From series creator Shannon Tindle (Kubo and the Two Strings, Coraline) and director Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) the Netflix limited series Lost Ollie is a four-episode epic adventure across the countryside that a lost toy embarks on, in order to be reunited with the boy who is his best friend. Facing many dangers along the way, the sweet and charming handmade stuffed rabbit named Ollie (voiced by Jonathan Groff) will overcome his fears, as long as they lead him back to young Billy (Kesler Talbot) and the magical bond they share.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Groff and Gina Rodriguez (who plays Momma, Billy’s loving mother that encourages her son’s creativity and imagination) talked about the appeal of the project’s artistic point of view, whether either of them had any toys that held a special place for them growing up, playing a character like Momma that’s such a pure representation of love, what it was like to work with Ollie on set, how Groff found the character’s voice, the relationship Ollie has with Zozo (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson) and Rosy (voiced by Mary J. Blige), and what they thought about the ending.

Collider: I loved everything about this. When Lost Ollie came your way, how was it presented to you? Did you know how it would work, with the live-action and animation, and how everything would be woven together?

JONATHAN GROFF: Shannon [Tindle] and Peter [Ramsey], our showrunner and director of the show, presented four completed scripts and a total artistic vision with beautiful pictures of what the animated characters would look like and really evocative locations. Shannon Tindle made the setting in his home state of Kentucky, so this is a very personal story for him. Part of what drew Gina [Rodriguez] and I both to this project was it had such a specific artistic point of view, and the way that the animation was interacting with the live environment and the actual human actors. And then, the story itself, they spent years developing it into these four very tight, exquisite scripts. When they came to the both of us, it was a very beautifully presented package, and it was our job to just bring it to life.

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Image via Netflix

That’s awesome. That’s not something that actors always get for a project like this.

GROFF: Exactly.

Without unnecessarily turning this into a therapy session, this brought out all of the feelings for me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always thought of dolls and plush toys as each having their own life and personality. It’s why I’ve always been so thoughtful in each one that I’ve selected for myself, and I’ve always been very aware of what’s happened with them. Have either or both of you had a stuffed animal, doll, or toy that meant a lot to you when you were younger?

GINA RODRIGUEZ: I don’t have one particular one. I was the youngest of three girls. I basically was the doll for my two older sisters. They would snuggle me tight at night. I was the one that was under their arm and barely breathing. But my husband has dolls from his childhood. There’s this stuffed whale that he’s gonna get it from his mother, who is on the East Coast, for our child, when our child is born. I’m really excited about that because my husband has very distinct memories of these dolls that he loved so much. I’m excited to bring them into our house.

GROFF: I had a stuffed monkey that I called Monk, that is still in our lives. My mom kept him, and my nieces occasionally will play with him. He’s not the favorite toy of my two nieces, but he is a featured player.

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Image via Netflix

I love that. I was given a teddy bear, named Billy, when I broke my arm as a kid. My mother even bought him a toddler sweatsuit and painted a paw on it with his name.

RODRIGUEZ: I love that. I want to do that for my child. We did it for our dog, who’s had a [stuffed] squirrel for five years, since we got him. I take it everywhere. I’ve only washed it once, which was a big shame on me because he really hated how clean it was. It’s nice and dirty and disgusting. It smells like his breath. I will never lose that squirrel for him. I know the importance.

That’s awesome. The majority of this story focuses on this little stuffed bunny and his journey. Gina, what were the biggest challenges for you, in taking the scenes that you had in this, and being such a big and important presence in them? Momma’s love is everything in this. It keeps all of it tied together. What was it like to represent that, in every moment?

RODRIGUEZ: Such a joy. I’m so appreciative for having the opportunity to embody this mother that I hope to one day be like, to keep the magic alive in my child’s life, and to really ignite and inspire my child to never let go of that. As we get older, we get so obsessed with the flesh and what’s in front of us, and what we believe is “real.” We miss all the magic of the in between. There’s so much that’s not there, that we feel and know. When I’m meditating, some of my ancestors show up. I know how powerful it is to reignite their presence for me. I just want to make sure that I’m that kind of mother in my child’s life. To be able to play that was such a gift because it gave me practice. I got to practice and be taken care of by such an incredible director. Peter Ramsey created such a loving environment that was also such a non-working environment for that young boy, Kesler [Talbot], and all the young boys that played his younger self, that it really was play, every day. But it was difficult because when I worked with Ollie, it was a puppet and a puppeteer, or it was just a doll that didn’t move, or it was FX balls. It was quite a challenge, but such a worthy and fun challenge. I just wanted to do the best I could in an experience that I hadn’t yet experienced.

