We often associate memories of experiencing Disney stories with our families, and it was in that vein that Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea was born. Reuniting Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales screenwriter Jeff Nathansondirector Joachim Rønning and famed producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the film was born out of a desire to create new memories for families. As Bruckheimer shared in a recent press conference, “[Jeff Nathanson] was looking for something for his daughters to watch, and he couldn't find anything. So he went to a used bookstore and found this book called Young Woman and the Sea, and he thought it was a great inspirational story. He brought it to us, and we loved it. We fell in love with it and got Joachim and Daisy [Ridley] involved. But it took us about nine years between writing the screenplay and at various different studios. And then we got a budget that everybody liked, and we finally got the movie made.”
The book was based on the true story of Trudy Ederle, an Olympian who became the first woman to swim the English Channel. This inspirational story of nearly a century ago also appealed to Rønning. “We felt… an obligation to retell this story and to rediscover Trudy for the world,” the director shared. “I was shocked that I didn't know the story because it was such a worldwide event when it happened a hundred years ago. And in many ways it changed women's sports forever. It's obviously dramatic, but it has so much warmth and emotions and humor and it's scary. And all of that was on the pages of Jeff Nathanson's wonderful script. So I just feel very honored, and I'm very proud of having been a part of this and given the opportunity to retell Trudy's story to my teenage daughters as well as the daughters of the world.”
Ridley, who had the difficult task of embodying Trudy, was drawn to the family that is at the heart of the story. “The whole was greater than just playing her because I saw this family who are wonderful and lovable and who you want to spend time with,” she shared. “You want to root for all of them.” It’s one thing to be drawn to the story, but it is another thing to spend all that time in the water bringing the story to life.
Daisy Ridley wanted the role of Trudy Ederly so badly that she confessed to telling a white lie when she told the team that she was great at swimming. As production got closer, she got a bit nervous. Luckily, she had a team of coaches to assist, including Olympic silver medal champion Siobhan O’Connor. “The first session with her, I swam about 25 meters and was so out of breath,” says Ridley, “So I knew I had a lot of work to do. I trained for three months before we started filming, then continued training during filming. My swimming technique got so much better. The last shot I did, I swam for probably 150 meters in the sea, battling currents, keeping up with the camera boat.”
Disney should be commended for giving this epic story a theatrical run. This epic story was fantastic to see on a giant screen. But there is no question that a film like this will be accessible to many more families when it comes to Disney+. As we head into the Olympic season, we are lucky enough that another fantastic Disney sports movie will inspire us with the story of an Olympian who competed in Paris a century ago.
As I mentioned, the heart of any good Disney story is families being able to enjoy and connect through them. Ridley shared a story about the impact the film had on her family when her sister saw the film at a screening. “My real sister had watched the film for the first time, and I hadn't heard from her,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, does she not like the film? And we turn up to this party, and she had been crying so much that after the film she had to go to the bathroom to calm down.” I have no doubt that many families will have a similar experience when they gather on the couch to watch Young Woman and the Sea on Disney+ starting July 19th.