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00:00 - Khaled, I'll start with you first.
00:01 So we've been through so much
00:03 since you were first cast in this film.
00:05 I was speaking with Yara Shahidi the other day
00:07 about what it means to be, you know,
00:09 Wendy in "Peter Pan and Wendy."
00:11 And she was saying how, you know,
00:12 so much has happened in the way it was filmed
00:14 and then COVID, the pandemic, everything.
00:16 She hasn't really been able to like sit in the meaning
00:19 of what all of her casting means
00:21 and what, you know, to actually be in this moment
00:23 until right now.
00:24 So I wanna know, what has this journey been like for you
00:26 from start to finish, from, you know,
00:28 coming off of y'all's album to diving into this,
00:32 I guess, literally, I figured,
00:33 I didn't mean to say diving into it, it's a pun,
00:35 but diving into all of this,
00:38 how has this journey been like?
00:40 - Yes, well, this journey has been
00:42 such a beautiful experience for me,
00:45 a transformative experience for me, honestly,
00:47 because I auditioned for this film when I was 18
00:50 and I just turned 23 this year.
00:54 So it's been five years of my life
00:56 of just intense amazingness
00:59 and I've just had such gratitude
01:01 to be a part of a project like this
01:03 with such talented people like Jonah
01:06 and being a part of this film meant the world to me
01:09 because not only do I get to take on a role
01:12 that I've known and loved since I was a little girl,
01:15 which is honestly healing to the inner child within me,
01:19 but I get to reinvent this version of the Ariel
01:22 that we all know and show these children,
01:25 particularly these brown and black children,
01:28 that they deserve to be in these spaces
01:30 and that they deserve to see themselves on screen.
01:32 So honestly, it's just been a whirlwind of gratitude
01:36 and I'm just so grateful to be a part of it.
01:38 - Yes, yes, absolutely.
01:40 And Jonah, for you, in this version of Eric
01:44 that we made in this film, there's so much curiosity.
01:47 I think that drives so much of what he does in this movie.
01:50 For you, what was it like adding different dimensions
01:53 to the character that we may not have seen necessarily
01:55 in the animated classic?
01:57 - So fun.
01:59 We had a three-month rehearsal stage
02:01 where we talked so much about the script
02:03 and about the characters,
02:04 and that was a big thing for David McGee, our writer,
02:07 and Rob, our director, of really trying to evolve
02:11 who he was and try to get to know him better.
02:15 And you're right about the curiosities.
02:16 I think that was a really surprising thing
02:18 about the story that I loved,
02:19 which is that Ariel teaches him so much
02:22 and he teaches her too.
02:24 They both have this shared fascination
02:25 of the above world and the underworld.
02:28 That was something that was sort of there a little bit
02:31 in the original, but I think was properly dug into on this.
02:35 And I think it really enriched their relationship as well
02:40 because they were kindred spirits.
02:43 - Yes, yes.
02:44 And Halle, as far as the music in this film,
02:47 how do you think the song selections
02:49 both honor these original classic songs that everyone knows
02:53 but also add a modern twist to them as well?
02:56 - Yes, so these songs mean so much to all of us.
03:01 I mean, ever since we were children,
03:03 it's such a nostalgic feeling to be able to recreate
03:07 the songs that we've known and loved for so long.
03:09 And I think there's something to be said about Jodie Benson,
03:13 who was an icon, who was a legend,
03:15 whose work can never be touched ever.
03:18 And I just am filled with such gratitude
03:22 that she was so kind to me
03:23 and kind of passed me the baton in this way.
03:26 And I was grateful to Rob Marshall and everyone as well
03:29 for allowing me to have creative freedom.
03:33 I am a singer and I kind of go all over the place
03:36 and like to riff and be me.
03:38 And they just honestly let me be me
03:40 when it came to the recording of these songs for the film.
03:43 And that was the most freeing experience.
03:45 - You've taught so much to yourself throughout there.
03:47 - Thank you.
03:48 - You really did.
