Here Comes Fat Albert!
Fat Albert and his gang make the leap into the real world in their new movie, opening December 25. (Photo: © Darren Michaels)
Fat Albert and his gang make the leap into the real world in their new movie, opening December 25. (Photo: © Darren Michaels)
Hey, hey, hey! The beloved animated character Fat Albert and the rest of his gang are hitting the big screen, and just in time for the holidays! Written by Bill Cosby (the creator of Fat Albert) and Charlie Kipps, the film is directed by Joel Zwick and includes a few familiar faces. Kenan Thompson (from Nickelodeon and Saturday Night Live) stars as the big guy, and Kyla Pratt and music star Omarion also appear in the movie.
In the film, Fat Albert and his friends step out of their animated world and into the real one. Check out our slideshow with pictures from the movie.
Cast members from the film, including Kenan Thompson, give Scholastic News Online the scoop on making Fat Albert. Kyla Pratt and Dania Ramirez share what they have in common with their characters, and J Mack Slaughter and Omarion let us in on what it's like to play the bad guys.
An interview with Kenan Thompson
By Marie Morreale
SN: Do you know what Fat Albert is supposed to weigh?
Kenan: Fat Albert is closer to 500 pounds.
SN: The costume that you wore, do you know how much that weighs?
Kenan: About 30 pounds.
SN: How did they fit that on you?
Kenan: They had this whole scanning machine where they put me in this little nylon suit and then they scanned my whole body. Then they made the suit to fit against my body. I tried it on a couple of times and it was a real snug fit, so it was good.
SN: Did it take a long time to get ready?
Kenan: I would say about 30 minutes to get dressed and then 30 minutes to do my hair, because they had to glue the wig on, and then about 15 to 20 minutes for makeup. So not too long—like an hour or so.
SN: Was the costume comfortable or uncomfortable? Was it easy to get around in?
Kenan: It was actually a little restrictive because I had all this belly that I had to try to carry my legs around and all. It was tiring and I was very hot, so I was sweating through like two T-shirts a day.
SN: Did you do stunts while you were wearing this costume?
Kenan: Oh yeah, a lot of little action, running sequences and skateboarding and stuff like that.
SN: Were there any mishaps?
Kenan: Oh yeah, I fell a few times, but I didn't really hurt myself. It was scary on the skateboard because I don't really skateboard, plus I had like these double-stacked shoes so that I could be taller, because I was supposed to be six-foot something. It was like scary for my ankles but it was okay. You gotta get through it. I mean, I rode my ankles a couple of times, but hey, I'm still walking!
SN: It sounds like that set was a lot of fun.
Kenan: It really was. The cast was amazing. I mean, we just had a really, really good time the whole time. Bill Cosby was great, Kyla was great, the B2K boys were cool. Everybody was great.
SN: Were you at all intimidated or honored in a way to be playing one of pop culture's icons?
Kenan: Yeah, actually I really was very honored and grateful to have a chance to work with Bill Cosby. That's one of my dreams—my lifelong dreams.
SN: He was the one who picked you?
Kenan: Yeah.
SN: How did that happen?
Kenan: I was trying to fly back and forth to Los Angeles to audition, and [director Joel Zwick] actually came to New York straight from London one time so I could make a special audition for Mr. Cosby, and then he went and showed it to him and he told me that Cosby only watched it for like 10 seconds and turned to him and was like, "That's him!"
SN: Was Mr. Cosby on the set a lot? Did he work directly with you?
Kenan: He was kind of like a mad scientist, the way he works. It's very funny. He kind of like changed the whole script when he got there. I don't know, he just had some ideas the night before or something like that. I just thought it was really awesome to have somebody come in and have the opportunity to talk to the director and change the whole scene when we're supposed to be rehearsing, you know what I mean? I mean, usually when you're shooting they're all scared about the time and trying to rush and whatnot, but he's real lackadaisical and I thought that was really cool.
SN: Did you ever see the cartoon series in reruns?
Kenan: Oh yeah. I was a big fan. I'm like Bill Cosby—that's what's so crazy about it—I'm like Bill Cosby's No. 1 fan. I've been doing my little Bill Cosby impression for so long, and then to get the Fat Albert role is just outrageous. When I prepared for the role I watched all the DVDs over again because they're all on DVD now, so I refreshed my memory about what they were talking about back then.
SN: Do you have any favorite characters in the cartoon besides Fat Albert?
Kenan: Yeah. I mean, I like Rudy, and Mushmouth was always one of my favorites, and Dumb Donald. I don't know, I mean, as I saw the characters come to life with real people, you start to really enjoy the characters more. You start to know them and care about them. I like the whole gang now because of the time we spent together being Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. It's like I can respect each character because I can relate them to the person that played them in the movie.
