Walt Disney Animation Head Jennifer Lee On Wish And Maintaining The Magic For Adults [Exclusive Interview] – /Film

Something that you said during the press day panel resonated with me. You were talking about teenagers, especially that age of 17-18 years old, where you’re brave enough to know that there’s something wrong and to say something about it even if you don’t have the answer to how to fix it. I’m curious how you incorporate that honesty and that understanding of a teenager into this story.

I love that you say that, because it was foundational for Asha. I think when we first started talking about her and this concept of wishing and the aspiration as a kid when you wish and it’s so innocent, but the hard work it takes to really change the world. It is hard and there are consequences in a world like today, especially. There are so many ways you get shut down and that courage that you can have. And I’ll quote someone that dates me again, but when I was a teenager, Bono from U2 said, “When you’re young, you think you can change the world, and sometimes you’re right.” And it always stuck with me because I said, “That’s the thing. There’s something about that time in life where it’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to say, how am I going to participate in this world?”

I remember the rage I felt at times as I was uncovering things about this world that were not idyllic and needed to be changed for fairness. And it wasn’t about yourself. It was a very generous feeling. It’s a part of time in your life where foundational things can start if you feel like you can really do it. And we talked about that. All of us went through that. And then, of course, my daughter, who’s now 20, she was 10 for “Frozen.” And now I’m watching her go through that and her discovery and what she wants to stand up for. By [age] 50, sometimes it’s like, you kind of start accepting things because you’re tired or you’re more focused on your child or your family or responsibilities. And how do we keep reigniting that fire in us to collaborate and participate?

I always say, “What are you going to do with what you know in the world? You actually have an impact on the world.” And that was so exciting for us when you tie that to something that has meant so much to us as Disney fans and Disney folks who created Disney, which is the wonder of wishing the possibility, things that fight against hopelessness. So we said, “Well, we watched that awakening in her and we watched that rise from someone who doesn’t even know what it means to fight for things, who hasn’t had to ask those questions yet, to watching that unfold.” And I can’t give anything away except to say, I won’t say whether she succeeds or not, but I’ll say her rise to discovering who she’s meant to be … it just kept revealing itself to us, and it was really, really a special experience as a filmmaker.