03:49 - Thanks.
03:50 But that was like, you know, really freeing for me.
03:51 So the fact that now with these new songs,
03:55 like Jonah has this amazing song
03:57 called "Wild Uncharted Waters"
03:58 and Scuttle has a song, like it's really cool.
04:02 But the fact that they were composed by Alan Menken still,
04:06 and he was still very much in the process
04:09 with him and Lin-Manuel.
04:10 It feels like we're honoring this film in the right way
04:14 by having the original composers create to it.
04:18 So, yeah.
04:19 - Alan was amazing for this whole process,
04:23 not just because of the fact that he was working on it again
04:25 but it felt like having his blessing
04:28 was really important for us.
04:29 And on our first day of rehearsals,
04:31 we had this big lunch for the cast, a lot of the crew
04:34 and Alan stood up and he said,
04:36 "I didn't think I would be here 30 years on,
04:39 but here I am and I'm so happy it's happening.
04:42 It's in safe hands."
04:43 Howard Ashman would be happy.
04:45 He's looking down on us
04:46 and it was this really moving moment.
04:48 And I think at that point we thought,
04:50 okay, we have the blessing
04:51 of some of the original filmmakers,
04:54 Jodie, like you mentioned.
04:55 So, yeah, that was a really nice platform for us.
04:59 - Yeah.
04:59 - I can't wait to see how fans reacted to the music
05:01 'cause I know for a while,
05:03 we only had like those few seconds
05:05 of "Hallelujah" reedition of "Far Your World"
05:07 and like, that's what everybody's done,
05:09 posting on social media with all their TikTok.
05:11 And then finally, when we had more,
05:13 the internet was like,
05:14 "Yes, I can't wait to see more of this."
05:15 So I feel like it's gonna be the same reaction
05:17 when everyone hears all this great new music
05:20 and just also see the film
05:21 because it's just that good.
05:23 But thank you both so, so much for your time.
05:26 I can't wait for everyone to see this movie
05:28 and I hope you both enjoy the rest of your day.
05:30 - Thank you. - Thank you so much.
05:31 Nice to meet you.
05:32 - Davina, I'll start with you first.
05:33 What was it like striking a chord
05:35 between the seriousness of Sebastian,
05:38 like he wants to be taken seriously by the king.
05:40 He has this virtue of himself
05:42 that he thinks of himself as,
05:43 but there's also the playful nature
05:45 of the character as well.
05:46 And I feel like this version of the film
05:48 kind of does a good balance
05:50 between both of these versions of Sebastian.
05:54 So what was it like for you
05:55 when you were diving into the character?
05:57 - Oh, good.
05:57 I'm glad you think the balance is right.
05:59 I think that's exactly right,
06:00 but I think the things that are funniest about Sebastian
06:03 are how serious he takes himself.
06:05 So kind of as we kept working on it,
06:08 like the more I leaned into that,
06:10 the funnier it seemed to be to me.
06:12 So even when he plays, he's playing very seriously.
06:16 - Yes, yes.
06:19 And Jacob, for you,
06:21 of course you're no stranger to animated films.
06:23 You know, "Luca" a few years back,
06:26 "My Heart is a Dragon" just last year.
06:28 How do you think preparing for this film
06:30 was different from the previous animated films
06:32 that you've been a part of?
06:34 - Well, actually, the deal was like,
06:38 it was still very, very different.
06:41 For doing "Luca" and "My Heart is a Dragon"
06:42 is it was, I was in like a booth
06:45 with like a microphone, just like pretty much by myself.
06:48 But what was different about this
06:51 is that we actually were all together
06:52 and they almost set it up like a stage pretty much.
06:55 So we recorded our lines for the movie
06:57 and also so that they would have it for Halle
06:59 when she was doing her scenes with us.
07:02 And what was funny is that
07:04 since I was so used to doing it the other way,
07:05 I didn't know that we were actually recording.
