At the recent signing event to celebrate the launch of the book, The Isle of the Lost, I had a chat with the author, Melissa de la Cruz, as well as actor, Dove Cameron, who plays Mal in the Disney Channel original movie, Descendants, which follows the lives of the children of classic Disney villains and heroes . Melissa’s book serves as a prequel to that movie.
Natalie Kipper: How does working on a film set in a fantasy world compare to your other projects whose locations are more realistic?
Dove Cameron: Actually, that is a really good question. I have never been asked that before. Working in a fantasy world is a really delicious experience for an actor because, whenever somebody asks why I want to be an actor, I always say it’s because it’s sort of like the experience of reading. I compare it to reading because it’s like getting lost in a world except instead of sitting in your living room and reading about a place and imagining yourself there, you get to wear the clothes, and wear the hair and wear the makeup and really physically be there. And so for an actor working on a fantasy set, that is one of the most exciting and amazing things. Because not only does it help you get into character and stay in character, it is also just sort of, you know, for the regular old geek like myself, it is just really fun to pretend that you belong there.
Natalie: You are well-known for your roles in Liv and Maddie. How did it feel to portray a darker character like Mal?
Dove: I’ve always wanted to play darker characters, not that I don’t love playing my other characters that I have previously. I think that there is something valuable to be found in every character that you although I do think playing darker characters sort of make you think about more, you know. I think acting can be a really educational experience if you let it be. Sort of like how at the end of every book, you learn something new about yourself. At the end of every project, through pretending to be somebody else and feeling the emotions of, really, another human. If you let yourself step into it, you learn way more about who you are in the world, how you experience things, how that compares to how others experience things, and it really gives you a lot of empathy. Because if you successfully step into the shoes of another person [while acting], you can successfully step into the shoes of another person in your daily life just like as you known them. As a character who is darker, you have a responsibility to bring their more human aspects to the surface because otherwise they will be completely unrelatable. And so through doing that, I think it’s an exercise in learning that all humans and all people can be good and you can really be friends with anybody, if that makes any sense. It actually really helped me to play Mal in my daily life, just through how I perceive people.
Natalie: Can we expect to hear you sing in the movie?
Dove: Yes, there is a lot of singing in the movie. Well, it’s a film with musical elements so we are not calling it a “Musical.” A Musical is when somebody breaks out into song more then they talk. There is a lot more dialogue than there is music in this film but there is still quite a lot of huge musical numbers. So it’s got the regular, you know, traditional, expected Kenny Ortega flair, with the crazy choreography and the big dramatic sweeping ensemble productions but it’s still a straight film. So, it’s really got something for everybody. I sing quite a deal in the film.
Natalie : Can you share any particular fond memories you have from during production?
Dove: Yeah, actually, my very favorite night and my fondest memory of set is from one of the last nights and when we were shooting at a literal castle. And later in the movie in the movie, it’s going to be made to look like the Disney castle, which is something that I think is kind of a magical experience for any young person who grew up with the films. It was when we were shooting our last number called “Set It Off.” It’s at the very end of the film and it’s when everybody has come together and all the drama has subsided. It is sort of the last big celebration. We were all dressed, head to toe, in this very convincing magical fairy tale garb. Everywhere you went and looked was color and ethereal fabrics and fireworks. People were laughing and it was 3:30 in the morning and we were about to lose the location to a wedding the next day. So it was like, we have to get this now or else it’s not in the movie. We had been working on this choreography for the entire film and it had to be perfect. There were literally hundreds of extras who all knew the choreography so it was just huge, amazing. All that energy, all in one space was so palpable. But there was this storm coming and it was going to rain, like one hundred percent. They said it was going to rain; it was to pass through us. The dresses would have been ruined. We wouldn’t have gotten the number. We had two and a half hours until the sun came up. And everyone was freaking out. People were screaming and yelling. And then all of a sudden, Kenny [Ortega] said, “Everybody stop!” And everybody gathered and we all held hands. Kenny was also the director of Michael Jackson’s This is It and a very close personal very to Michael Jackson. And I know for a fact that a lot of the lives on that stage started in the industry because of Michael Jackson, including myself. That night happened to be his birthday. So, Kenny gathered hundreds of people around and he said, “Michael would have been so happy to see this many young people doing something good in the world, performing their hearts out, doing something all together for one big end goal. Michael would have loved to have been here.” And we all started sobbing. But we finished the scene and the next day, we got back to set to do another scene and Kenny said, “You know what is amazing is that the storm never passed through. The storm actually happened but if you look at the progression on a map it went all the way up to us and then exactly around us.” Kenny said it was because Michael was there. So it was a pretty magical night.
Natalie: I loved the large cast of classic Disney characters in your book. How much free reign did Disney give you when it came to writing about them and creating their children?
Melissa de la Cruz: The script had already been written and the movie was going to be in production when I had already signed on. So I already knew what the end of my book was because the book was going to be a prequel to the movie. So in a way, I had this kind of narrow range because whatever this story was, it had to end with the stars of the movie. But within that narrow range, I could go into the whole Disney universe. It was so much fun to go back to the classic movies and then also to kind of flesh out the backstory of these kids and these villains. To answer the question of how they got there and what happened between Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, you know, Snow White, and then that moment when they all find themselves on the island. It was really fun so, in a way, I say it was this narrow passage that opened up to this wide world. It was a challenge, like a puzzle. I had to figure how the book fit into that larger story.
Natalie: Is there any one of the book’s characters that you feel especially fond of?
Melissa: I am fond of all of them but Maleficent is definitely a big, strong force and, I think, the most relatable because she acts out of anger from being excluded. And the funny thing was, while I was writing it, I am way older than 16 but there was this party that my husband and I did not get invited to and I was just as upset. I thought, ‘this is just what Maleficent felt.’ So it is enough anger to curse a kingdom? I don’t know but I find her very relatable.
It was an honor to meet and speak with these two inspiring women. Melissa de la Cruz’s novel, The Isle of the Lost, is now available to purchase as both a book and e-book. And be sure to watch Dove Cameron in the Disney Channel original movie, Descendants, coming this summer.