A few weeks ago, my daughter and I attended a media screening for the new family-friendly animated movie, Storks. The day after, we met the writer, directors, producers, and a few cast members (Andy Samberg, Kelsey Grammer, Stephen Kramer Glickman, and Katie Crown) for interviews at The Montage in Beverly Hills.
Storks puts a comedic spin on the old “stork delivering the baby” myth through a unique story with lovable characters and familiar voices.
About the movie
(summary by Warner Brothers Pictures)
Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for global internet giant Cornerstore. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop – in a wild and revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks’ true mission in the world.
Who’s voicing who in Storks
Andy Samberg as Junior
Andy Samberg plays the successful but lonely, and kind of arrogant stork named Junior. He shows a tough exterior but is a softie on the inside. A promotion to Boss is at stake.
Fun Fact: one of Andy Samberg’s earliest songs with his group, The Lonely Island was called “Stork Patrol”
“…it was kind of like Wu-Tang’s Ice Cream song but about storks. So, we joked that maybe that could be on this soundtrack, but it obviously couldn’t.”
What sold Andy Samberg on the Storks script
“For me it was mostly because I was sort of friends with [writer/director] Nick (Stoller) already, but I was a big fan of all of his movies, you know? And I know Phil and Chris, Lord and Miller, who were sort of producing this and had worked with them before. So, it just seemed like all the right people. That’s the way I decided to do Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and that’s how I make a lot of decisions. It was like, “Oh, yes, I would love to work with them. They’ll make something good.”
How Andy Samberg “found his flock”
“I have siblings. I have two older sisters, and a lot of the reason that I do comedy and the comedy I do comes from that dynamic of, like, family goofing around in the house, like trying to make each other pee your pants kind of laughing. And I just chase that feeling in my life.”
“When you get to high school and it’s the people who are into the same stuff as you, but it’s really the people that you end up in some house just giggling your ass off, you know? And it went all the way for me to the point where when I first got hired at SNL.”
“I always describe getting hired at SNL kind of like as comedy Hogwarts. You’re like, ‘Oh, I finally am in the place where I belong.’ ‘I don’t have to pretend to be a Muggle.’ “
“I can just say jokes all the time and no one thinks I’m weird.”
Katie Crown as Tulip
Katie Crown is a writer, comedian, and voice actor who plays the role of Tulip. Tulip is the only human living at Cornerstore. She has a positive outlook on life and is creative and crafty. Her lifelong dream is to find her family.
Katie Crown on her character as role model
“I feel great. Yes, I hope they like her. I think she’s a really cool character. It’s nice playing someone who’s really fun, affable, but also super smart. She’s an inventor. She builds this great plane. You know, she’s got a lot of good ideas. It’s really fun being able to play someone like that.”
Katie Crown on “finding her flock”
“I’m from Toronto originally. And there’s a really great comedy scene there and I was part of the alt-comedy scene in Toronto. And it was just a group of people that all kind of gravitated towards the same shows and the same places. And then we started to put on our own shows, started to do, like, this weekly thing. And it’s just folks that I’ve known since I was just in the middle of finishing university and that I still know today, that we still collaborate and make things…”
Kelsey Grammer as Hunter
Kelsey Grammer plays the serious boss stork, Hunter.
Kelsey Grammer on what attracted him to this role:
“Well, I am attracted to animated films basically because I have children and because I am grateful to all the actors that voiced the movies that were important to me when I was a child.”
“I still think that animated films are probably the best movies being made today, and I think that may have been true for a long time. 101 Dalmatians is still one of my favorite movies, and I watch that all the time with my daughter. So, every time somebody calls me to do one of these, it’s a presumptive joy.”
Kelsey Grammer on how he prepared for the role:
“I never prepare for those. You just make up something. When you walk in the door, you make up something.”
“For this guy, I thought it was a Rip Torn, who you may or may not know. But I did a movie with him years and years ago called Down Periscope. He played an admiral in it. He’s one of the most wonderful actors I’ve ever worked with. He has a very unique style, a unique delivery that I basically ripped off completely.”
Key and Peele as The Wolf Pack
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele play “The Wolf Pack,” a couple of ferocious looking wolves who are actually kindhearted and sweet. I won’t ruin it for you, but their scenes had me laughing out loud. They definitely put a very funny voice to the wolves!
Danny Trejo as Jasper
Danny Trejo plays Jasper, a Stork who appears from the shadows. There’s a lot of history with Jasper and the Storks, but I don’t want to give anything away.
Stephen Kramer Glickman as Pigeon Toady
Stephen Kramer Glickman (Big Time Rush; Workaholics) plays Pigeon Toady, a nosy coworker at Cornerstore, who is all about thwarting plans.
Stephen Kramer Glickman on bringing the Pigeon Toady character to life
“All right. Well, you know, playing a character like this, who just wants to become powerful and is looking up to his character the whole movie, so trying to achieve that greatness and will do absolutely anything to get it, those are really fun characters to play, because you’re not just playing like, “I’m an evil villain.” Like, you’re playing a character that has goals and wants.”
“And he knows why he wants to be boss, you know? Like, there’s no doubt of why he wants the power. Power hungry characters are always really, really fun to play. And so, I had a great time playing him, especially with a voice that’s kind of like not typical for a character like that. He comes off so, you know, like lax and easy, but it’s just a form of distraction.”
Stephen Kramer Glickman on preparing for the role of Pigeon Toady
“I really, from day one, first drawing that I ever saw of the character, I looked in his eyes and saw his weird half open, half closed, you know, he’s kind of a weird guy. And kind of right away, I was like, ‘Oh, this reminds me of my old roommate from Long Beach.’ “
Jennifer Aniston as Mrs. Gardener, Ty Burrell as Mr. Gardener, and Anton Starkman as Nate Gardener
Jennifer Aniston plays the tightly-wound wife who calls the shots in the family. Her husband, played by Ty Burrell, is “Phil Dunphy” through and through. They are “work-from-home” parents to Anton Starkman’s character Nate Gardener, who is an only child.
Photos from interviews
Bloggers with Kelsey Grammer and Stephen Kramer Glickman
Bloggers with Andy Samberg and Katie Crown
Bloggers with Nicholas Stoller (writer/director), Brad Lewis (producer), Doug Sweetland (director)
Storks comes to theaters September 23rd
Directors: Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland
Writer: Nicholas Stoller
Producers: Nicholas Stoller, Brad Lewis
Executive Producers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, Jared Stern
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Kelsey Grammer, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Katie Crown, Danny Trejo
Rated PG
Storks official site
www.storksmovie.com
on Twitter
@storksthemovie
on Facebook
facebook.com/storksmovie
on Instagram
instagram.com/storksmovie
Disclaimer: Westside Mommy was invited to screen the movie STORKS and interview the cast and crew as a member of the press. I was not financially compensated for this post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
