Enchanted (2007)
Verwünscht
Interview with Kevin Lima and Christopher Chase
Enchanted was a nice surprise at the movies. A really wonderful story, a lot of hints to the world of Walt Disney and a fantastic Susan Sarandon as the evil witch. Kevin Lima was the director and Christopher Chase one of the producers of this film. Both of them were ready in their hotel room in London, when OutNow.CH had the chance to ask them about Enchanted, a possible sequel and the fatal night at the Academy-Awards 2008.
» Das Interview in deutscher Sprache
OutNow.CH (ON): Congratulations to a fantastic movie. Enchanted was very successful. Was this expected or a complete surprise for you?
Kevin
Kevin Lima (KL): You can never expect the outcome of a movie. But I really did not expect the movie to be this successful. I was shocked (*laughs*). I expected to have a lot of trouble with the critics. You know, there is this guy who is messing with all the great Disney-Stuff and the beautiful stories of the famous movies. But it worked, it was a very pleasant surprise and we’re all very happy with it.
ON: You both worked together on several Disney-Animation-Movies (Tarzan, Peter Pan 2). Now you did a Movie with real people. What is more interesting? What is more difficult?
Christopher Chase (CC): Well, both forms are very challenging. We always said, that an Animation-movie is like a marathon. You need stamina, power and endurance until the final film is ready. A “Live-Action”-Movie is more like a sprint. Everything goes quickly and fast. Enchanted had the worst both. Or the best, from whatever point you look at it.
ON: Enchanted is packed with references to the whole Disney-Universe. Who came up with all these ideas?
CC: That was Kevin’s fault. (*laughs*).
KL: We started at a basic level. You know, the classic stuff like the apple, the witch and the prince. Then a lot of ideas came up. Like “oh, lets put a the name of this Disney-Character as a Restaurants Name”, and so on. And we started to go really deep and to give the actors who spoke Disney-Princesses in the animations real parts in the movie. Like Jodie Benson, the voice of The Little Mermaid. It became almost an obsession to put as many Disney-things as possible in this movie.
CC: And that’s when Kevin Lima went mad and made everyone crazy. (*laughs*)
ON: Do you recognize every reference, if you watch the movie? I think that’s pretty impossible for the average Fan.
KL: It is almost impossible. There are so many things you do not see and just read about afterwards. I do not think a regular viewer is able to get all the hints. But if you’re a Disney-Fan, you read the cyclopedia of Walt Disney movies, I think it is possible to know and see all the stuff we put in the movie.
ON: You worked with talents like Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey or Susan Sarandon. How was it to work with these well known actors. Where they difficult to work with or where there no problems at all?
Chris (r.)
CC: They where as normal as they could be. You know, the bigger the stars are, the better you can work with them. They know how to act, they know the procedure and they are just regular folks. We were lucky to have those great actors, who had a lot of fun playing those ironic characters. You know, with all the costumes, the gadgets and they could really portrait fairytale-characters. That’s a thing you can’t do every day. Especially Susan Sarandon had a lot of fun playing that hag and really enjoyed being in the costume.
ON: Enchanted was nominated for three Academy Awards this year, but did not win any. How big was the disappointment that night?
KL: Well, it wasn’t really a disappointment at all. It was expected. The song from Once is terribly popular and so we were prepared for this. But it was a really nice experience and we were happy to present our film.
ON: In our days, where every successful movie gets a sequel, are there discussions about “Enchanted 2”? What would it be all about?
CC: There are discussions about a sequel, but nothing is set yet. There are some new stories, which I can obviously not talk about.
KL: Come on, he won’t write it down
CC: Alright, the story is…. No, I really can’t say. It’s far from being anything more than an idea.
ON: What are your next projects? Animation or live action?
Kevin in action
KL: We have a lot of ideas, but no specific plans. The combination of real and animation movies is really interesting. There are no limits in such movies and we can do so much more, than just ten years ago. With all the technique and possibilities, there’s a whole new world out there. I hope we can be a part of this.
ON: Do you think there will be 3rd part of the Peter Pan story?
Both: Definitely not from us.
ON: Disney
KL: Fantasy
CC: Classic
ON: Susan Sarandon playing a witch
KL: Mean, but wonderful
CC: Terrific
ON: Best animated movie of all time?
KL: Pinocchio
CC: That's it!
ON: Academy Awards
CC: Alan Menken
ON: Goofy
KL: A Goofy Movie
ON: Sequels
KL: Yes, please.
ON: Internet
CC: Don’t know. Maybe "fast"?
ON: Rodney Dangerfield
KL: No respect. (*both are laughing*)
ON: Switzerland
CC: Neutral
ON: OutNow.CH
KL: Good Job
CC: Nice Questions. The last interviewer of the day.