SN: Is there a special message from the movie?
Kenan: There are a few. There's "Stay in school" and "Friendship is important." I'm trying to think, because really it's just like the whole message of Fat Albert is that he's a humanitarian and, you know, a Good Samaritan or whatever. His whole thing is to help out your neighbor, and do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Stuff like that.
SN: If you could make a Fat Albert sandwich, what would it be?
Kenan: It would probably have a lot of meat on it. It would be an Italian hero type of thing. I'm sure he'd like different types of meat, so it might be the Italian trio thing. Salami, ham, and turkey. Cheese, definitely mayo and mustard. Melted cheese and toast the hero a little bit I think and he'd be happy. And some chips.
An interview with Kyla Pratt and Dania Ramirez
By Gerri Miller
SN: Who do you two play?
Kyla: I play Doris. Doris is a little quiet, not really outspoken, doesn't have a lot of confidence. She's trying to find herself, and Fat Albert and the gang help her. Dania and I are foster sisters.
Dania: I play Lauri. My character is a little more outgoing. We're total opposites but we get along so well. I'm confident and have all these good characteristics about myself; I'm very competitive and run track—we both do. In that way I'm a lot like Lauri.
SN: Thus the track outfits you have on?
Kyla: Yes. So she's more outgoing, I'm a little on the dull side, trying to get noticed.
SN: Were you familiar with the Fat Albert cartoon?
Dania: Now I am.
Kyla: I'm a little too young. I didn't see them but they got us DVDs and I love it. We caught up. They're so great and positive.
SN: Will the movie be like that?
Kyla: Yes!
SN: Are you having fun with all these guys?
Dania: They're hilarious!
Kyla: Every day is funny. Alphonso, who plays Bucky, he's hilarious. At 6:30 in the morning he's on! And we're so lucky to have Kenan. I love Kenan so much. His comedy is incredible. And we got to meet Bill Cosby. That was the best.
Dania: We've been shooting for a week and we met him in the middle of last week. We were calling our moms, saying 'I met him today!'
Kyla: We grew up on The Cosby Show, the reruns. And to meet someone you look up to—he's so nice, you love him more.
SN: You don't feel too outnumbered by men here?
Dania: We can stand on our own!
Kyla: I'm the oldest of five kids and most are boys so I'm used to it. I always wrestled my brothers.
Dania: I'm the middle. There are all girls in my family. I was like the boy, with sports.
SN: How are you different from your characters?
Dania: Lauri has issues opening up because she has trust issues. I am so not like that. If I like you I'm gonna like you. So it was a little bit of a challenge.
Kyla: Doris has no confidence; she's quiet. I'm a very loud person. I'm very outgoing.
SN: Was it hard to tone down?
Kyla: Not really because I can bring out my shy side sometimes. And it's good because it challenges you.
An interview with J Mack Slaughter and Omarion
By Gerri Miller
SN: Were you Fat Albert fans?
Omarion: Actually it was ahead of our time but we got the reruns. We got to see the DVD before we did the film.
J: It's an honor to be part of this. Mr. Cosby, oh my God—I'm scared to call him Bill!—you gotta have that respect.
SN: Tell me about the characters you play.
Omarion: Basically we're the bad guys. We're the jerks. I'm wondering why Fat Albert is trying to get with my girl.
J: He's Reggie, I'm Arthur. I follow—he's the leader.
SN: Had you known each other before you auditioned?
J: We were both guests on the Sharon Osbourne Show the same day. We met there. We instantly bonded. We filmed for a week and we're so tight.
SN: Both of you are into music—you sing, you play guitar. Do you do any jamming between scenes?
J: Yeah, we play around a little bit.
SN: Omarion, your background is mostly music, but do you think you'll do more acting now?
Omarion: Most definitely, but definitely do both, try to do the Jennifer Lopez thing, with the acting and the singing. I'm working on my first solo project right now. It's coming along great. But I'm doing Fat Albert now, so it's kind of hard. I'm happy to be doing it. This is history right here.
SN: Why is reading important to you? What did you read as a kid?
Omarion: I liked to read the Goosebumps series when I was a kid. I'm into horror, mystery. I like to read Iyanla Vanzant; I read a lot of her books.
J: Tuesdays with Morrie, Five People You Meet in Heaven. I love Mitch Albom. I was the guy who never read the books I was supposed to read in high school, but the minute that I didn't have to read, I started reading. I have a book in my trailer right now. One, I'm trying to educate myself because I'm not going to college. Two, it's entertaining and at the same time you get a lot from it. Your brain isn't turned off like when you watch some lame reality TV show.
Gerri Miller is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.
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