Walt Disney Studios Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes for 4 to see Disney’s ENCANTO! Screenings take place in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa on Wednesday, November 17 at 7:00pm.

Synopsis:

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto” tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family’s last hope. The film features all-new songs by Emmy®, GRAMMY® and Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana”) and is directed by Byron Howard (“Zootopia,” “Tangled”) and Jared Bush (co-director “Zootopia”), co-directed by Charise Castro Smith (writer “The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez”) and produced by Clark Spencer and Yvett Merino. “Encanto” opens in theatres November 24, 2021. 

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate on the comments there, your City. Re-Tweet the Contest Tweet below for an extra chance.

Rules and regulations here.

NOTE: Winners will be contacted from the official MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK account only. Please do not accept friend requests from others requesting your personal information.

Disney’s ENCANTO is in theatres November 24, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

“Encanto” translates in Spanish to “charmed”, and Disney’s latest Animated Feature is set to do exactly that to audiences. Set in colourful Colombia, the Film co-directed by Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith. The former two partnered on Zootopia to raves, and ENCANTO features the Music of Hamilton mastermind, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Film centers on an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live in a magical house. Children in the town of Encanto each possess the power to heal, except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) who must find her own strength to be her family’s only hope, when she learns that the magic of the town might be in danger.

We had the joy of sitting in on the Press Junket with the Cast and Creators of ENCANTO, including:

We learned that Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Lin-Manuel Miranda had travelled together to Colombia in preparation for the Film. Howard talks about the inspiring experience.

Howard: “Lin has been with us on this journey from the beginning. It’s so rare to have your Songwriter with you for this experience. So when we went to Colombia with Lin and his dad Luis – whom we love – which was an amazing experience, I think we were just blown away learning about Colombia from people who we loved, people who are of Colombian heritage and sharing their families and that warmth and diversity. Colombia being this crossroads of music, of culture, of dance, of food, of tradition and this was an incredible moment for us. We were allover the place, we were in tiny little towns and huge cities, all of which have a different vibe. And we love that people from these places celebrate those specifics of their personalities and we looked at any way we could get that into the family. ”

“Playing-up those great contrasts, we came back really charged-up to get as much of Colombia as we could into this Film… and I almost fell off a cliff! But I lived!”.

Abuela Alma is one of the Film’s most integral characters and she’s played by Maria Cecilia Botero. Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about the inspiration behind her.

Miranda: “I don’t know if my dad was invited by Disney, or just sorta showed-up on the trip, it still remains a mystery. His experience and what he brought to the table actually wound up being invaluable. I remember him telling us a story about his grandmother in Puerto Rico and she had lots of kids, those kids got married and all stayed under the same roof. She ruled with such certainty that people would give their paycheques to her and she would re-allocate the wealth amongst the kids and the married couples and her children and grandchildren, and that was the kind of rule that wound-up informing Abuela Alma, who really loves her family dearly, but holds it super-tight. And that’s just where our story begins.”.

Botero: “She’s like the one whose strength is family, the one that keeps the family together, she’s like the force of the family. And I think I am too in my own family.”.

One of the centerpiece songs of ENCANTO is “Dos Oruguitas” (Two Caterpillars). The song happens to be the first song ever written entirely in Spanish by Miranda.

Miranda: “I think that being there from the beginning really allowed for more of a give and take than I’ve ever experienced on an Animated Film. There were songs where I put points on the board and said ‘Here’s our opening number!’, ‘Here’s how everyone’s related and what they can do!’, and I wrote that opening number before we had a Second or a Third Act to our Film, because we needed it for ourselves to keep track of everyone. Their names my change and their powers may change, but we know the audience is gonna need a guide and Mirabel is going to be our guide.”.

“Dos Oruguitas was inspired by some of the visuals coming-out of the Animation Department. And I loved the way they embodied the Miracle by having a flame from a candle turn into a butterfly, turn into a cascade of butterflies. Approaching this moment without spoilers, it’s a moment where we reveal a really personal part of the Madrigal family history and it didn’t feel right to have a character sing in real time, which is what all the other characters are doing over the course of the Movie. I thought we needed a Folk song, a song that feels like it’s always existed. Riffing-off the butterfly imagery I thought, butterflies have to go through a miracle to even become butterflies, and so I wrote this song about two caterpillars who are in love and are scared of letting each other go, but have to let each other go to become their next selves. It was a nature metaphor that already was baked-into the visuals of the Film, but speak so specifically to what this family is going through to see each other more fully in terms of you have to change to see each other get to the next level, and you have to allow yourselves to change.”.

