Walt Disney Pictures has continued to share globally not only their own wonderfully animated features but those done by some of the masters of this craft the world over. This generation’s children out in North America have been treated by Disney, being able to gaze on the big screen at the majesty that is Studio Ghibli animated films. Their stories are heartfelt and the time they pay attention to the detail in each one of their frames is noticeable. It’s no wonder that Disney is always so eager to show off the latest from the Japanese animation company, founded by master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
Studio Ghibli releases their seventeenth film out of their astounding movie catalog. This time they bring the globally-loved tale of “The Borrowers” and take their own spin on the story with “The Secret World of Arrietty.” Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, not Miyazaki like others think, the sweet tale of the young Borrower was brought overseas with an American voice cast that includes Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, David Henrie, Moises Arias and Carol Burnett.
We got the delightful opportunity to converse with Disney actress and singer Bridgit Mendler about voicing the character, her love for Studio Ghibli and what she’s planning on doing with her career in the future.
Well forget about the fact that they didn’t have you read these books in school. Your grandfather loved [The Borrowers] books, was there anything he imparted to you about the books? Any memories or any observances that you incorporated into your interpretation of Arrietty?
Bridgit Mendler: You know, I didn’t actually have a conversation about it. It was more just his enthusiasm for me being a part of the movie that was inspiring to me. And so I think it’s just really neat that we were able to share over so many generations and now they’re turning it into this movie in theaters. I think that’s really exciting that we’re able to keep this story alive for all of these people, all walks of life.
The really interesting things with this film, unlike most animation films, was that the animation was already done, dialogue was already done, mouth movement was already done. So you now have to do dialogue that’s going to match with the movements that are on screen. How challenging was that for you and was there anything that you had to pay particular attention to in preparing to do the voicing?
Bridgit Mendler: They wrote the script in mind with the idea that us having to say the words in English matching up to the lengths in the speech that was in the movie. So a lot of that was already in mind but it was kind of up to us as actors to match the influction of how you see the characters moving their mouths and that sort of thing. And sometimes they make slight alterations to that, but it was an interesting process. I enjoyed it because not often do you have to fit your words into something that’s already been said.
As supposed to live action or television, did you find that filming in voice or animation less of a challenge and if so describe a little bit about that.
Bridgit Mendler: I thought that it was — I’ve enjoyed doing animation for a long time. It was one of the first things I did when I first started in the entertainment industry. I did it at age eleven. So I feel like it’s something that I can connect to and it’s something that requires a lot of imagination but at the same time you don’t have to get dressed up, you don’t have to go to a set and it moves really quickly. I did the whole movie in three days so in that sense it doesn’t require as much work but it does require work of the mind which I actually really enjoy. I think it’s fun.
Studio Ghibli is one of the most respected animation companies worldwide, and they’ve made a huge array of films throughout the years. Which movies do you love the most from that whole collection? And what was your overall reaction when you found out that you were going to be in “The Secret of Arrietty”?
Bridgit Mendler: I thought it was so cool to be doing a voice for their films. To me the movies that I’ve really enjoyed were movies like “Kiki’s Delivery Service” back in the day or “Spirited Away” was a really cool one. I love the imagination that they have in these stories and the takes that they add to it. Often times they’re creating these fantastical worlds and the cool thing about this project in particular is that it’s a normal world, there just happens to be characters that are just of an abnormal size that are living in it so it kind of shifts the perspective.
You talked about your music and that you want to keep them separate but you did some music for this project. What was your inspiration behind the particular music and is that something that you’ll pursue outside of acting?
Bridgit Mendler: I think my thing is that I kind of like the idea that my music identity being separate than any acting character that I work on. I’ve had it overlap in a few roles but I don’t see that as being my own music, I see that as being the character’s music, so that’s why I like the separation between those two. For this particular project though I had already written the song and they thought it was a nice song so they wanted to use it for the movie. I think it’s so great to be able to put a movie into a particular project. It’s a fun task to do and I’ve done it with a couple of movies now because you’re really trying to shape that sound to match the sound of the project. With this song, the song was already written but it hasn’t been produced, so it was interesting because the production was a big tool in making this song match up to the movie.
You’re really engrained in the Disney family at this point. What is it that makes Disney so magical and so special for you as an actor?
Bridgit Mendler: I think that they really have a commitment to having quality programs and they really are committed to having their kids, who are a part of the show, be able to express themselves in whatever positive way that they want to. For me, music has kind of been a big thing so they’ve been able to help me with that. I have a strong connection with friends from change so they’ve allowed me to incorporate myself into that too. I think they want their kids to follow their dreams and encourage others to do the same.
You do music, you act and you do voice-over work, what else do you hope to do or explore in the general industry within the next ten years?
Bridgit Mendler: In terms of the industry I really enjoy making music and I hope to produce music in the future. I’m kind of starting to mess around with that but yeah, I think it’d be really cool to be in charge of that. I enjoy — I think that directing music videos would be cool. It would be cool doing that somewhere down along the road.
“The Secret World of Arrietty” will be out in theaters this Friday.