With Schumacher as producer, he selected storyboard artist Joe Ranft to serve as story supervisor because of his "ability to change and transform through excellence of idea". Throughout the storyboarding process, Ranft constantly bolstered the creative morale of his crew, but rarely drew storyboard sequences himself. In addition to this, Ranft entered creative disagreements with the studio management and marketing executives, including one disagreement where he and the story team optioned for the casting of an Aboriginal Australian child actor to voice Cody. According to storyboard artist Brenda Chapman, this was overridden with the decision to cast "a little white blonde kid".