“It isn’t harder to rhyme in Spanish, I just have a more limited vocab in Spanish, so I really had to reach for my Thesaurus and go outside my comfort zone to really try to write a song that feels like it’s always existed and I hope we accomplished this.”.

Colombian Author Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE serves as a great inspiration for ENCANTO and Co-Director/Writer Charise Castro Smith talks about this.

Smith: “We were definitely inspired by magical realism, by Gabriel García Márquez. I was reading 100 Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera and The House of Spirits, a lot of different magical realism, when I was starting to work on this Movie. The butterflies absolutely are an homage to him.”.

Stephanie Beatriz stars as Mirabel, and was eight months when working on the Film, singing some of the Film’s demanding musical numbers. As Miranda says, she was “carrying a miracle” in a Film about a miracle. She talks about what she brought to the role from her own personality.

Beatriz: “Awkwardness, my anxiety, and honestly my use of Comedy. When I’m uncomfortable and don’t know what to do, I often turn to making a joke out of it to make myself more comfortable, to make everyone else more comfortable. I think Comedy is really useful because it takes the air out of stuff. Everyone can be really tense and then you make a joke and then everyone relaxes. You can’t really laugh if you’re tense. Does that make sense? I think I tried to bring that to Mirabel. I like to improvise and I like jokes and I like making other people laugh. One of the highlights of my life was when Byron, Jared or Charise would laugh at something I would do!”.

“Once Mirabel starts to take-off on the adventure, there’s some funny stuff when she’s by herself when she’s trying to entertain herself. ‘Cause really what’s kinda crazy is in this huge family is that Mirabel is often alone and depending on herself. She kinda becomes her own sidekick and talks to herself a lot. I think a lot of that Improv wound-up making it into the Film.”.

Colombian-born John Leguizamo has been very vocal about inclusion and representation of the Latinx community in Film.

Leguizamo: “There’s a couple moments that hit me hard as a grown-ass man. It was when I saw all the colours, ’cause that’s how my family is in Colombia. Everyone can be really mad dark or light, with straight and super-curly hair. It looked like the way I grew-up and to see that, you just feel like ‘Oh my God, we’ve arrived!’. We as Latinx people have really arrived when there’s a Disney movie about you. And then to hear music from Colombia on-top of that, I can’t do this, it’s too much for me!”.

Some stills from the Press Junket:

Check back soon for our Review of Disney’s ENCANTO. ENCANTO is in theatres November 24, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

VIVO is coming soon to Netflix and the Animated Feature stars none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda! Check-out the new Trailer from the Film!

VIVO arrives on Netflix August 6, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his Feature directorial debut in tick, tick..BOOM! Hot on the success of IN THE HEIGHTS, comes this new Trailer for the Film.

tick, tick…BOOM arrives Fall 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

After 13 Tony Award nominations and four wins, Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Musical IN THE HEIGHTS, based on the Novel by Quiara Alegría Hudes, is ready to be seen by the world. A dazzling love letter to the people of Washington Heights in New York City, the story centers on a bodega owner named Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) who is in a relationship with Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), but longs to go to the Dominican Republic to reconnect with his roots. Vanessa works at a beauty salon but dreams of a career in fashion. We meet also Nina (Leslie Grace), finishing her first year at Stanford, but what her proud family and the tight-knit community don’t know is that she is dropping-out. Through Latin rhythms, Hip-Hop and breathtaking choreography, stories of love, dreams and the uphill battle immigrants and descendants of immigrants face, are told through this Jon M. Chu-directed Adaptation of this beloved Musical.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Chu and several cast members in advance of the Film’s eagerly-awaited release, including:

See the Trailer:

Was ask Gregory Diaz IV, Daphne Ruben-Vega and Dascha Polanco about the experience of working with Jon M. Chu and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Gregory: I think the combo of Jon, Lin and Quiara, their minds are just so creative and you see the bigger picture that I know for me personally, I could never really see at first when it came to the Film. Jon is just great and thinks on a such a big spectrum. If there was a scene where I was struggling to reach that point that I wanted to get to, he would take me to the side and tell me one, two or three things and immediately I was like, ‘Yeah! That’s what I wanted.’. Lin and Quiara, it’s such a beautiful story they’ve crafted. I think it’s really evolved from the Broadway production.

