Warning: SPOILERS for Spellbound.Fascinated is a traditional animated film with a message that is anything but. Skydance Animation’s second release follows Ellian, a young princess who sets out to reverse a mysterious curse that turned her parents into monsters. Ellian’s journey with her monster parents through a whimsical landscape turns into something more serious as new revelations threaten to alter her family dynamics forever. The film’s all-star cast includes Rachel Zegler, Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis and John Lithgow.
Fascinated was brought to the screen by veteran animation director Vicky Jenson, who also co-wrote the script. Jenson is known as the finishing director of the 2001 mega-hit Shrekand also directed 2004 Shark Tale. On FascinatedJenson directed his first musical film, working with legendary composers Alan Menken and Glenn Slater on the soundtrack.
Screen speech spoke to Vicky Jenson about her directing work Fascinated. Jenson talked about the film’s long journey to the screen, why she felt this story was so important to tell and how she did it Fascinatedthe ending feels earned. Jenson also reflected on his time working on Shrek and how this set up her eventual reunion with John Lithgow in this film.
Vicky Jenson talks about spending years bringing Spellbound’s “Weirdly Taboo” story to the screen
It’s about a “real family situation”
Screen Rant: It seems like this movie was in development for a long time and took a long time to get to the screen. Was it harder than usual to finish, and if so, why?
Vicky Jenson: I think it was more difficult because the story hadn’t been covered before. It’s funny how strangely taboo this was. We discovered this later. Initially, I loved that the story was about a real family situation, but set in this fantasy world, and that the parents don’t end up together, but it’s still a happy ending. That’s honest. This is real. We live it. My husband is divorced and [has] girls – I’m the evil stepmother now – and I’ve never seen a story like this before. That’s what was so important: getting the ending right.
When I joined the project, it was mainly a big fantasy world with two warring kingdoms, and it had a lot of interesting things about a princess who could save her world, but not her parents’ marriage. There was always a twist to it, but the narrative and how to tell it was what really took a while to develop. It took a while to weed out the things that maybe weren’t so important, and then we came across this trope of parents who are so caught up in their own animosity that they’ve turned into monsters in the eyes of children. Told from her point of view, she doesn’t know where the spell came from. It doesn’t look breakable, but maybe she’s the one who can break it. [We were] taking the time to get this right, working with a therapist who works with families who go through this exact situation – what it’s like for the kids, what it’s like for the parents – and using her experience to make sure we were honest with this story.
Shrek was a long time ago [in development]also, before entering the project. Most of these films sometimes pass through the hands of different filmmakers trying to find a solution for this. And on Shrek, I was director number five. People would fall down, like, “Okay, I give up.” In this case, I continued with the project, but even live-action films take a long time to get to the starting point of production, so it didn’t take us long.
Were you worried about how parents would react to this film and how they would react to it?
Vicky Jenson: The intention was never to defame the parents from the beginning. I wanted to make sure we didn’t pick one who was more to blame than the other, so going into detail about their problem wasn’t the point — just that it can happen. People distance themselves. They stop bringing out the best in each other. [We knew] that if we could do it this way, you could feel the universal truth in the relationship. Parents wouldn’t mind, but they might notice, like, “Am I doing this?” So this helps them evaluate. None of us were worried about our parents being wiretapped. We do not defame them.
Jenson reflects on working with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater on his first film musical
“It’s a different way of telling a story”
I was so impressed with Ellian’s emotional journey because she starts by covering up for her parents about something she doesn’t fully understand, and later you delve into her anger at that and at them, which I’ve never seen in a film like this. Besides working with therapists, how did you want to show this?
Vicky Jenson: This song evolved very early on working with Alan and the incredible lyricist Glenn Slater. It really captured his justifiable feelings of anger, of feeling betrayed, and of not being loved. It’s like a teenage anthem. We all feel this at some point. Even though our parents weren’t going through this, we felt invisible. And in a funny way, it’s a natural part of life that you have to move away from your parents to go out and follow your own path. It’s almost biological that you have to start fighting, to a certain extent. I think teenagers just need to rebel, and even the way their mother breathes will bother them. It’s built into us.
