Based on Lucas Martell's 2009 animated short, Spies in Disguise flew into theaters on Christmas Day. The animated spy comedy plays debonair super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) against socially awkward science genius Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) in the adventure of a lifetime. Screen Rant had the chance to sit down with first-time directors Troy Quane and Nick Bruno, as well as costar Masi Oka, to discuss why pigeons were the perfect spy disguise.
Congratulations, guys! Amazing job on this film. We were talking a little bit earlier, and it's been such a long time since I've seen an animated spy film. And this is from the short film, I believe, Pigeon: Impossible. Why Spies in Disguise? Why go for pigeons?
Troy Quane: Well, the pigeon is the best idea for spy cover. I mean, they're in every major city around the world; no one really notices them; they can fly really fast. They've got eyes on the side of their heads, so they can see your face and their butt at the same time. No one's gonna sneak up on you if you can do that. Because they can fly so fast, they see at a higher rate than humans do. We call it pigeon bullet time. They see everything move in slow motion, so no one's going to get a sneak attack on you. So, pigeons actually are an awesome idea for a spy.
Masi, you've also worked behind the camera with animation stuff before. Did that help inform your performance while doing this film?
Masi Oka: Absolutely. You know, there's a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes. Knowing how that process works allows me to kind of adjust my voice acting to kind of supplement what they do. So, it's a great collaboration. I think I definitely helped out there.
This movie has an amazing cast and a very international cast, as well. Tom Holland uses an American accent. Why is that?
Nick Bruno: Tom Holland uses an American accent in this movie because Walter is a small-town kid who doesn't have worldly experience, so it was very important that we just kept it American.
There are so many smart gadgets that Walter creates. Were there any that didn't make it to the film that you loved?
Troy Quane: There's a ton, but we're saving those in the top secret file for future use.
I also love Reba McEntire in this film. I think her voice it lends so well to this big international thing. How did the cast come together, and who was the first to get on board with this?
Troy Quane: The first person we cast was Will, I think. Yeah, we built the characters and we were working the script, and we just had this picture for who Lance Sterling should be. And so we had this big idea: "I wonder if Will Smith would be interested."
The studio got behind it, and they invited Will in, and we pitched him the movie. He was really excited about it; he was excited about the idea of a big action, spy comedy. But more so, he was excited by what we were trying to say with the movie. Which is that in a world of espionage where you can't trust anybody, how do you learn to work together to make the world a better place?
That's a great point, because I love the message of this film that both Will and Tom's characters have. Can you talk to me about their polarizing views before they meet?
Nick Bruno: Sure. Lance Sterling is all about, "We're in a fight fire with fire world," right? So, if you've got to beat the bad guys, you got to be bigger and tougher than them. Whereas Walter believes in bringing people together, and he thinks that violence draws a line in the sand. If we're going to call ourselves the good guys, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.
Masi, I think you said earlier that your character wasn't as playful as he became throughout your recording process. How did your character differ from the beginning from when you first saw the role?
Masi Oka: I thought he was a lot rougher and meaner, but as time went on the character evolved to become a lot more of a teddy bear inside. And literally squishy, physically, as well. I thought it was great how it worked.
I also loved the drama elements, just gonna put that out there. Amazing job in this film, guys. Perfect family film for the holidays, by the way.