Daphne: For me it was one of the first movies where the Director brings you in and has a conversation with you and shows you the Mood Board and the skeleton of the story and so forth.

Dascha: At first I was wondering, the Director’s calling me in… I was wondering if I still had a job or not! (laughs) And it was like, ‘Oh! You want me to see what the sets are going to be like and what I’m thinking, what you want me to bring to life and what my thoughts are.’. That doesn’t really happen, especially when we do this for a while and IN THE HEIGHTS was really that. Everybody was included. We had a set vision, but wanted to incorporate what everyone artistically can bring forth. In that regard, Jon was really careful of – to stay respectful and authentic to the community and beyond. So as an Actor, I then understood how necessary it is for you to be included and feel it, but when you’re actually doing it, it makes sense.

Daphne: Jon‘s just a Homie, a guy who’s so approachable. And that allows us to have a conversation. So we’re no longer just the Talent, we’re the participators in a collective experience. With Jon, Lin and Quiara leading the way, we feel comfortable that we can bring our A-Game and trust them.

Olga Merediz’s performance as Abuela Claudia, the woman who helped raise Usnavi and many of the kids in the neighbourhood, delivers the Film’s showstopping moment. She embodies what it meant to be an immigrant in a country that speaks a language she can’t. Having originated the role both off and on Broadway, we ask what different approaches she took in the Film.

Olga: So much to talk about. I’m so happy you were touched. She touches me. When I think of Abuela Claudia, I think of women like her, like your mother. I just tried to maintain her dignity even though she went through so much. There’s a big difference between the stage and the Movie because Jon Chu really just broke the barriers of the Fourth Wall and his visual genius allowed me to just to be in it and for him to all around me create that magical world of Paciencia y Fe (Patience and Faith) – which is the number I sing. I just wanted to make her into this quintessential matriarch we all wanted in our lives, whether you had a wonderful mother or not, because that’s complicated. So I took a little bit of my mother, my aunties, my grandmothers and I wanted to give her that giving nature where the people in the community could go to her for advice, or wisdom, or a cooked meal, or just to rest their heads. And I’m humbled that I was able to have this incredible journey with this character from workshops, to readings to off-Broadway to the Movie.

Jimmy Smits and Merediz are asked where this Film ranks in their careers.

Olga: This is number one for me. It’s a climactic point in my career and life.

Jimmy: I have been fortunate to have been in a couple ensemble pieces throughout the decades and we always feel this is the one that’s going to break through. But then there’s always that one or two. The difference is – and I think this relates to so many topics, not just in the Latinx community. And now that we’re coming out of this pandemic, where the world got jolted and we had to think about other social things that relate to inclusivity, this is gonna be a little bit of joy that I think the audiences are really gonna relate to because of the universal themes. Not just because of the specificity of the culture. We’re trying to be as authentic, spot-on and positive as possible. Because it’s time. Because the population in both Canada and the U.S. are changing and different, but are the same having immigrants come with a dream. Whether you’re from Ireland or the Caribbean, you want community and you want your children to do better than you. Am I thinking about the home that I left, or the new home that has all of those things? I think this resonates really well in the Film and I’m hoping audiences will take this little bit of joy and go with it!

We ask Melissa Barrera and Leslie Grace about landing the gig of a lifetime here and the fantastic vocal work we hear, and what it took to get to that level.

Leslie: The gig of a lifetime. I felt so many times I felt unworthy of the experience because I felt I was being spoiled. I was reminded every day by my lovely castmates, ‘Yo! It’s not always like this!’. And so I was walking around like I was in Disney World every day. And even in production when we were sweating and sometimes bleeding on each other learning all these dance steps, it just felt like home and I just feel so fortunate and blessed to have gone through this process. So much of our hearts are in this. They are our stories. We finally get to tell what feel like our stories on the big screen and in a feature film, so it is the gig of a lifetime with amazing people.

