom, Judy Greer, and Karan Soni); can you tell me a little bit about it?

I have sad news. No, unfortunately, that one's not moving forward, which is such a bummer, because it's like a really great cast and really great writers and producers behind it. Anyway, it's not happening [laughs] RIP. I know. But no, I'm wondering if we talk about it, we will remind them of it, and fate will take its course again.

Hey, you know, there's always somebody else who might pick up the mantle.

For more on Pirate's Booty's Captain Bob's Summer Quest, you can check it out here.

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