Knowing that she needed to express these feelings came very early, and Glenn, I thought, found the words so beautiful to do so. We barely changed anything about that song from the time he wrote it and Alan set it to music. It became a goal we had to achieve that song.
And this is the first musical you’ve directed. What was the process like figuring out where the songs would go and how you would work with Alan and Glenn? It’s a very different way of making a film.
Vicky Jenson: It’s a different way of telling a story than telling a normal story – the way musicals are structured or the way they work. Alan and Glenn, as well as our music producer, Chris Montan, who has worked with Alan since The Little Mermaid, taught us how these things work. You want your song “I Want” right at the beginning, just as you have a scene that lets the audience know what the character wants, and it’s critical that the songs move the characters emotionally from one thing to another. You don’t just open the film, put on some music and continue. They have to work in the same way that scenes work, and scenes are there to keep things moving. “And then this happens because of this, then that [happens,]”And the songs are doing that too. “Step by Step” begins with a problem, but then an agreement and a solution emerges between the three. It was really great to sit at the feet of the master musical storyteller and learn how these things work.
Jenson reveals how she pitched the film to Javier Bardem
And he talks about what it was like to reunite with John Lithgow after Shrek
I’d love to talk about your cast too. Rachel Zegler is incredible, Nathan Lane is a legend, and you brought John Lithgow back to animation. What was your favorite moment meeting or working with this cast?
Vicky Jenson: So many. It was really fun talking to John after working with him for so long. I went to see him in a play or musical on Broadway maybe 15 years ago, and he remembered me, and I was really happy about that. [When I was] telling him the story and why we were doing this – and at that point it was already COVID, so it was all over Zoom – he was very interested in it. He’s a delight, and he soon got on board and was very curious to know how his character helps make this journey easier for the family. And it evolved. His change of body allowed him to participate more in the story and contribute more to the evolution that took place in the family. Even his song “I Could Get Used to This” also addresses the entire topic. Every recording session was my favorite with John.
With Javier, there were a lot of scheduling issues. I didn’t get to talk to him for a long time until right before the Oscars. I think Penelope was nominated for Parallel Mothers, so he was in town. [I] pulled it into the studio and, in this case, presented it differently. [I] went from song to song and wove the story [by] how this leads into the next song and how the parents are stopping being monsters and slowly remembering who they are. He was so interested in it, looking at the incomplete storyboards that went by, and he was following everything.
I don’t think he’s ever had this experience before. He hadn’t really done an animated film before. He thought we would animate everything first and then bring it in. I said, “No, you have to act. We don’t know what you’re going to do. What if you laugh in the middle of a line? What if you burp? We can liven it up. Working with Javier again was a great experience. The cast was just… they all worked a little differently, but they were all equally committed. They understood what the film had to say and wanted to be part of it.
Jenson is already thinking about an enchanted sequel
“I love these characters, so I still don’t feel satisfied with them”
You drove Shrekwhich became an empire. Did being involved in the beginning of something like this influence how you might think about a potential sequel to this film?
Vicky Jenson: I’m thinking about a possible sequel because there’s more to the story that can be told and more to explore about families as they grow and evolve. But I don’t think that really has to do with thinking about it as a franchise – at least for me. I’m not in marketing. I’m not into merchandise. I’m not CEO, but I think there are more stories here that could be really fun [and] interesting. I love these characters, so I still don’t feel satisfied with them.
About Spellbound
Spellbound tells the story of Ellian, the young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria, who embarks on a quest to save her family after a spell turns her parents into monsters. The film is directed by Shrek director Vicky Jenson, and features a soundtrack by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater. The film’s cast includes Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman.
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Fascinated is now available on Netflix.