Who else loves Alessia Cara? Did you know Alessia is shy? And she’s always DREAMED of voicing an animated character! We were thrilled to have the chance to chat with her on the phone this week to learn about her role playing the voice of Jane in THE WILLOUGHBYS. If you haven’t seen it yet, THE WILLOUGHBYS is a brand new original animated film that is now streaming on Netflix. This movie is a fabulous family flick that you and your kids will totally enjoy. This unexpected story is hilarious, sweet and has great messaging about life and family.
Alessia Cara’s song, as sung by her character Jane, plays throughout the movie. Jane loves to sing and let me tell you this song is beautiful! Take a listen here:
ALESSIA CARA LYRIC VIDEO – I CHOOSE:
Watch The Willoughbys now streaming on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/TheWilloughbys
Alessia Cara on Voicing Jane
Q: What lessons would you like families and kids to take from this movie?
A: Alessia says, “I think the movie really talks about family in a way that isn’t always displayed, especially in kids movies, which is a little bit difficult. But I think in the end it all comes together in that, you know, all families look very different.“
“And it’s important for kids who maybe have grown up in atypical family lifestyles to see that, you know, to see that they’re seen and heard, and family isn’t always, like, you know, your typical parent figures, siblings, household. You know, it can be people that you feel safest with. Not everybody is lucky enough to have blood relatives that maybe they’re close to. “
“You know, everyone’s situation is different, and I think that’s a good conversation starter for a lot of families. And it’s just a nice way to, like, make sure that those families are seen as well.”
Q: How did you relate to your animated character Jane? Do you relate to Jane’s struggles and feelings that she was just trying to be heard and nobody’s listening?
A: Alessia says, “Absolutely. Especially being a young girl in my first years of singing music and in my career, I have definitely felt that as a young woman. There are so many times I’ve tried to talk about something that I’ve felt passionate about or just sort of like get my opinion across, and not everybody takes that seriously, especially when there are so many eyes on you. And it can definitely feel like, oh, my goodness, like, no one’s listening. “
“Or, you know, even like growing up in school, you always kind of have moments where you feel like maybe you’re the only one who’s thinking what you’re thinking, even though that’s not true. So, I’ve definitely had that where it’s like, oh, my gosh, nobody understands what I’m trying to say. So, we definitely relate to each other in that way. “
Q: You put out into the world on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that you always wanted to play an animated character which is awesome. Where did this dream to play an animated character come from?
A: Alessia says, ” I grew up watching so many beautiful films that were done–you know, strictly animated. And that’s all I would watch growing up. And I was just fascinated with the idea of acting by just lending your voice to basically another person that comes to life. I think that’s such an interesting concept.
The idea of acting is great, like, in live action. But I’m very shy, and I think there’s something so perfect about getting to be in that happy medium world where you’re acting but you’re lending your voice to someone else and it isn’t you. And I just thought it’s great and the fact that I could contribute to some kids as, like, entertainment and hopefully a movie that they’ll remember from when they grew up is really awesome. “
More About The Willoughbys
Convinced they’d be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.
Based on: “The Willoughbys” by Lois Lowry
U.S. Voice Cast: Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Séan Cullen and Ricky Gervais