The animated series WondLa came to an end with the release of the third season. The adaptation of Tony DiTerlizzi’s The Search for WondLa novels finally revealed the fate of Orbona as aliens and humans clashed.
Now that the dust has settled, we spoke with supervising director, Andrew L. Schmidt. He reflected on the series as a whole along with what he hopes fans take away from the show now that it’s over.
It was always a tricky balance working on WondLa, this third season in particular. There is so much going on with the large cinematic battles combined with deeper and more personal character interactions.
Schmidt says about that balance, “We’ve always known the show was going to be what we call epic and intimate. There’s the grand story that is happening, but it’s actually, at it’s core, a personal family story that is happening under the hood. We made sure they had their moments and they were carved out in part of the arc as well the character. We were just very carful to not bury them.”
The series tackles various themes throughout including family and thechnology versus nature. But, there is another message that Schmidt wants viewers to take away.
“I think the main thing I want viewers to take away from it, or I hope they take away from it, is the same thing I feel about it, is this sense of hope,” he said. “After all that Eva’s been through, there is still hope for the future. She’s come to a point where she’s, how do I put this…Hope is my main thing I hope people take away from it. Having a stepson myself, and being a stepfather, you see the hope for the future in the youth. That’s one thing I wanted to convey in this.
A big trend in Hollywood is to find a way to continue a successful story through prequels or sequels or delving deeper into a specific character. Most recently, Universal Pictures is exploring expanding the Wicked Universe. However, Schmidt is content with the work done for WondLa.
Schmidt said, “Honestly, I thought about this. I think it’s wrapped up beautifully. My personal opinion seeing some of these extended versions where there’s been a series that’s wrapped up beautifully and then they try to do a prequel or origin story. It’s not for me. I like the magic of what happened in that moment and how it gets wrapped up and concluded.”
Stream all three seasons of WondLa on Apple TV+.
