Pixar is known for its amazing animated movies that will make you and turn red no different. Turning Red is an elaborate coming-of-age story about a young Chinese-Canadian named May, voiced by Rosalie Chian, who is obsessed with the fictional 2000 boy band 4*Town.
Screen Rant had the opportunity to chat with members of 4*Town about their musical inspirations and how Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas helped bring the boy band back to life.
The screen roared. 4* town is here, everyone. how are you guys? Going red is great. Jordan, Grayson, Josh, Topher. Thank you so much for joining me. I absolutely love this movie. It has a lot of heart and a great story, and it really explores the wonderful relationship between mother and daughter. But you are the center of this 4* Town. The movies now have a brief description of each of your enchanted characters. We found Robaire, who is more of a solo enthusiast. Tae Young is a lovely person. We have Aaron Z, athletic, and Aaron T, goofy.
In your actual roles, how much do you identify with each character? We’ll start with you, Jordan.
Jordan Fisher: You know what I like, the first drawing I saw of Robaire drinking coffee with a book in hand. This is me! My wife and I moved to Florida. I haven’t been to LA in 15 years, we moved to Florida so I could have a morning cup of coffee with a book in hand and watch the golfers play. Like, this is my speed. Of course, that’s my concern.
I love it. Currently. Grayson, you, do you think you would be the cutest if you were really 4*Town?
Grayson Villanueva: I would say I embody more of a healthy energy and I think that’s what my character does. um, yes.
Josh, I mean, we have Aaron Z, he’s the more athletic type. Would you say you’re the athletic type in the group?
Josh Levi: I’m pretty athletic, but to be honest, the thing I most associate with Aaron Z are baggy pants, always wearing baggy pants.
I love it. Now, there’s Topher, Aaron T, who’s more stupid. Do you think you’ll show it off?
Topher Ngo: Yes, one hundred percent. I felt like the most special, loudest, most pompous of my friends. So yeah, I love Aaron T.
You are all talented singers in your own right. Can you talk to me about working and collaborating with Billy Eilish and Finneas O’Connell? They really mastered early 90s pop or sorry, early 2000s. Can you talk to me about working with them? We’ll start with you, Jordan.
Jordan Fisher: They’re clearly forces of nature and are so proficient at what they do that they’re able to move into a genre far beyond what we know they’ve done and created, past, truly awesome and it’s unique to watch them go through that process and build and make that really, really, sweet and fun as much as being creative. Finneas is with us on earth and in our hands. It was such a wonderful family experience to be in the booth next to all of us, right in front of the mic, singing about something he wrote and created with his sisters. In terms of collaboration, I mean, that’s how people enjoy music and can collaborate with all the faces you see here right now. I mean, these guys are just rock stars. Surrounded by all the energy and talent for a few days, all for Pixar and Disney, was just a dream.
Surely you’ve all dreamed of working with Billy Eilish and Finneas, let alone in a Disney Pixar movie. Josh, what have you learned the most from working with Billie Eilish and Finneas?
Josh Levi: That’s a good question. I really love these two guys and have so much respect for what they do, how they create, and what they create. Funny enough. I don’t know if the other three read music, do you read music? Alright. Well, I’m lost. I’m not ready. I don’t know how to read music like that. I used it when I was young. I think I left without a second thought about actually reading the track, I think I left with a better sense of the process
Topher Ngo: You killed it, man, but, you killed it.
Josh Levi: I guess it was a storm.
Grayson Villanueva: Good guess.
Topher, this is really your first big project. What did you learn doing “Going Red”?
Topher Ngo: This is like my first big project. It was like working with such a qualified, talented and skilled musician. I think one of the most important things I’ve learned is to be able to come in and trust that there are other people in the room just as talented and amazing as everyone else.
It feels like TRL-like music that was ripped straight from MTV in the early 2000s. Looking back now, one of the really cool things about this movie is that Turning Red wasn’t actually mocking boy bands but really honor them. We’ll start with Grayson, who is your favorite boy band of all time? Past or present?
Grayson Villanueva: Oh, I must say NSYNC. NSYNC is my favorite boy group. They just sing cappella very well. I am a cappella nerd. I have that background and I understand Harmony the same way, I just love everything they do with the arrangement. So NSYNC!
Jordan Fisher: I mean, as a kid in the ’90s, NSYNC was always the first choice, but in my adulthood and deeper darkness. You know, my love for Jagged Edge and New Edition is insane. However, if we’re talking about boy bands, my favorite is The Temptations.
Josh Levi: For me, it’s Boyz 2 Men, all day, every day. Like background music. Like I could ask them to sing for my wedding. It’s just, I don’t think you can lose to them.
Topher Ngo: I have to go with BTS. Because they’re iconic, everything from their composition, lyrics and melody to their choreography is insane and in perfect sync. Correct.
Your character actually performs these dance moves and it’s almost like it was taken out of one of these early 2000s music videos. Have you had a chance to look back at those dance moves, and have you tried practicing them yourself?
Jordan Fisher: I Won 1-800′, this is a 2003 VHS copy of Darrin’s Dance Grooves. I learned all these dances. Like I learned them, I learned Jordan Knight stuff and roots in Street Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears, like early 2000s choreography. Because Darrin Henson was like that guy, and he was create this master class in its basic form as VHS. I wore that thing out. It’s like starting to change color at some point. Because I just finished that tape. I came from the school where I put the tape in and went crazy.
This one is for you, Topher, just out of curiosity. Did Finneas perform the song with you guys in the booth?
Topher Ngo: That’s right. When they brought us all to the set, they had individual booths and everything was ready. Our vision for each other is like the window of every store. We have to love, love relationships and jams. Correct.
Grayson, what do you want to bring to the character Tae-young, let me, what do you want to bring to the character Tae-young, and you, that doesn’t have to be on the page?
Grayson Villanueva: One of the things I was so excited to bring to Tae Young when I heard the demo, I was like, ‘Wow, is there a ventriloquist in this song? ‘. In this song and this song, I just thought it would be great if I could beatbox these songs. That’s what I ended up doing. I was able to contact the music department and I was like, hey, this is my beatbox demo. Like, do what you want with this. Let’s see if we can do this. We can do it. That was a lot of fun.
How about you? What else would you like to bring to this role? Jordan, we’ll go with you.
Jordan Fisher: It’s brand new, the concept of the Pixar Boy Band is also brand new. It’s really just all about materials. We had to come and immediately be a part of something that had never been done before. That is really great. The diversity of all this is also really amazing when you look at all these people, you see all these different industries, and I think I think we all really want to celebrate that. .
turn red Currently streaming on Disney+.