The Tale of Despereaux Voice Cast Press Conference
How did your performances change as you saw the film develop?Matthew Broderick: "It's interesting. I have actually done a few of these now. This one was particularly detailed. I remember moving around too, which I had never done before. Even when we recorded, we were in a big room with boom mics so it was a very natural feeling. You see sketches of your character, you read it, and then you have to trust the people who tell you what their plans are. And then you record a little and then they animate a little, and then together you kind of get more of a feeling for what they mean. But as you see more and as they, I think, hear you more, they might adjust things and the character grows into what it’s going to be sort of over a couple of years usually. It’s very interesting and it’s sort of fun for the actor. I find I have to really try to listen to what the creators want and then also try to bring as much humanity as I can. And it’s a pleasant [experience]. There's no big rush when you're doing it. There's no lighting and a crew of guys who want their lunch, so you can sort of take your time. You can stop for a little while and chat and go back. It’s nice for the actor and for me, I thought."
Sigourney Weaver: "I didn’t get to move around - they wouldn't let me - but Gary did. And I think I was the person they started with because the narrator has to usher people into this world and introduce these characters. And it was really exciting to be that person, which Gary described as children’s eccentric aunt with a cigarette. He’s forgotten that now… But, anyway, he did at one point bring in a couple of interns for me to talk to because I really wanted this sense of telling this story to children because it gets very scary sometimes and I wanted them to know that I was always with them and I would take care of them and I would get them back to the light. So it was a very interesting. I’d never done the narrative before and I found it very, very interesting. I must have come back I don’t know how many times, at least two or three times a year in the last three years as it evolved, which was fascinating."
Can you talk about what the message is in this movie?
Emma Watson: "There are so many good ones. I've watched a lot of animated films; I love animated films so I feel like I can speak with a bit of knowledge. It felt really different to anything that I've ever seen before because it felt like it wasn't patronizing to children. The messages that are in the film feel really profound and philosophical." [spoiler about the ending deleted]
"My other favorite message was that every girl is a princess, and I thought that was such a beautiful message that Mig, in her father’s eyes, is a princess. I just thought that was beautiful and I really love it. I think it works on lots and lots of different levels. I don't think it’s just a children’s film. I think anyone could go and see it and get something from it."
Matthew, do you see a sequel as a possibility?
Matthew Broderick: "A sequel? I don't know. You know, I love the movie and I think it’s shockingly beautiful. The animation seems to keep changing and growing and this is a very special one. And a sequel… I don’t know. It’s such a complete story. I always think of it that that wouldn't happen because everything happened that was meant to. It’s such a satisfying story, but I mean I'm certainly available if that's what you're asking."
Could you relate to your characters?
Sigourney Weaver: "Well, I thought she was a very interesting woman, this narrator, and had a very respectful way of speaking very frankly to children. I think you have to feel that they understand everything no matter how tiny they are. And she's going to give them the whole truth and she's going to take care of them, but there are going to be some things that aren't pleasant because that's the way life is. So I felt that she had to be, maybe not a mother because I felt that she treated the children totally as equals, companions in this adventure. She was going to be there, but these were things they needed to know about and to think about, and it was just the beginning for them of their own sort of tales. So I guess that's the way I saw it and I think a lot of it came from Gary [Ross] because I felt we were slightly trying to do something with the narrator that had not been done before. It wasn't just one of these, 'Once upon a time in a long, long…' She had to make contact, and that's why I appreciated when he brought some poor, hapless intern in for me to drone at."
Matthew Broderick: "I thought it was a very interesting character and I certainly related to it although I'm much more aware that there are things that are very dangerous but, you know, he isn't. He just is never daunted, but he's not arrogant. He just sort of sees the world differently than his little friends, though they're bigger than him but they are little. To us they would seem little. And Gary also talked at great length. We spoke on the phone and he had taken the character very seriously. I don't mean serious like serious, but he had thought it out or somebody had. It was very well thought out and I guess at one point I remember saying, 'I'm too old for that,' but he would say, 'Well, not in a cartoon. You don't have to be.' So it was also sort of about being that age when things seem kind of black and white and there's bravery and cowardice. There was something about the age that Despereaux is that was a clue."
