After our first tease of the new GODMOTHERED Chistmas comedy, we could not wait to get into the holiday spirit. Think of Disney’s ENCHANTED with a heaping dose of Christmas cheer and you’ll instantly get the vibe here.
MouseInfo had the opportunity recently to hear directly from the cast and crew about the film coming exclusively to Disney+ this Friday.
What is it?
Set at Christmas time, GODMOTHERED is a comedy about Eleanor, a young, inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training (Jillian Bell) who upon hearing that her chosen profession is facing extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers.
Finding a mislaid letter from a 12-year-old girl in distress, Eleanor tracks her down and discovers that the girl, Mackenzie, is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher) working at a news station in Boston. Having lost her husband several years earlier, Mackenzie has all but given up on the idea of “Happily Ever After,” but Eleanor is bound and determined to give Mackenzie a happiness makeover, whether she likes it or not.
A Dress and a Dream
Just like Giselle in ENCHANTED there’s the dress! As Jane Curtin‘s character says in the film, “A glittering gown turns a frown upside down” and Jillian Bell simply exudes pure joy in hers. So how did the ensemble come together? “I actually went to David’s Bridal,” Bell laughs. “I was in the poofiest thing falling out of the dressing room and [the other women trying on wedding dresses] were all like ‘congratulations!’”
But in all seriousness, considering that Eleanor wears the same dress throughout the movie, Jillian Bell, director Sharon McGuire, and costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus needed to find a balance between keeping Jillian warm during cold scenes as well as be comfortable during the physical scenes. The ravishing dusty pink visage is an achievement of practicality and a little bit of magic. We can’t wait to see Eleanor Disneybounds in the Parks and cosplays at D23 next year!
Inspiration
To get into character, Jane Curtin and Jillian Bell took their inspiration from another famous Godmother. “The fairy godmother from Cinderella,” Curtin quipped. “She’s the O.G. Original Godmother.”
Bell added, “I was definitely trying not to channel her too much. But I mean that’s the one to try to beat.” She continued, “I’d always been looking for some kind of a magical being to play because my goal in life was to play a witch. And this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to it.”
Our Own Personal Gary
It wouldn’t be a magical Disney movie without an animal sidekick to provide comedic relief. GODMOTHERED provides that to us in Gary, a raccoon Eleanor recruits to help Mackenzie with household chores.
Jillian Spaeder and Willa Skye, who play Mackenzie’s young daughters, reflect on what they have Gary do for them.
“I would probably have him make me s’mores ‘cause that’s my favorite dessert,” Skye laughs. “I really love s’mores!”
Spaeder adds “He would clean my room for me, definitely.”
Utkarsh Ambudkar, Mackenzie’s boss in the film, has a special request for the raccoon. “We just started feeding our son solids. So, it’s harrowing…Gary, if you’re listening, help me out. I’m sleep deprived.”
A Different Kind of Happily Ever After
Since my last Disney+ review left me in a puddle of my own tears, I definitely wanted something a little lighter to round out the year. Friends, let me tell you, this movie was made for me and my little Grinch heart. While it takes place during the holidays, it’s not over the top like ELF or last year’s Disney+ alum NOELLE. And while it is technically a love story, it’s not your traditional boy-meets-girl love story.
As Isla Fisher put it “you know, happy ever after doesn’t necessarily include a castle, a prince, and a dress.”
Jane Curtin agrees, “It’s reliant on you and your spirit. And I think that that’s really something that we all have to remember is that we are capable of such amazing things and such positive things for ourselves and for others. And that’s happily ever after.”
See it for Yourself
GODMOTHERED debuts on Disney+ on December 4, 2020.
