Cool News
Mr. Beaks Talks TANGLED, CHUCK And Musical Freakin' Theater With Zachary Levi!
It's Disney's fall of Flynn! A month from now (which is still technically fall, so get off my back), we'll get to hang out on the game grid with the Flynn clan (Kevin and Sam) in the much-anticipated TRON LEGACY. But first, the studio would like to introduce you to a Flynn who pays rather direct homage to the name's swashbuckling cinematic tradition.
Flynn Rider is the amusingly vain male lead of TANGLED, the studio's gorgeously animated take on the oft-told "Rapunzel" fairy tale. He's a dashing scoundrel who's looking to end his life on the lam by pulling off one last job - which, of course, is the quickest route to debacle for all professional thieves. Flynn's quest is complicated when he strays into a lonely tower occupied by Rapunzel, a beautiful young woman being held captive for the youth-restoring power of her shimmering gold hair. The good-hearted Rapunzel ultimately runs off with Flynn, and, wouldn't you know it, gradually transforms the rapscallion into a reasonably decent dude!
In casting Flynn's voice, the folks at Disney were looking for someone who could capably embody what the creators hoped would be "the most handsome, most attractive male lead Disney has ever had." They needed an actor with a little bit of swagger. So they went with Zachary Levi, who's thus far made a name for himself as a swagger-deficient super-spy on Josh Schwartz's highly likable CHUCK (which has somehow survived multiple cancellation attempts to become the bedrock of NBC's Monday night lineup). Levi's an unexpected pick for a Han Solo-esque bad boy, but he throws himself into the role with charismatic gusto; if he's ever going to transition from the gawky nerd persona of Chuck Bartowski, this could be a very important first step.
When I chatted with Levi during the TANGLED junket a few weeks ago, he seemed understandably grateful for the opportunity to not only voice a Disney character (in the studio's fiftieth animated feature, no less), but to originate a song written by the studio's go-to composer for several decades, Alan Menken (THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and so on). Levi is well aware that he's living the dream right now, and he's just taking it all in and enjoying it while it lasts - which, given the versatility he's beginning to display, should be a very long time.
In the below interview, we discuss whether his vocal performance was influenced by any previous cinematic swashbucklers, the evolution of the character, his musical theater past, and his latest CHUCK guest star, Timothy Dalton.
Beaks: It must be a blast getting to voice a swashbuckler. When you're playing a character like that, you've got a deep pool of classic movie stars to pull from. Did you look to any particular actors or performances for inspiration?
Levi: No, I didn't. Obviously, on a subconscious level, we're just a collection of all the things that we've experienced in our lives, so I'm sure a lot of that stuff slips in, be it bits of Robin Hood or Han Solo or Aladdin or whatever. Flynn is definitely the kind of, well, Errol Flynn type, I suppose. He's a charming bandit - a smarmy, charming bandit. He's a shmarming bandit. But, yeah, it's so much fun to play a role like that, this kind of self-absorbed, egotistical, vain, devastatingly handsome, incredibly intelligent character who is very self-serving for a lot of the film. But Rapunzel's un-jaded, pure heart and beauty end up changing pretty much everyone around her. He becomes a better man in his adventure and journey with her. So it's fun to take a character like that and really go full arc with it, and by the end of the film be a changed man.
Beaks: I read in the press notes that they wanted to make Flynn "the most handsome, most attractive male lead Disney has ever had." They had "hot man" meetings to figure out what he'd look like. So, naturally, they went to you, right?
Levi: (Laughs) I guess, man. This is the first I've heard about all of this stuff - not from you, but yesterday, when the junket started, people were asking that question. I was just as confused as anyone else, I think. It's awesome that they're making him the most attractive male lead animated character they've had, and very cool to voice that character. But, again, I'm voicing it. It's not me. It's not my face. Although people keep saying, "Well, yeah, you and Flynn kind of look the same." I guess we're both tall-ish with brown hair. So, yeah, I will receive that. But I don't know how to respond to that other than "Awesome! Cool!"
Beaks: Did the design of the character evolve after you started to do the voice?
Levi: I'm sure. They have a camera in there recording you when you're doing your voice acting, so they definitely implement some of your own movement and facial expression into the character. That's really cool. It does make it a little more personal, I suppose; you feel like you're getting to put your own flavor or touch on it. But the animators are just amazing. The work they do is incredible. So while I know that I'm definitely a part of Flynn, and I got to bring him to life with voice, we're still definitely different people. At least, I hope so! (Laughs)
Beaks: And you get to sing Alan Menken songs in a Disney animated film. That's pretty damn cool.
