“Have Courage and Be Kind,” A Modern Day Cinderella

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Erin

“Have Courage and Be Kind,” A Modern Day Cinderella

By Erin

*I was invited by Disney to attend the press junket for Cinderella. All opinions are my own.*

“Where there is kindness, there is goodness. And where there is goodness, there is magic.” This pretty much sums up the magic that is created in Disney’s new live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, “Cinderella.” To make this film relevant to modern audiences, this core value of kindness and compassion was fundamentally important to its success. The filmmakers were convinced that by having a powerful story, combined with an exceponally-talented cast, along with complex and realistic characters, would make for a truly entertaining and magical experience. After seeing the film, I am still in awe of all the magic, beauty, artistry, and the heartfelt message of “Have Courage and Be Kind.” I cannot wait to see it again, and am happy to say that I had the pleasure of interviewing a few of the key characters, producers, and the costume designer for Cinderella to be able to share with you today a little bit about what makes this re-make of Cinderella oh so special.

First, we spoke with Prince Charming himself, Richard Madden. We had many questions to ask him.

What drew you to the roll of the Prince?

Richard: I wanted a character with depth and humor. I got to see Cinderella as a daughter and the Prince as a son. Cinderella sees the Prince as a friend and soldier first, as well as a prince.

What was it like working with the Director, Kenneth Branagh?

Richard: It was wonderful. I’ll be working with him again in 2016. He’s considerate and has confidence in me.

How will this movie speak to kids at heart today?

Richard: Cinderella would have been fine if she didn’t end up with the prince. It’s not like the original. This is two people bringing out the best in each other. Young boys will see love in a more equal way, and will have more of a respect for women and the world around them.

What’s the first thing you see in a woman Richard?

Richard: I don’t know. I am just interested in people. I want to talk to them and get to know them.

What did you think about learning to Waltz?

Richard: Awful!! You won’t be seeing me on Dancing with the Stars. Absolutely not!

What was it like working with Lily James as Cinderella?

Richard: A joy. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. She’s so kind, generous, caring, loving, giving, everything you could want.

What is your favorite scene from the movie?

Richard: When the Prince and Cinderella meet for the first time. There are many feelings going on, the dancing around of the horses. Lily hadn’t ridden horses before the movie. She took many riding lessons to prepare for these scenes on horseback.

Big Hero 6: Thoughts From the Cast & Creators

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Erin

Big Hero 6: Thoughts From the Cast & Creators

By Mindy Marzec

Last month I had the great privilege to see a screening of “Big Hero 6” and attend a press junket with some of the film’s creators and voice actors. It was a fun afternoon at the Disney studios in Burbank, CA, and I want to thank Erin at Horsing Around in L.A. for the experience! My review of the film is coming up, but first I wanted to introduce you to some of the creative geniuses behind “Big Hero 6,” then be on the look out for the scoop on the short film that runs before it, called “Feast,” tomorrow!

First we got a little background about how the film was made from Don Hall (Director), Chris Williams (Director), and Roy Conli (Producer). They were asked about how the project came to be and how similar it is to the original Marvel comic of “Big Hero 6.”

Don: “The project came from my love of comic books. It was a dream project to take these things (Disney and comics) and combine them. We inquired about the project because I liked the title, found out it was a Japanese super hero team and then became more intrigued, then actually read the comics and got really intrigued. And so when we met with Marvel and said, ‘We want to do Big Hero 6,’ they loved it, they loved the idea we were going to do, and they said ‘don’t worry about setting it in the Marvel universe. Do your own thing. Use your own creative and create your own world.” So then we created San Fransokyo, because that’s what we do first, right off the bat, what’s the world we’re dealing with here? We love fantasy and we do fantasy very well, and so we wanted to create a fantasy world. That’s what led to this mash up of San Fransokyo. We wanted this world to not be super powered beings walking around, there’s a reality to this world. And then super technology became everybody’s super power. So a lot of these little decisions took us farther away from the comic book.”

What about criticism from Marvel fans?

Don: “One thing about our process is, no matter what story you think you’re going to tell when you start out, it is going to be something else by the end. That’s just the way it is. (Changing the story) was always going to be that way. I will say that Duncan Rouleau, who is one of the co-creators of the original comic, just saw (the film) and loved it.”

Alexander #VeryBadDay Movie Review

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Erin

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Movie Review

By Erin

*I attended a screening of this film as a guest of Disney for purposes of this post. All thoughts and opinions remain my own. All photos and videos are courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.*

Today is one of those days for me. I started to come down with a sore throat last night, my back is killing me, I ended up having to call in sick to work today, which I rarely ever do, and I needed to finish up this review when all I want to do is sleep. Not the best way to start off your day! It looks like I am in good company though as the Cooper family is having one of those days too, which you can now go see for yourself in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! No matter what kind of day you are having; good, bad, in-between, the Coopers will have you laughing out loud and making whatever kind of day you were having seem like the best day ever in comparison.

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is based on the 1972 beloved classic children’s book by Judith Viorst. It was one of my favorites growing up, I still have it and love to read it to my students. To make the book into a movie though, they of course had to elaborate quite a bit, and add a lot of crazy events to create a feature-length film. It does stick to the horrible day theme very well as we follow the Coopers on all of their hilarious misadventures together as a family.

The movie starts out with Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould)– who is an 11-year old with a birthday coming up, experiences the most terrible and horrible day ever, which started out with getting gum stuck in his hair, and just keeps getting worse with one calamity after another. When he decides to tell his super cheerful and upbeat family about his most disastrous day, he gets little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. The rest of his families lives appear to be pretty perfect. #Blessed.

The movie continues and soon Alexander learns that he’s not alone when his mother (Jennifer Garner), father (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette) and sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad day just hasn’t had one. Or they just won’t admit to having one. The important part though is that they all stick together as a family and get through the day.

Horsing Around In LA

Category Archives: Disney Movies

“Have Courage and Be Kind,” A Modern Day Cinderella