I've been a fan of Ginnifer Goodwin since I saw her in "Walk the Line" in 2005. Although her character is that film wasn't in the spotlight (as she played Johnny Carter's first wife), I thought her performance was strong and very convincing. The woman has amazing talent, so it's no wonder she's been in the business for 15 years. She currently has a lead role (as Snow White) on the extremely popular ABC series "Once Upon a Time" and lent her voice to "Fawn" in the new Disney animated film "Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast." On my recent Disney press trip to Los Angeles, I got to sit down with Ginnifer Goodwin at DisneyToon Studios to discuss her role as Fawn. I couldn't wait to hear how she felt about the roller coaster of emotions in this new flick, and I was excited to hear her thoughts on becoming a mother (her son was born in May 2014, during the production of this movie).
In Tinker Bell and Legend of the NeverBeast, we return to Pixie Hollow for a new story that explores an ancient myth of a fabled creature whose distant roar sparks the curiosity of Tinker Bell’s good friend Fawn (voiced by Goodwin), an animal fairy who’s not afraid to break the rules to help an animal in need. But this animal—massive and strange with glowing green eyes—is not really welcome in Pixie Hollow, and the scout fairies are determined to capture the mysterious beast before it destroys their home. Fawn, who sees a tender heart beneath his gruff exterior, must convince Tink and the girls to risk everything to rescue the NeverBeast before time runs out. Fawn is truly the heart and soul of this movie and there is a LOT of emotion. In my interview with Director Steve Loter, he said he wanted to evoke a great deal of emotion and he truly succeeded.
I'd never really considered how much different voice acting would be from stage, television, or film acting. It wasn't until I sat down with Ginnifer that we asked her about it that I really thought about how much more challenging it would be. We asked her, "How do you prepare differently for a voice acting role versus something either in film or television?"
Goodwin responded: Oh my Gosh, well this was on the job training. I was completely unaware where I signed on it was gonna be so completely different. I did a little bit of voice work before - nothing major, and now I can say that I worked on this film for three years... But, it's entirely different because I didn't realize until I was doing it how much I control myself when I'm doing on-camera work. I can rely on the blink of an eye literally to express something, especially if it's going to be in film... you know, my face is gonna be the size of a school bus. Suddenly, to have a project where I was relying solely on my voice, not having any idea what the animation of course was going to look like, was really, really challenging. I had to liberate myself. I had to find a way to let go of everything physically and find a grounded, real connected place from which to be larger than life. There's a lot of things about my own voice that I always thought were very overly animated, but I found out when my voice was actually animated that I can seem a bit dull and monotone and nasal. There's all kinds of like harsh judgments I could give myself, but in redoing the first couple of passes that we made for the movie, I found that there was a way to find Fawn's very expressive voice when I could let go of everything physically.
Goodwin seems like a natural fit for Disney, at least to me anyway. She naturally fits in with the likes of Mandy Moore and Kristen Bell, recent Disney princesses, as a woman that's instantly likable and that people gravitate towards. I could see why she'd be a natural choice to play the role of Fawn. We wanted to know how she felt about Disney and the fairy lore, so we asked, "Were you familiar with the whole Disney Fairies world going into this?"
Goodwin replied:Â Â I was and I am a "Disneyphile". I don't know if that's a word... it is now. I always wanted to [play a role in a Disney film], and this to me was the pinnacle. I just always wanted to voice animated features for Disney, and I was familiar with the franchise. I hadn't seen all the movies, but then I ripped through them when I got the role. I'm shocked that in the States [the fairy movies]Â are straight to video. I think they're excellent. I think they would appeal, should appeal, do appeal to all ages. This particular movie certainly appeals to both genders. They're just so well done, the stories are so well told. The characters are flawed. The morals are evolved. They're definitely messages I would want taught to my children. So yes, I was familiar with them, but I can see I was familiar before and now I'm a fan.
