Dorothea Gillim

{{Infobox director

| name = Dorothea Gillim

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|07|18}}

| birth_place = Cambridge, Massachusetts

| nationality = American

| education = {{unbulleted list|Swarthmore College ||Harvard Graduate School of Education}}

| occupation = Television producer

| years_active = 2003–present

| known_for = Producing animated series

| television = * WordGirl

| awards = * Peabody Award

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program

}}

Dorothea Gillim (born July 18, 1964) is an American television producer. She is the creator of the animated series WordGirl and Hey Monie! and co-creator of Molly of Denali. Under GBH, Gillim has produced multiple animated series including Curious George, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and Time Warp Trio.{{Cite web |title=GBH Announces Expansion of GBH Kids |url=https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/press/gbh-announces-expansion-of-gbh-kids |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=wgbh.org}}

In 2006, Gillim created WordGirl to respond to "the idea that children's television wasn't intelligent enough," feeling that most shows "underestimated their sense of humor and their intellect."{{Cite web |last=Stein |first=Minnah |date=2022-07-16 |title=WordGirl Is the Captain Marvel of PBS |url=https://collider.com/wordgirl-captain-marvel-of-pbs/ |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=Collider |language=en-US}} In 2022, Collider praised the show for its "non-white, little girl superhero" protagonist, claiming it started a female superhero trend and the generation who grew up watching WordGirl later demanded new and diverse Marvel heroes such as Captain Marvel.

Gillim's co-created animation series Molly of Denali has been celebrated as "the nation's first widely distributed children's program featuring an Alaska Native as the lead character."{{Cite web |title=When — and how — should you talk to your kids about climate change? |url=https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/fun-stuff/when-and-how-should-you-talk-to-your-kids-about-climate-change |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=Canary Media |date=31 August 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=How Molly of Denali found its diverse cast and crew |url=https://kidscreen.com/2018/06/25/how-molly-of-denali-found-its-diverse-cast-and-crew/ |access-date=2022-09-12}}

Career

After graduating from Swarthmore College, Gillim was a fifth grade teacher in Philadelphia for three years before leaving to attend graduate school.{{Cite web |title=Screen Time as Learning Time |url=https://www.gse.harvard.edu/hgse100/story/screen-time-learning-time |access-date=2022-09-12 |website=Harvard Graduate School of Education |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Word Domination - Swarthmore College Bulletin |first=Katie |last=Becker |work=swarthmore.edu |date=April 2009 |access-date=12 September 2022 |url= https://www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/archive/wp/april-2009_word-domination.html }} She took interest in television writing following a media education course{{When|date=September 2022}} at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Her 2003 adult animation series Hey Monie! was praised for its improvised comedic dialogue{{Cite book |last=Lotz |first=Amanda D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZZdAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PA67 |title=REDESIGNING WOMEN: Television after the Network Era |date=2010-10-01 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-09176-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Seham |first=Amy E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=onsUEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22hey,+monie%22&pg=PT329 |title=Whose Improv Is It Anyway?: Beyond Second City |date=2009-10-20 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-4968-0202-6 |language=en}} and for featuring Angela V. Shelton as Monie, the show's African-American female protagonist.{{Cite web |last=Ryan |first=Suzanne C. |date=2004-06-02 |title=Coming soon to the small screen: less diversity |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Coming-soon-to-the-small-screen-less-diversity-2770630.php |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}

In 2019, Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt mentioned Gillim's show Hey Monie! while compiling a list of adult animated shows created by women.{{Cite magazine |last=Ellis |first=Emma Grey |title=Netflix's Animated 'Tuca & Bertie' Is the Tits |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-animated-tuca-and-bertie-is-the-tits/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite tweet | first=Lisa| last=Hanawalt| author-link=Lisa Hanawalt| user=lisadraws| number= 1122960153639133184 |access-date=2022-09-11| date=29 April 2019

| title=I've been trying to put together a list of other adult (not children's!) animated shows created by women. Am I missing any here?}}

In 2022, regarding her co-creation of Molly of Denali, Gillim described the show as "long overdue" and stated, "We knew that this story was not ours to tell, and so our intention was to partner with Alaska Natives in the development of the characters in the world."{{Cite news |date=2022-02-24 |title=This children's TV show helps Indigenous voices thrive |work=The Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Podcasts/Say-That-Again/This-children-s-TV-show-helps-Indigenous-voices-thrive |access-date=2022-09-12 |issn=0882-7729}} NPR commended the show for debunking stereotypes, addressing discrimination,{{Cite web |title='Molly of Denali' tackles 'discrimination and stereotypes' Alaska Natives face: 'We're breaking it down so young kids can understand' |date=November 2021 |url=https://ca.style.yahoo.com/molly-of-denali-alaska-natives-young-kids-understand-210802958.html |access-date=2022-09-12 |publisher=Yahoo! |language=en-CA}} and presenting an educational representation of Alaskan Native culture.