Levi: It's so amazing, man. As a kid, I grew up singing all of his music, and I didn't even know who he was. So to then meet Alan Menken knowing that all of the songs in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN and THE LITTLE MERMAID... and, like, NEWSIES, which I grew up singing all of... I'm like, "What? Menken? You were responsible for all of that? And now I'm originating a song for you?" It's insane.
Beaks: I read that you did a production of BIG RIVER, which is a favorite of mine.
Levi: Oh, yeah! I grew up doing a lot of musical theater. The shows are all kind of different, and I love them all for different reasons, but BIG RIVER was a big part of my life; it was definitely the biggest show I'd ever done as far as length of run and size or role. I guess. I played Jesus in GODSPELL, and that's a pretty powerful role. Getting crucified every night is no easy task. (Laughs) But being Huck in BIG RIVER is such an amazing role. You get to tell the whole story. You're narrating, breaking the fourth wall with the audience, and Roger Miller doing the music is just awesome. Great score. I've always wanted to continue to sing and bring singing into my professional life, but I've just kind of put that in God's hands: whatever is going to happen is going to happen - and this has happened so far. Simultaneously, I've been approached by Katherine McPhee to do a duet with her that she re-recorded; that came out a while ago, and that turned out pretty good. And now this duet with Mandy Moore. I'll probably just keep doing duets. (Laughs) I'll just have a whole album of the mish-mashed duets.
Beaks: It worked for Kenny Loggins, didn't it?
Levi: There you go!
Beaks: You got to sing with Mandy, but, when you were recording your voice, were you by yourself?
Levi: Yeah, all the voice acting we were all by our lonesome. I mean, we had Nathan [Greno] and Byron [Howard], our directors, with us. And Roy [Conli] and Dan [Fogelman], our producer and writer respectively, and the rest of the gang behind the glass in the other booth. But I never got to record opposite any other actors. It was a very surreal experience. But it all cut together beautifully. I just trusted that this is how things are done; they know how to do this stuff. As far as I know, Mandy and Donna Murphy have still not met each other - which I find hysterical. It's difficult in some ways, but also freeing in others. You really can let loose and just do whatever you want without anybody looking at you going, "What a weirdo! Why's he moving around so much while he's doing voice acting?" But it was very nice to be with Mandy when we were doing the music. Harmonization and all of that, it's pretty crucial to be able to rehearse and go off of whoever you're singing with.
Beaks: And here's my totally artless segue into CHUCK. You guys keep bringing in killer actors for guest starring arcs. The latest is Timothy Dalton, who I love not just for Bond, but also HOT FUZZ and FLASH GORDON.
Levi: It's a dream come true. It really is. I gotta say these last few years of my life I've been so blessed to get to do the things that I've done - and Timothy Dalton is one of the greatest actors I've ever had the privilege of working opposite. The guy is so talented. His talent is so deep. I think that people are really going to love his character on CHUCK. He plays so many different flavors. And he's just an incredible dude - especially having the career that he's had, and jumping on our little TV show. He's bringing so much life and so much passion and so much heart; he just wants to roll up his sleeves and put on a show like everyone else.
TANGLED hits theaters next Wednesday, November 24th. And you can find CHUCK every Monday at 8 PM on NBC.
Faithfully submitted,
Mr. Beaks
-
+ Expand All
-
Yes!
-
Oh well.
-
took the kids to a screening a couple weeks ago. Kids will dig it. Those who hate are heartless
-
The guy is honest and humble. Much respect. I hope Hollywood doesn't ruin him.
-
srsly.
-
I really do. There's such a mix of geeky awesomeness, action hijinx, and bizarre absurdity that keeps it in a special place in my heart. Every character has their own unique charm, which keeps my wife and I coming back for more every week! I know the end is looming for Chuck, but I know that the cast will continue to have great careers well into the future.
-
you heard it here first...
-
I would've asked him a question or two about his recent voice work in that game.
-
Get over it. There's first and...LOSER!
Hug it out, bitch. -
Stopped watching Chuck the beginning of last season (tired of the WT/WT between Chuck&Sarah). I'll probably go see this.
-
No doubt about it, a classy and humble guy. I too hope Hollywood doesn't warp his current sensibilities.