Melissa: We both had really long casting processes. It took us over a year from the first time we auditioned. She auditioned, I sent a tape and then over a year I got called-in and she also over a year later got called-in, so it was a long process. But I think for both of us, it was perfect because it gave us time to prepare. For Leslie she was like, taking acting classes because she was an incredible singer already. And for me, I needed to work on my voice, so I had the time to take voice lessons and really feel comfortable with the material because Lin writes really hard songs to sing! (laughs) For me it was that, nailing the vocal aspect.

Leslie: And that you did, darlin’!

Melissa: But I think the amount of time, the timing was perfect because it let us get to where we needed to take on these roles.

At the heart of IN THE HEIGHTS’ story is community, but also the love stories. We ask the two stars how they built that believable chemistry that jumped-off the screen.

Leslie: It’s all real. We were just on Zoom for the first couple weeks together and every time each of us started to talk, we’d cry. Just having these people in your life, it’s not something everyone gets to experience and it’s not every day you come across people you just met and feel like you’ve known your whole life. If we had just done the experience of this Movie and nobody ever really saw it – which would be sad – the experience alone changed our lives. Sometimes you do a movie, waiting for everyone to see it so your life will be changed. But there’s a before and after for me in my life, after doing this Film with Melissa, Anthony, Corey, Jon, Lin and all the family. So that joy you feel from the screen is real.

Melissa: I think we were lucky we got such a long rehearsal period. We got ten weeks. During those ten weeks, we spent a lot of time together bonding over our frustrations, bonding over not getting Choreography. And going into a corner and wanting to cry, wondering if we were ever going to get this! All of that being there for each other really brought us so close and we became family. So the love and the chemistry that you see is real. We got so close that we became family and I think in a way it was perfect. These characters grew-up together and knew each other their entire lives. They live in this neighbourhood and it’s like a tight-knit community and for that to feel so real, I think we needed to have that in real life.

Leslie: You definitely can’t fabricate that in a Movie like this which has so much heart.

We ask Jon M. Chu how as a Taiwanese-American from the West Coast, what are some of the conversations and questions he had to ask when coming into a Film like this, which is so deeply-embedded within the Latinx community and set on the East Coast?

Jon: I had so many questions, even the question ‘Should I be doing this?’. And I think that’s a fair argument to have. What a great argument to be able to go back and forth on. But the fact they allowed me to ask stupid questions was huge. I couldn’t understand things like, ‘The blackout in this show is a really big deal, but we get blackouts all the time, what’s the thing?’. Lin and Quiara explained ‘You don’t know how one feels when the plug goes out and you don’t know when you’re gonna get it back and you’re the last person to get it back. And that’s what power is essentially about. And I was like, ‘So is it all negative and do bad things happen?’. And they were like, ‘Actually it’s the opposite. It’s about love. When God pulls that plug, you turn to the people you take care of and who take care of you.

So this brilliant night that was supposed to happen – this brilliant dinner – never happened because of a fight. And in the end it did happen because they turned to Abuela Claudia for safety and they all came together and had this moment. In a weird way, I look at right now. The world has gone through a really tough year where we feel isolated and we turn to all the people that we care about the most. Usnavi actually says that in the Movie. Once you get there, how do you get back up, how do you get back out? Daniela goes out and does her last makeover for the evening for the neighbourhood and says, ‘Believe in yourself, you are beautiful. You never needed me for the Air Conditioning for your hair to be done. Grab your flag and be proud and dust yourself off, and you have each other!’. This is the message that the world needs right now and how appropriate that the neighbourhood is Washington Heights showing the world how to survive, how to get back up and it’s going to guide the world out of darkness and into the next light.”.

See our Chat on Video:

Warner Bros. Canada release IN THE HEIGHTS in theatres and on-demand Thursday, June 10 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros. Canada)

From the genius mind of Lin-Manuel Miranda comes IN THE HEIGHTS! Check-out this brand-new look at the eagerly-awaited Musical coming soon to HBO MAX.

