SHEA FONTANA

“Monster High”

“Success in storytelling is when honesty comes in a very funny, very silly, very entertaining package,” says Fontana, showrunner and co-executive producer of “Monster High,” the upcoming animated series based on Mattel’s fashion doll line of the same name. “I hope some of the themes sink in, maybe a story gives someone a little reassurance or plants a new idea, but I’m also perfectly happy if all I accomplish is entertaining someone for 11 minutes.”

Growing up in “the middle of nowhere Utah,” Fontana was drawn to animation as a career because as a kid she really connected to cartoons. “I thought of cartoon characters as my friends,” Fontana says. “Cartoons made me feel less alone, and shaped my sensibilities in a lot of ways.” It’s that same vulnerability that shapes her approach to “Monster High,” which places a low priority on teaching strict lessons, while searching for anything that feels real and meaningful as a story. “Our stories don’t distill down to ‘this is right, this is wrong.’ If anything, it’s ‘you’re not alone,’ ‘you’re valid’ and ‘you’re OK.’

“That all gets filtered through my sensibility and comes out as goofy fun that hopefully appeals to kids,” she adds.

Following her work on “Polly Pocket,” and prior to that, “DC Super Hero Girls,” Fontana has developed a real aptitude for bringing established characters into today’s world while retaining the essence of their original appeal. But she demurs when asked about loftier goals with her work: “The height of my creative ambition might just be finding how many new ways we can make Headmistress Bloodgood’s head fall off.” — Todd Gilchrist

I think the most interesting thing we can do is tell stories that are engaging and interesting.” — Juston Gordon-montgomery