Snow Day has been reimagined with an all new cast and this time, it’s a musical! In this interview the cast talks about the challenges and more.
Snow Day Cast Talks Reimagining The Film As A Musical
Snow Day is a reimagining of the 2000 film, but this time it is a musical. Jam packed with a great cast, it is sure to be hilarious and a whole lot of fun! Mama’s Geeky sat down with the cast of the new film to discuss making it a musical, the challenges of dancing and singing in the snow, and so much more!
Jerry Trainor takes on the role of the infamous Snowplowman. He points out that he has no name, by the way, and is of course, not offended in the slightest. “I can’t relate to him at all. I grew up in San Diego. We never got snow. I have no identity other than the snowplow and the bird. He loves his bird. A mechanical bird, Trudy, who’s hilarious. But yeah, he lives to make sure that kids have to go to school. So he makes sure that those streets are clear.”
Jerry explains that there were a couple of birds they used to shoot, since it was such an important part of Snowplowman’s identity. “There was a standing bird, but then there was our hero bird — what they call it in the biz — which was fully animatronic puppet with a remote control. The puppeteers were so funny. They were doing ad libs and stuff like that.”
Ky Baldwin plays Hal Brandston. He explains that the movie is really about how the two the Brandston siblings are trying to achieve their dreams on the snow day. “There’s two different Hals. There’s Hal and the snow day Hal — two very, very different characters. A snow day brings out a confidence, a passion, a let loose attitude with Hal and he really needs that to go after the girl.”
Hal’s younger sister, Natalie Brandston, is played by Michaela Russell. She describes Natalie as “super fiery” saying that she packs a punch, and she’s ready to take down her arch nemesis, Snowplowman. “I definitely relate to Natalie, because I think sometimes I’ve got that same go get them kind of hunch. But I’m different because Natalie does not like school. I do like school. Natalie is super fun and exciting.”
Shelby Simmons plays Claire Bonner. “She’s a very confident, funny, sweet, popular girl. I love that about her because she’s not mean and arrogant that we may be used to. I love that she has layers. And she’s very bold and outspoken. And she’s very sassy. Which I love. I get to do a few hair flips. It makes me happy. She is learning how to really value her soul.”
Fabi Aguirre plays Hal’s best friend, Lane. “She is the definition of sarcastic. She’s a fun outgoing character who would go to the ends of the earth for her best friend and will help her best friend achieve anything through his not so smooth tactics with relationships, and she’s willing to stand by him and help him get the girl of his dreams, which is played by the lovely Shelby. Lane is such a fun character to play. She’s fearless and doesn’t care about what the outcome might be. Whether it’s positive or negative, she’s willing to take any risk whatsoever.”
Challenges Of Filming In The Snow
Snow Day was filmed in Montreal in real snow, which of course posed a lot of challenges because this is a musical, and the cast needed to sing and dance quite a bit.
Fabi confesses that she fell once while they were filming, but explains that the biggest challenge for her was her mouth felt like it was freezing up. “At some point your jaw just kind of freezes and I can’t move it. So at the end, I was like, I literally felt like saliva just dripping down my mouth because I couldn’t move my jaw at all. It was like frozen.”
Shelby completely agrees, and adds that it was the same, even with the talking. “Is my mouth moving at all? Is it? Because I don’t feel it.”
Ky explains that he actually learned something on the set of this movie. “I found out they have snow farms up in Canada. And so there’s massive mountains of snow. So if there’s anywhere that doesn’t have as much snow as you need, they truck it in. And so it’s real legit snow, but every now and then they’d need a little top off. But singing and dancing in that snow was so much fun. There’s a few slip and slides with everyone.”
Michaela adds that she did slip! “In the finale, I had to run from the whole group with the dance, and I had to run over to the picnic table. And if you look, I feel like I’m really skipping over because I’m trying so hard not to slip. But I wanted to have all of the energy. It was funny.”
What Can Audiences Expect From Snow Day?
So why should viewers tune in for Snow Day? Shelby Simmons says because it is an exciting adventure for all kids and family members to watch and learn to go out and pursue their dreams. “This is the day. This is your time. You’ll watch this film and you’ll be like, I can do anything. I’m a superhero. It’s a whole new day, a new you. You’re capable of anything. Anything is possible. On top of that, the music is is phenomenal. So you get to dance and sing along.”
Fabi Aguirre adds, “Like Shelby said, it’s a day where anything is possible. The impossible is possible. And it’s a day where you can just achieve your dreams if you truly do believe in yourself when you go for it. The music adds the perfect touch to it because it’s always so much fun. Oh my god, it’s so much fun. It just gives you that sense that I can do anything I want whenever I want.”
Snow Day Cast Interviews
Be sure to check out the full exclusive interviews with Jerry Trainor, Ky Baldwin, Michaela Russell, Shelby Simmons, and Fabi Aguirre where we discuss their ideal snow days, the original Snow Day film, and so much more.
NEXT: Monster High: The Movie Cast Breaks Down Musical Numbers
About Snow Day
A musical reimagining of the beloved comedy classic film, Snow Day follows a group of kids who are determined to achieve their dreams when their school closes for a snow day. Siblings Hal and Natalie Brandston discover that anything is possible on a snow day when a surprise winter whiteout offers them the chance to break routines, take giant risks and follow their dreams. Inspired to pursue his crush, Claire, Hal enlists the help of his best friend, Lane, to help him express his feelings, and Natalie decides she must challenge her arch nemesis, the Snowplowman if she wants to pull off the task of creating a second snow day.
The original Snow Day, from Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, premiered in theaters in 2000. It was a box office success and immediately became an instant favorite for kids everywhere, who also dreamed of having a snow day of their own. It starred Chris Elliott, Mark Webber, Jean Smart, Chevy Chase, Josh Peck and Emmanuelle Chriqui, among others.
The all-new original movie musical Snow Day will premiere on Friday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon and stream that same day on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.