07:08 I thought it was just a rehearsal,
07:09 but thankfully because everyone was there
07:11 and there obviously was still like a lot of pressure,
07:13 I decided just to give it my 100,
07:15 like give it my all, just like how I do it on the day,
07:18 just because everyone was there, you know,
07:19 you weren't pressed, but.
07:20 (all laughing)
07:22 Thankfully, that's the way I think and yeah, so yeah.
07:26 - Yeah, yeah.
07:27 And Awkwafina for you,
07:29 scuttled in this version of the film,
07:32 performs on "Kiss the Girl."
07:34 There's also a new song that you and Davide perform as well.
07:38 So how was it like having this musical element
07:40 for the character kind of more so in this film
07:43 than the animated classic?
07:46 - I mean, it's so cool.
07:47 I think scuttled, but was a surprise.
07:52 I didn't know that we were,
07:53 going in I thought that maybe they just needed to know
07:55 that like I could do my part in like "Kiss the Girl,"
07:59 which is definitely like, you know,
08:01 supporting this awesome Marvel,
08:04 but like, but yeah, when I heard that
08:06 and then also knowing that Lynn was in the process
08:09 of writing it and then getting it,
08:10 I think it was truly an honor to perform a song
08:14 that was written by someone that I admire so much
08:16 and it totally is in that style.
08:19 So it was a really cool element of the character.
08:21 Yeah, and I think in this one,
08:23 it definitely expands scuttle a little bit.
08:26 So that's, I'm very grateful for that.
08:28 - Yes, yes.
08:29 And for all of you, you know,
08:30 this is such a big, massive project.
08:33 I mean, you know, all eyes on "Little Mermaid"
08:36 because it's such a classic and people want to see,
08:38 you know, how it, you know, translates to this new version.
08:41 When taking on, you know, roles like this
08:44 and stepping into big shoes, you know,
08:47 do you ever think, you know,
08:49 are we going to get it right?
08:50 Are we going to get it wrong?
08:50 What do you think is the thoughts that you have
08:53 when, you know, taking on roles like this
08:55 that have already been inhabited before,
08:57 but you think more about like making your own
09:00 or do you think more about, you know,
09:02 sticking to what fans know?
09:04 - I think, you know, one thing you have to have,
09:07 you have control of,
09:08 'cause sometimes you don't know, right?
09:09 You don't know how something
09:10 is ultimately going to be received,
09:12 but you can know what the character is,
09:15 who's behind it, you know, who else is leading it.
09:19 And if you can trust those components,
09:21 I think that that's enough to make you feel
09:23 like you can trust it,
09:24 but then also like feel really good about it.
09:26 And, you know, to know that like,
09:28 I pride myself on those instincts, you know,
09:31 'cause I definitely felt that about this movie.
09:34 - Yeah.
09:35 - I had a lot of faith in Rob.
09:36 I mean, as soon as I went on set,
09:37 I knew exactly what they were doing.
09:39 And when I saw the screener,
09:41 or not screener, I kind of just saw it
09:42 on my own with my family.
09:44 I was like, yeah, they definitely nailed it.
09:46 So, no, it was really cool to be a part of it.
09:50 - Yeah, I think Rob and the whole production
09:52 did such a great job of letting us play,
09:56 of like, you know, setting up the boundaries of the world
09:59 where it was just like, oh yeah,
10:00 we get to come here and do the thing that we do.
10:03 And yeah, so it was, yeah, it was awesome.
10:08 And it took, whether I can't remember,
10:10 I'm sure I was stressed about it before
10:12 because I'm stressed about everything.
10:14 That's the kind of person I am.
10:15 But by the time we started working,
10:17 it was just show up, have fun.
10:20 - Yeah.
10:21 - Say things, sing songs.
10:23 - Yeah.
10:25 - Awesome, awesome.
10:26 Well, thank you three so, so much.
10:28 I enjoyed this chat.
10:28 I can't wait for everyone to see this film.
10:30 - Thank you.
10:31 - Thank you.
10:32 - Thank you, have a good one.