Spellboundis a bold fairytale that reaches for a different vision of a happy ending. The movie stars Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as the young Princess Ellian, who sets off in search of a solution to a curse that has turned her parents into literal monsters. It was directed and co-written by Vicky Jenson, whose past directorial credits includeShark Taleand the pop culture phenomenonShrek.
Spellboundalso marks the reunion of Jenson andShrekstar John Lithgow, who plays the Bolinar, the royal advisor to Ellian. WhileSpellboundis a rare appearance for Lithgow in a movie musical, the actor has a long history with music and musical theater including a leading role in the original Broadway production ofDirty Rotten Scoundrels. Lithgow is also known for his work in films and TV series like3rd Rock From the Sun, The Old Man, andThe World According to Garp.
Which movie releasing in November 2024 are you most excited for?
November 2024 is shaping up to be a great month for movies. There is truly something for every one with major titles like Gladiator II, Wicked, Moana 2, and Red One hitting theaters. While I plan to see all of these in theaters, one in particular is at the top of my list - and that is Moana 2. As a massive fan of animation, and in particular Disney animation, I am sure to love this movie. The first Moana remains one of my all time favorite Disney movies. When Moana 2 was announced to be a theatrical release instead of a Disney+ series, I was over the moon. Even without Lin Manuel Miranda returning to do the songs, my expectations are high. Hopefully they will be met.
Screen Rantspoke with John Lithgow about his work playing Bolinar inSpellbound. Lithgow also revealed his feelings about collaborating withAladdincomposer Alan MenkenandTangledlyricist Glenn Slater, working with Vicky Jenson once more, and the importance ofSpellbound’s story. Plus, Lithgow discusses his at times bumpy history with animated projects.
John Lithgow On Joining Spellbound, Forgetting About It, And Still Being Blown Away
Ultimately, The Actor Was Thrilled To Be “Involved In Something So Stirring And Ambitious”
Screen Rant: How did this project come to you and what was the thing that made you want to do it?
John Lithgow: Animation films come calling like five years before anybody sees them, and it’s usually a paragraph describing the project. And when they invited me to do this, that paragraph included the names Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, and Nathan Lane, and that certainly caught my eye. Also, [there was] Vicky Jenson, who had directed me in a little film called Shrek many, many years ago, and I remembered her very fondly. I remember reading the short description of the plot and thought, “I don’t know what this is all about, but for sure I want to be involved,” and that was pretty much it. I said “Yes.”
Voicing an animated film is not a lot of work. It takes place over a few years and you show up once [every] eight months and give them some more stuff to animate. So, it was an easy thing to say yes to, but I have to confess: I said yes and, sure enough, eight months later, I got a call—“It’s time for you to start recording Spellbound”—and my response was, “What the hell is Spellbound?”
I was overwhelmed when I went into the recording studio and there was my friend Vicky and several other people I’d worked with before. They told me the whole story and the big idea of this film, which is to address a subject that is almost never dealt with very directly with entertainment for children: how does a child deal with and internalize strife between parents?
To me, it seemed like such a daring thing to take on–a real experiment. You just simply didn’t know whether this was going to work or not. I was really impressed and terribly moved when they showed me little mockups of scenes that they’d already done and I heard Rachel Zegler’s extraordinary voice singing these songs. I just burst into tears, and I thought, “I’m involved in something so stirring and ambitious and possibly even important,” and I knew I would have no trouble at all playing this ridiculous little man, Bolinar.
Little did I know that in the course of those two or three years that I worked on it, bit by bit they responded to what I brought to the project, virtually doubled the role, and invented this wonderful plot twist where I switch bodies with a little flink and get to sing my own song. The experience got better and better as it went along.
Lithgow Reflects On His Expanded Role In Spellbound Vs. Being Replaced In Other Animated Films
“That’s Happened To Me A Couple Of Times”
How did it feel for you, as someone who started out with, “What’s Spellbound?”, to then get a song and have your role vastly expanded?
