How ‘RoboGobo’ Puts Limb Loss In the limelight

Back in March, I wrote about the Apple TV+ children’s series Wonder Pets: In the City and interviewed its creator, Jennifer Oxley. As I wrote, the show’s premise chronicles the adventures of a group of classroom pets in a New York City school who, when school is out and night falls, morph into heroes and travel the globe in their “Jetcar” to rescue their fellow animals—all the while singing in operatic style. In a nod to disability inclusion, Oxley told me, amongst other things, two of the show’s characters, a snake and an elephant, cope with limb differences and visual impairments, respectively.

I bring up Wonder Pets: In the City because my mind immediately went to it when I was approached earlier this month about covering RoboGobo. The Disney Jr. series, created by Chris Gilligan and streamable on Disney+, has a similar conceit to Wonder Pets: In the City insofar as it’s about a group of heroes—some of them coping with disabilities—banding together to solve problems using robotics. Disney describes RoboGobo as “superheroes who fight villains and rescue pets in peril,” led by boy genius Dax. Disney seemingly has the copyright cornered on “the rescue pets who rescue pets” slogan for RoboGobo, but it’d befit Oxley’s Wonder Pets crew just as aptly in a conceptual sense.

“We were working from this notion that aspirational heroes can come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities,” Gilligan said about RoboGobo in a recent interview with me done via videoconference. “The decision to give [Dax] a limb difference was organic. It was one of these things like, ‘Why not?’ Why wait for a specific episode to introduce a character with disability? Why not have the protagonist be [disabled]? It just felt right for the story. It also felt like something that hadn’t been explored before in a way I was looking to do with this show. The possibilities are exciting as a result of that [choice].”

Dr. Nava Silton, a psychology professor at Marymount Manhattan College who worked on RoboGobo, explained she “really loves” how the show’s central figure, the aforementioned Dax, has a limb difference. That the main protagonist has a disability, she added, is “such a boon for representation” because more often that not, characters with disabilities are relegated to ancillary status in terms of storylines and general visibility. Dax being the focal point of RoboGobo, Dr. Silton said, is of crucial import precisely because it bucks convention; Disney was highly intentional in not only using sensitive language, but in its pursuit to ensure authenticity regarding the look and feel of Dax’s prosthetic arm. Even the stump and, impressively, gait of Joe the Jaguar was considered in an episode, “Jumpin’ Jaguar,” where he’s scared to get down from a tree.

“I thought all those things were really special with this particular series,” Dr. Silton said.

Piggybacking on Dr. Silton’s sentiments, Gilligan explained to me the creative team went so far as to source footage of actual jaguars living with limb differences in order to animate their physical traits and movements properly for the show. They found one of a cub, which matches up demographically with Joe’s character, with Gilligan saying “we made sure we got that all right… all those specific [details],” he said. “We always checked to make sure ‘Are we doing this right? Are we representing this correctly?’”

“It was done in such a nice, comprehensive, and sensitive way,” Dr. Silton added.

Dr. Silton prepared a 2-hour educational presentation on limb difference for roughly 18–20 people in advance of production. She said “they all sat there and paid attention” to the myriad ways people use prosthetics, and which situations demand which tools. Attendees, she said, “asked such insightful questions” and she consulted with Gilligan extensively throughout the production process. It was a definite imperative for Dr. Silton and team to especially get Dax’s prosthetic arm as correct as possible; the primary goal was to make it “look as much like a prosthetic, but also something toyetic that can be used in terms of consumer products or those types of things,” she said.

Dr. Silton continued: “[We tried] to ensure we could have a powerful story while also representing the authenticity of limb difference and to model sensitivity for typically-developing individuals or others who might know a bit less about limb difference.”

For his part, Gilligan heaped praised unto Dr. Silton, telling me the team feels “very lucky” to work with her. She not only is a subject matter expert, he said, she’s a “storyteller and creative person.” Moreover, Gilligan emphasized that while the representational aspect to RoboGobo is a focal point, so too is remembering the essence of the show’s existence lies in its entertainment value. He recounted being inspired by something he read in a 2010 National Geographic piece about prostheses and neural impulses. (The latest episode of 60 Minutes features a similarly fascinating story from Anderson Cooper.) According to Gilligan, he wanted to “do something interesting like that” in RoboGobo and cited Dax’s prosthetic having a flip-up mechanism for shooting his robo-discs as a manifestation of said desire. All told, Gilligan called these creative elements the end result of deep collaboration between innumerable people; it was work that put the team in “a great place”—and uniquely so.

"it was special… it took wonderful teamwork,” Dr. Silton said of the efforts.

When asked about corporate support, Gilligan told me Disney has been “1000% supportive” of himself and the rest of the RoboGobo team. He said the company’s been “extremely excited” about the show, adding “I think [Disney] loved the initial thinking from the get-go… along the entire journey, they’ve been nothing but supportive of us.”

“They’re into it,” Gilligan said glibly of Disney’s reaction towards RoboGobo.

Of course there’s an entertainment element to it, but Gilligan and Dr. Silton told me they hope RoboGobo carries with it an undercurrents of the importance of empathy, perseverance, and open-mindedness, messaging-wise. They want children—and their families—to see everyone is literally built differently, with Dr. Silton wanting audiences to “not be afraid” of the challenges they are faced with in life. Such an idea sits at the core of Dax’s outlook on life and in the messaging he tries to convey to his cohorts.

“We wanted to develop empathy,” Gilligan said.

Beyond Disney, the response to RoboGobo has been positive. Dr. Silton said the most striking piece of feedback has to do with people expressing gratitude for putting disability at the forefront instead of obscuring it. She also pointed to children role-playing Dax during pretend play and using various props for his prosthetic, which not only illustrates empathy but something Dr. Silton found “extremely heartwarming.” She recalled having a conversation with some children about the “Take a Leap and Try” song and what it means to them. The engaging responses from the young children, Dr. Silton told me, “was such a wonderful way to start an exciting conversation about all of us coming into the world with strengths and challenges and, no matter what we have, we all have that opportunity to try and reach our goals, even if they’re hard [and] even if they’re difficult. It was an exciting jumping-off point for a wonderful conversation.”

“Whether individuals with limb differences or typically-developing—or hopefully both—I think everyone’s getting something special [by watching RoboGobo],” Dr. Silton said.

As to the future, Gilligan and Dr. Silton expressed similar sentiments about being proud of the work each as put into making RoboGobo a reality. Both are especially proud of the representational gains, with both saying they want to keep the show going as long as possible and keep telling more stories. The future is bright with possibility for Dax and friends—with Dr. Silton saying she would love a movie version to happen someday.

“[RoboGobo] sets the stage beautifully to show the world that you don’t just have to break that it’s not only incorporating disability into your show—it’s about making it the the main protagonist present with that disability,” Dr. Silton said of the show’s impact on viewers. “[The character] could really be an incredible anchor for a wonderful show—a show that really has tremendous take-home [lessons] for kids and adults alike.”