Goodwin went on to say that she'd be happy playing any part that Disney would offer her. She said, "I believe, and this is not my toting the company, I believe that Disney tells stories in the best way. I don't think there are better storytellers than the ones in this particular company. So I would play any role for Disney and be happy, which I told them repeatedly. I would love to share my acting future at Disney."
As I mentioned before, Goodwin just seems very organically Disney. Very optimistic and kind-hearted. We asked her,"The Characters who play always seem to find the good in people and that was definitely the message here. Is that something inherent in your personality?"
Goodwin said:Â Oh 100%, and I think that's why I get cast the way I do. I find voice-over acting very difficult. and I would like to just do this from now on if I could. I think it's the most exciting challenge. But I do think that I'm certainly cast for being me, absolutely.
If you've been pregnant before, you might have been one giant ball of emotion. I know I was. Since Ginnifer was expecting while making this film (in fact, at one point she was on modified bed rest, so the production crew set up a bed for her to record from - how thoughtful!), I wondered how she handled the deeply emotional scenes. We asked her, "There was a lot of emotion at the end of the movie. How did you handle that?"
Goodwin said: You know, every time I read the script, I cried my eyes out. Every time we recorded it, I cried my eyes out... every time I've seen it. At first I did react to it because I had a personal experience... it's a horrible story but I had a dog that was accidentally put to sleep by a Vet. No joke, there was a lawsuit - it was crazy. Literally, they accidentally put my completely healthy dog to sleep. So, in the beginning when we started recording it, it kept triggering that of course, because Fawn is being given an opportunity to say goodbye. But then as I played Fawn for 3 subsequent years, it did just start becoming about the scene itself and about Fawn's relationship to Gruff. I've never had a problem being emotional. So, no it wasn't too difficult because the story is written so gorgeously.
photo courtesy of Disney
We then asked, "What was your favorite part of the film?"
Goodwin replied: I liked that last scene. The most fun I had was probably the "animal noises" scene, just because it was so out of my wheelhouse. I was studying YouTube videos, trying to learn different animals.. and I'm a terrible growler and howler, but that was a good day. But I think my favorite scene is the last scene just because, to me, it's the most powerful and it's an unexpected ending for a film of this nature.
We then asked Ginnifer about her upcoming career plans. "Any future projects that you're really interested in trying, or anything coming down the path for you?
Goodwin replied: I'd like to do more Animation. I love making TV.... people ask me a lot about TV verus movies, and as far as live action goes, I do prefer a TV life and playing a character for a long period of time and growing and changing with her. I also think that outside of animation, really TV is the only place where people are taking risks. Animation clearly being the film version of that where you can have a world with new rules. Right now honestly, I want to be with my kid and so I've had to have big heart to hearts with my representatives, [saying] "Please don't hate me, but I don't want to work during my Once Upon a Time hiatuses for the near future," because I'm in my late '30s and I'm not gonna get this time back. And so right now, it's all about "Mommy and Me" classes.
She went on to tell us about how challenging it is to juggle a career and motherhood, and I couldn't even imagine working on a television series AND an animated film with an infant in tow... especially during those first several months of sleep deprivation! I'm sure that once you see the film that you'll agree, Goodwin does a spectacular job in Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast and I'm sure she'll leave a lasting mark on the Fairy legacy.
Disclosure: I participated in this interview on a recent press trip sponsored by Disney and ABC. All opinions are my own.
Janessa Solem says
I love Ginnifer Goodwin! She plays an awesome Snow White in Once Upon a Time! My Maggie loves the fairy movies and we can't wait to watch this one together! Thanks for sharing this interview - I loved reading it!
Kerilynn says
Oops! Think you meant Johnny Cash's first wife.
Dee Lafrenz says
Wonderful interview! I adore her also, and understand and applaud her wanting to spend time with her kids. They are only young once. I remember Disney as a child, and love the movies they produce, and how they do bring out the best in their characters.
Amber Ludwig says
Ive never considered the emotion voice actors have to put into each word wince they don't have the ability to use their facial expressions!! What a tough job!! I bet its harder to do that than be an actor on screen!!