Synopsis:

Lights up on the vibrant and tight-knit community of Washington Heights… where the streets are made of music and little dreams become big. From Lin-Manuel Miranda and director Jon M. Chu, In the Heights stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, and Jimmy Smits. Turn up the volume. This summer, we’ll be singing along with #InTheHeightsMovie​. In theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max June 18.

See the Trailer:

IN THE HEIGHTS arrives Thursday, June 10, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: HBO Max/Warner Bros.)

Here’s your first look at HAMILTON, coming soon to Disney+!

Synopsis:

An unforgettable cinematic stage performance, the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton” combines the best elements of live theatre, film and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience. “Hamilton” is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, “Hamilton” has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, the film transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and direction by Thomas Kail, “Hamilton” is inspired by the book “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow and produced by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller, with Sander Jacobs and Jill Furman serving as executive producers. Filming was produced by RadicalMedia. The 11-time-Tony Award®-, GRAMMY Award®-, Olivier Award– and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical stars: Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Jonathan Groff as King George; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton; and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.

See the Trailer:

HAMILTON arrives on Disney+ Friday, July 3, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)

After resounding commercial and critical success, HAMILTON finally has arrived in Toronto at Ed Mirvish Theatre now through May 17, 2020.  The Musical centering around America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has been setting the world on-fire since its debut off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York back in 2015.  Since then it has won a whopping 11 TONY Awards and Pullitzer Prize with an inclusive, modern way of telling American history through Hip-Hop and R&B.  The Production makes its way now in Toronto – known as the Phillip Ty our – with a Touring Cast led by Joseph Morales in the leading role. Morales will be in Toronto till end of March, when the role will be taken over by a new star.  As expected, ticket sales have  been feverish with Torontonians resorting to a daily digital lottery in hope of tickets.

See some of this talented Cast!

Joseph Morales as Alexander Hamilton

Jared Dixon as Aaron Burr

Stephanie Jae Park as Eliza

Marcus Choi as King George

Elijah Malcomb as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton

Desmond Sean Ellington as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison

Ta’Rea Campbell as Angelica

Darilyn Castillo as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds

Warren Egypt as Lafayette/Jefferson

Aaron Albano – Swing

Trevor Miles – Ensemble

DeMarius Copes – Ensemble

Conroe Brooks – Standby

Jonathan Christopher – Ensemble

Gabe Hyman – Swing

More here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

For the many of us who still haven’t see HAMILTON, Disney will be releasing a Film version of the 11-time TONY Award-winning Musical.

The live-capture Film breaks new ground, transporting its audience into the world of a Broadway show in a new way. The Cast in the Film will include Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award® nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.

The Film was shot in June 2016 at at The Richard Rodgers Theatre.

HAMILTON will stream on Disney+ Friday, July 3, 2020.

(Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

The star sightings continue to pour-in and our Amanda Gilmore doesn’t disappoint! See some of the talent she spotted out and about at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Day Three!

DOWNHILL is about a couple married with kids, who barely escape an avalanche on a trip, only to be forced to confront finally how they feel about one another.

Will Ferrell

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME centers on “pre-Hamilton” Lin-Manuel Miranda and the improv Hip-Hop movement he was part of, the Documentary following their reunion in 2019.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

ZOLA centers on a Stripper who goes on a wild road trip to Florida. This Film is getting a startling amount of buzz out of the Festival and stars Riley Keough.

Nicholas Braun

FOUR GOOD DAYS is about a mother who helps her daughter in recovery from substance abuse. Glenn Close and Mila Kunis both star in the Drama.

Mila Kunis

THE FIGHT is a Documentary which centers on the tsunami of lawsuits against the Trump administration which came about shortly after he got elected.

Kerry Washington (Producer)

BLACK BEAR is about a female Filmmaker who turns to the woods after having some creative struggles, only for the woods to summon her inner demons.

Aubrey Plaza

Sarah Gadon

Christopher Abbott

Wilmer Valderrama

SNOWPIERCER (Netflix TV Series) centers on a world that has become a frozen wasteland and the group of people left who inhabit a train which circles the globe. Parasite Director Bong Joon Ho serves as a Producer on the Series which stars Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs.

Daveed Diggs

(Photo credit: Amanda Gilmore)