While in LA for The Geekly Retreat, I got to see Spies In Disguise. I can literally tell you guys nothing about it — I can’t even say if I liked it or not. However, while there I also got to chat with the Directors Nick Bruno & Troy Quane, as well as the Production Designer Michael Knapp! We got some inside details on Spies In Disguise and guess what? I am allowed to share some of that information with you!
I was looking forward to Spies In Disguise ever since I saw the first trailer for it. So I was thrilled to be able to see it early. The cast is amazing — Will Smith, Tom Holland, Ben Mendelsohn — the list goes on and on. So I was excited to learn about some of the behind the scenes details, right from the Directors themselves!
The Directors Make A Cameo
Something that I noticed right away in this movie was that the directors make a cameo (more than once). Having seen them in person, they were fairly easy to pick out in the movie — and their scene(s) were pretty amazing. Keep your eyes peeled for them and “the fist bump”. That’s all I can say but trust me, they have one of the best scenes in the movie!
Lance Is The Only Pigeon With Eyebrows
There are several pigeons in the movie, but Lance is the only one with eyebrows. They wanted the audience to really believe that he was a human who had turned into a bird. And this was one of the ways of making him stand out from the others. We were told that floating eyebrows are WAY harder than you might ever expect. And if you are doing an animated film, don’t attempt them. He also has a bow tie pattern in his feathers when in bird form.
Lance is also martini glass shaped — which you might notice if you look closely at him. This was done totally on purpose. The point was to signify class and sophistication.
The Movie Was Inspired by Pigeon: Impossible
Spies In Disguise was inspired by the short film Pigeon: Impossible. You can watch it above. After seeing the movie, I can totally understand how it got some ideas from it. I wish I could say more, but I can’t. Not yet anyways (stay tuned!).
Lance Was Written For Will Smith…
…but they never thought they would get him! The directors both said that Will Smith will only do movies that say something — especially when it comes to movies for kids. They were hoping they would get him to sign on, and when he did, they were thrilled.
They did let us know that he has such a great presence. He was always so nice to everyone while working on the movie. Nick joked that he was being “such a Walter” when he met Will for the first time. But it all worked out in the end.
The Takeaway?
Be true to who you really are in the world. That is what the directors want you to take away from this film. That and let’s get weird. And since the film is totally under embargo right now, I can’t tell you much more than that. Just go see it. Trust me!
About Spies In Disguise
Super spy Lance Sterling and scientist Walter Beckett are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is not. But what Walter lacks in social skills he makes up for in smarts and invention, creating the awesome gadgets Lance uses on his epic missions. But when events take an unexpected turn, Walter and Lance suddenly have to rely on each other in a whole new way. And if this odd couple can’t learn to work as a team, the whole world is in peril.
