The What We Do In the Shadows star opens up about voicing a character in Disney’s animated film, meeting one of his favorite princesses, putting his musical training to work and earning cool points with his niece.
Everyone grows up watching Disney movies, but only a select few get to be part of one.
What We Do In the Shadows breakout Harvey Guillen is part of the star-studded ensemble of Wish, the latest release from Walt Disney Animation Studios featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Victor Garber, Ramy Youssef, Evan Peters and more.
DeBose voices Asha, a young woman who makes a powerful wish upon a star and finds herself facing off against the ruler of her kingdom in the process. Guillen voices Gabo, a slightly pessimistic boy inspired by Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
TooFab caught up with Guillen ahead of the film’s home video release, where he shared why lending his voice to the movie was such a big deal.
Starting easy for you: Favorite Disney princess and favorite Disney villain?
Oh wow. Well… I mean… princess? That limits it. I was going to say Asha from Wish, she is not a princess, but she is a warrior. And that could be seen as a princess, in a way.
She’s the new era.
She’s the new era of princess. Yeah. I like that. If I had to go traditional princess, then I’d probably go with Cinderella. She’s like always running from one place to another. Multitasking. And then she becomes a princess. It’s the rags to riches story. So that’s great and aspirational, to work hard and not let the naysayers, evil stepsisters, and stepmother bring you down.
But if I were going to say the new generation, then it’ll probably be Wish. She represents what we can aspire what young girls want to be. A sense of independence and community and wanting the best and to help their community any way they can.
And the flip side. Favorite villain?
I have to say, Ursula. Just classic. She’s the one. She is my go-to karaoke song. So yeah, I’d say Ursula, Poor Unfortunate Souls.
We grew up watching Disney movies. What does it mean to you to be part of one now?
What a dream! When I got the call, I was like, ‘What?!’ You grew up watching these movies, and to be part of an animated feature is like, ‘What is happening?’ Like you got to pinch me.
I remember going to the Animation Studios and recording, just thinking about how many people have gone through those hallways. I just recently met Jodi Benson, who did The Little Mermaid, and that was my favorite movie growing up. She was so kind and lovely. It was really nice. Just to think of it, you’re now a part of this lineage, you’re part of the Disney family. No matter what happens afterwards, you are somehow part of this Disney family, and it’s so perfect to celebrate the 100th anniversary. And that I got to be in the film that celebrates the 100th anniversary was fantastic.
Going into this, how confident were you in your singing voice? Knowing What I Know Now is such a moment in the movie too.
I mean, I loved it. I went to school for musical theater, but I don’t really get to sing a lot because all the shows I do don’t have a lot of singing. I got to sing in [Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist]. But I don’t really get to sing anywhere else. So, it was nice.
And when they gave me that high note, I was just like, ‘What?’ They were like, ‘Yeah, you go up there.’ And I was just like, ‘Okay.’ If you hear it, that is me up on that high note; it sounds cool. And I really love that message about bringing everyone together, uniting to help a friend who needs you. It was really great. And the song, what a banger!
Were you all even together at all when performing the songs?
No, we’re not really together. But I remember when they played it; the director, the composer, and the writers are there and they were playing the song and it just sounded so good. Like that drum break, I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And the rhythm … it was so great. I knew it was going to be good. But it turned out even better than I expected.
What was your reaction when you finally saw your voice with the animation and everything come together?
I didn’t see it until I saw it in the theater. The movie came out on Thanksgiving weekend. And I didn’t get to see it until Thanksgiving weekend. I was with my family in Big Bear, California. And the day that it came out, we went to the only theater up there, which only has like two theater rooms, and one of them was Wish. I went in there, and it was my first time seeing it. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cool.’ And hearing and watching it was really great.
I sat with my niece, who has since become obsessed with Wish. She carries this giant plushy Star, the yellow star in the movie, everywhere she goes. It was nice to be part of something where I could see a family member have that experience. That’s going to be their memory forever. Like The Little Mermaid with me, Wish is a memory for them. And to be someone that they know who is part of the project is really sweet because I’m like, her uncle is part of this. When she grows up, she’ll say, ‘My favorite movie was this, and my uncle was [part of that.]’
Cool uncle vibes.
Yeah, I get points.
You’ve obviously done quite a bit of voice work. We have the Puss in Boots movies, Garfield coming up, Nightwing on Harley Quinn. How do you approach finding the voice for a character? How different is it from something where you are physically on screen?
The thing with voiceover is that the visual is going to be set by the illustrator and how they want you to look. Gabo is a realist. Gabo is a take on Grumpy from Snow White. And it was nice to play that because I don’t get to play that a lot. It was nice to be a little snarky and a little bit cheeky … but not in a way that’s ever malicious. He’s just a realist, and he’s going to tell it how it is. Sometimes we have that friend who tells us how it is, we need that. We need someone to tell us the reality, maybe a little less …
Sugar coat it a little.
Maybe putting on some kid gloves would be nice once in a while, as opposed to always being straight. But when push comes to shove, Gabo shows up for his friend, who needs him. So that’s a testament to a good friend. I would say if he didn’t show up, then we’d have a problem. But totally different than Perrito, you know? [Perrito’s] an optimist and upbeat, always looking at the glass half full. And that’s not Gabo. It’s nice to play this character.
I love when people come to me and say: ‘That was you?’ and I say, ‘Yeah.’ And they go, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t even know.’ Someone didn’t even know that I did Gabo until they went online and looked it up. They didn’t think that it was even me. So, it’s nice. It’s a compliment I’ll take.
Wish is available now at Digital retailers, and hit 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on March 12.