John Lithgow: It was so damn exciting and flattering, and I have to tell you, it had been so long since they had called me in at all that I thought they had probably replaced my character, with somebody else’s voice. That’s happened to me a couple of times.
It happens all the time because voices are fungible. They can change them anytime they want. Famously, Shrek originally was not Mike Myers. Actually, it was Chris Farley who, God rest his soul, passed away [and] couldn’t complete the project. Mike Myers voiced his entire role, and then they decided that Shrek should have a faint Scottish accent, and so he voiced it all again. That’s what they do.
I could, but I won’t, tell you two major animated films in which I recorded the entire role and only then found out they decided it wasn’t quite right and replaced me with two other actors. I’ll give you a hint. The actors were James Wood and Jeffrey Wright. I fully accept they thought the change was necessary, so I sucked it up and walked off with my tail between my legs, and I’ve never confessed it to anybody in public.
Lithgow Shares His Excitement About Working With Alan Menken & Glenn Slater
One Of Slater’s Rhymes In Particular Stuck With The Actor
I know that you have a musical background. You’ve released albums. Was any part of you nerding out that you were getting to work with material from Alan Menken and Glenn Slater?
John Lithgow: So thrilled. It was wonderful just to sing the duets with Jenifer Lewis—the great tango number—but there was nothing to being told that I had my own song and it was really, really funny with the most amazing rhymes. This Glenn Slater is just a genius. I got to rhyme the word “marvelous” with, “How did I lead my whole life larvae-less?”. I mean, who makes up a rhyme like that? It’s just great, and the whole song is just peppered with these little firecrackers of clever rhymes—just wonderful.
Lithgow Discusses How Bolinar Fits Into The Larger Story Of Spellbound
“I Could Not Quite Imagine It Until I Actually Saw It”
I imagine you probably did all of that in the studio and then it was animated later. How did it feel to have done that and then to see how that all came together?
John Lithgow: That’s one of the really fun things about voicing an animated film. The animators and the directors know what they’re after with all these jokes, but they can only half-persuade the actor that it’s actually funny. They will describe a visual joke—it never makes sense until you actually see it. Watching the film is always this glorious surprise. Not to mention the two great monsters played by Nicole and Javier, and Bolinar himself. It was a total revelation. My voice works perfectly for that character, but I could not quite imagine it until I actually saw it.
Was there anything about Bolinar’s character and the way he fit into the story that was particularly exciting to you?
I think the story has a troubling and serious undertow to it, and I knew that it was very important that it had a lighthearted side too. [For] Jenifer and I, it was our job to be really, really delightful and funny. Rachel Ziegler gives a great performance, I think, because she endures terrible emotional unease without making the film more depressing than you can endure. She’s so tough and she’s such a fighter, and by God, she’s going to solve this problem.
I think for kids who deal with a problem like this, and millions and millions do, it’s great to see someone attack it with such fortitude and win in the end. The three of them, her and her two parents, reach some kind of resolution that allows them all to go on without the terrible burden of grief that tends to be part and parcel of a divorce.
Lithgow Is Game For A Spellbound Sequel
“The More They Surprise Me, The Better”
When I spoke to Vicky, she did say she was already thinking of ideas for the next expansion of this story. Is there anything you would want to see if there were to be a sequel?
John Lithgow: Well, I suppose they should make Bolinar’s hair a little bit whiter. [Laughs] No, whatever they want to throw at me, I’m [game.] The more they surprise me, the better.
About Spellbound
Spellbound tells the story of Ellian, the young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria, who embarks on a quest to save her family after a spell transforms her parents into monsters. The movie is directed by Shrek director Vicky Jenson and features a score by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater. The movie’s cast includes Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman.
Check back for our other Spellbound interviews with Vicky Jenson and Alan Menken & Glenn Slater
Spellbound
Cast
Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson, follows Princess Ellian on her adventurous quest to rescue her family and kingdom. As a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters, Ellian must navigate this perilous journey to restore the King and Queen of Lumbria.
