World’s Best’s Utkarsh Ambudkar & Manny Magnus Talk Epic Hip-Hop Performances

World’s Best stars Utkarsh Ambudkar and Manny Magnus discuss what went into their epic hip-hop performances in the new Disney+ movie.

World’s Best follows twelve year old Prem. While doing a math assignment he discovers that his father was a famous rapper, and decides to try his hand at hip-hop as well. Prem retreats to his imagination where he has epic performances with his father. There are important lessons about standing up for yourself in a way to doesn’t go too far, as well as following your passions in life.

Mama’s Geeky spoke with stars Utkarsh Ambudkar, who plays Suresh, and Manny Magnus, who plays Prem, about this one of a kind film. They dive into the behind the scenes of these incredible performances and lyrics.

Utkarsh Ambudkar & Manny Magnus Talk World’s Best

Utkarsh Ambudkar explains that he co-wrote the music, but when Manny came in they had to tailor a lot of the songs to his voice and skill level, which he notes was extremely high. “We had to change the key on most of the songs. We brought him up, and then he was allowed to fly.” Utkarsh reveals that Manny was given the freedom he let loose on the song Good Day and that the last third of that song is just him doing his own thing.

All of the songs were pre-written before they started filming. They had demos and then tweaked them sonically, but the lyrics were pretty much set in stone. 

Manny says that he loved being able to explore with Good Day and get to sing instead of rap. “It was almost freeing. It was so much more comfortable because I didn’t have to worry as much about messing up since I was so used to singing. I’ve been doing it since I was three.”

When it comes to his favorite song performance in the film, Manny says he cannot decide between two of them. For World’s Best he loves the large scale of things, but with Halfway Living he enjoyed having fellow dancers with him. “They really carried that scene,” he admits.

Utkarsh says their choreographer, Bradley Rapier, was amazing. “He was so patient with everyone and really brought the best out of Manny.” When it comes to the inspiration behind the lyrics and the music in World’s Best, he claims the characters wrote the songs themselves. “I know that sounds strange, but they told us what they needed. We knew what the story was and these two, father and son, became very clear. Their voices were really different. I don’t know how else to say it. Musically this was a very simple movie to write the music for because it just wrote itself.”

Full World’s Best Interview

Be sure to watch the full interview with World’s Best stars Utkarsh Ambudkar and Manny Magnus to learn more about the behind the scenes of the new Disney+ film. 

NEXT: Disney’s Crater Movie Review

About World’s Best

In the midst of navigating the tumultuous hardships of adolescence, 12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar.

While his recent actions may appear reckless and the quickest way for him to lose everything, Prem, empowered by imaginative hip- hop music-fueled fantasies where he performs with his father, is determined to find out if hip-hop truly is in his DNA. As his father always used to say, “the world’s best never rest.”  

World’s Best is streaming on Disney+ now.