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Image via Netflix

There are so many beautiful moments in this. The moments that you share with Ollie are so just touching. That’s why I was curious if you at least had something that resembled him to look at, instead of just a ball on a stick.

RODRIGUEZ: It was different experiences. There were definitely balls on sticks, and then there was a really incredible puppeteer. I have to give it up to the whole crew that did the puppeteering. It was really tremendous, so much so that you were like, “This is freaking me out.” They did the nuance of the way Ollie would tilt his head when he was listening to me. You were like, “What’s happening? What’s in front of me?” I still want my Ollie doll that Shannon promised me.

GROFF: Same.

RODRIGUEZ: Everybody deserves an Ollie doll, specifically Ollie with a little button you can press and Jonathan’s voice sings to you. Oh, my God, that’s the merch that they don’t know about yet.

Jonathan, how did you connect to Ollie? What was it about that cute, sweet, sad little bunny that helped you bring him to life?

GROFF: That’s such a good question. I was recording the show from my house in Pennsylvania that looks out onto my dad’s horse farm. My dad trains and raises horses for a living. In the summers, I used to go to this farm and play pretend with my friends, and put on plays in the barn. So, when I had the headphones on, and the laptop open with Shannon and Peter, and I was doing the lines, I would look out the window and there was this beautiful meadow that I used to really live inside of, in my imagination, for hours and hours on end. I was really relating that history of that experience with this child’s imagination, playing pirates with him and playing pretend with him. That was the energy that was in the air while it was happening. That felt meant to be. That felt so connected to my younger self.

Shannon and Peter were not making a TV show that is talking down to kids. It’s literally life and death issues happening, whether they’re imagined or ones that are actually real. Peter would talk a lot about the execution of the voice and how he didn’t want it to become a silly character voice, even though it was this bunny and we’re doing the Kentucky accents. It was a very personal project for everyone. That’s where Shannon, the showrunner, is from, so he was very committed to the sound of what it sounded like for him, as a kid. Peter said, “We didn’t want this to feel cutesy. We wanted this to feel grounded and real. When you say, ‘Don’t ever leave me,’ it’s like, ‘Don’t ever leave me. I won’t be able to handle it,’ or, ‘We’re gonna be together, forever.’” It’s not fake. It’s real. So then, it was just trying to connect to the reality of that. In the scene with Gina, I had the cut of her because they had already shot all the scenes, so I was acting to her coverage. I got to actually sing with her and cry with her. Her performance is extraordinary, and so emotional and so beautiful. I got the pleasure of being able to act with her without her even knowing it, which was incredible.

RODRIGUEZ: I just found that out today. I’m like, “Wow, that’s so cool.”

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Image via Netflix

What did you also enjoy most about the relationship that Ollie has with Zozo and Rosy? You guys are like your own little power group, on your own adventure together. What was it like to figure out that whole relationship dynamic?

GROFF: Tim [Blake Nelson] and Mary J. Blige and I are the most unlikely trio. Sometimes Peter and Shannon would even play me them, reading the lines. They both have such extremely distinct voices. It’s hard to describe the scenes without giving away the story, but some really extreme and surprising things are revealed about those two characters, in particular. It gets really turned on its head, several times. They would play me their takes in the heightened scenes. Even though we were never in the same room, because what was happening was so extreme, I did feel like there was a real exchange there. It was so intense. Alone in my house in Pennsylvania, or with Shannon and Peter, I’d be crying while voicing a bunny. It was just a very bizarre and therapeutic experience.

It’s hard to talk about without spoilers, but the ending of this is so magical and so perfect. What did you guys think of the way that all of this is tied together in the end? What was your reaction to learning where this would end up?

RODRIGUEZ: I think that the writers just did a wonderful job at discussing and having a conversation about grief and loss, imagination, and the continuation of one’s life experience onto the next generation. The way they pulled it together was uplifting, and it allows you to see that one doesn’t exist without the other. Grief and joy are on the opposite sides of the coin of one another, and they both have to be experienced, in order for you to understand each of them. They did a really marvelous job.

GROFF: When I read the end, I thought I knew what it would be. With each episode, I just kept getting surprised. The writers are not talking down to their audience, but the audience is never ahead of the story. It’s an interesting balance, where it’s speaking to us on our level, and yet it’s pushing us outside our expectations. I think the end really speaks to this eternal truth that relates to change and evolution and growth, and the parts of that, that are both painful and joyful.

Lost Ollie is available to stream at Netflix.