@Thanos -- The will they/won't they has been resolved on Chuck, and the show has gotten better in the process. More importantly, the storytelling has become more consistent, and the writing staff have (mostly) figured out where their narrative strengths lie. Chuck used to be a mild entertainment of mine, but now it stand as one of my favorites week in and week out. You'd be remiss not to check it out again. -
At least it wasn't bro.
-
I wonder if he was ever really considered for Superman. The guy's the right size and he's got the Clark Kent thing down, but it's hard to see past his Chuck performance.
-
Nov 17, 2010 10:59:10 PM CST
I hope Tangled is good, but the advertising sucks balls
by nasty in the pasty
First off the AWFUL decision to re-name it Tangled as opposed to Rapunzel (so as not to scare away young boys who don't want to see icky princess movies), and then cutting the ads to make it look like a typically slapsticky Dreamworks gag-fest wth bad pop music (a slap in the face to Alan Menken). This might be the case of an ad campaign that doesn't sell the actual movie correctly at all, but nothing I've seen so far (aside from the appealing character designs) really makes me want to see this. I'm hopeful the movie IS good, but Disney isn't doing it any favors with the HORRIBLE trailers thus far.
-
movies change titles all the time. Calling it Rapunzel would have been dreadful, and not because of boys v girls, but because when someone hears "Rapunzel" they already think they know what its about. That box office poison. Having seen an early screening, Tangled is a much better title because it tells you the film isn't a straighforward boring old retelling.
Why are people so fixated on the title change. Tear the title page off a great novel and read it... does it suck now? didn't think so.
Tangled is leagues better than Megamind and Dispicable Me. You could change the title from "tangled" to "shit sandwich" and it would still be true. -
Didn't know it was called Tangled in the US.
Saw the trailer before Harry Potter, and despite being a Chuck fan, didn't place his voice.
The trailer looked entertaining enough, for kids. The most impressive thing IMO, was the horse laughing at the end of the trailer. It actually seems like they are going to avoid the whole "talking animal sidekick" thing. Thank christ. -
Here in Japan "The Incredibles" is called "Mr. Incredible." Take the framing of those two names and consider the entire film. The actual name of the film places the focus where it should be; on the entire family. The Japanese name makes you think it is all about him, he is the star, and the family hi-jinx are background noise. Of course, this is just the start of Japanese name changing... okay, you don't have an easy plural in your langauge, but can you imagine Aliens being called... Alien 2? Ugh.So yeah. The name of something can make it better, or worse, and greatly change your perception of it, both going in and coming out. Names are very important!
-
I am usually pretty good about figuring that sort of stuff out, but this time I'm at a loss. Thanks!
-
Will they/won't they.
Cheers!
-
Well that's actually a good point, and even more relevant than i bet you know, because that's sort of how i guess it would be if the film was called Rapunzel, since its really about her and Flynn. Maybe you could convince me it could be called "Rapunzel" before i saw it, but it would have been placing the focus, as you say, on the wrong elements. Now that i have seen it, Tangled makes perfect sense. I guess that's what i was getting at, being upset at a name change before you see it. You only know that Mr. Incredible is inappropriate because you've already seen the movie.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Delayed Nine Months...Thanks To A Force More Sinister Than Cobra!! -- 255 total posts 253 posts
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV Spot Has New Footage And Dialogue! UPDATED To Add Second Spot! -- 250 total posts 250 posts
- Who Is The Voice Of Batman In WB's Animated Two Part THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? -- 162 total posts 161 posts
- Cats Beware!! An ALF Movie May Soon Come Our Way... -- 154 total posts 153 posts
- Gary Oldman Joins The ROBOCOP Remake! -- 135 total posts 135 posts
- Remember when I said I’d kill The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day last? I lied. -- 120 total posts 120 posts
- UPDATE!! What The Hell Happened With G.I. JOE: RETALIATION?! -- 53 total posts 53 posts
- Quint has seen the brand new Jaws restoration and demands that Universal do a wide theatrical rerelease this summer! -- 52 total posts 52 posts
- TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SWEEPS AND THE SEASON!! Chat Here About The Finales Of REVENGE, MODERN FAMILY, MIDDLE, BITCH, IDOL, TOW, ROCKERS, SVU And SOLD!! -- 42 total posts 42 posts
- AICN COMICS REVIEWS: INCREDIBLE HULK! DANGER CLUB! CLiNT 2.1! JAMES BOND! BATMAN INC.! AND MORE!!! -- 67 total posts 41 posts