‘Cool Runnings’ Cast Reflect On Film’s Creation: “They Wanted Me To Sound Like A Black Aladdin”
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The cast and creators of Cool Runnings are now reflecting on the classic Disney film’s creation.
During an interview with The Independent, the crew shared the ups and downs that brought the 1993 film to life. According to the platform, the movie went through heavy-handed changes and corporate critique the actors endured to tell the empowering story.
“Before Disney took over and made it a family film, there were drugs, racism and the characters were getting laid a lot,” reflected Rawle D. Lewis, who starred as Junior Bevil. “I saw it morph into the movie that it is now. It was something that had never been told before – Jamaicans in tights? People were like, ‘How’s this going to go under the Disney umbrella?’”
The movie’s producer, Dawn Steel, reportedly disappeared for eight months before returning with a new script, and the title Cool Runnings.
Director Jon Turteltaub discussed speaking with Lewis and the three other leading men, Malik Yoba, Doug E. Doug, and Leon, about their accents in the film and the notes dished out from Disney’s then-boss and Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.
“The next day, I told the cast, ‘I’m going to get fired if you don’t sound like Sebastian the Crab. Please don’t get me fired,’” shared Turteltab, reminiscing on a tense phone conversation with Katzenberg.
“They wanted me to sound like a Black Aladdin,” remembered Leon. “They wanted a Disney version. It was tough because if anybody wants to be authentic, it’s me — but I’m a professional and I had to do the job.”
Yoba added “They’d say, ‘People in Middle America won’t be able to understand you.’ At that time, people had less access to cultural differences and didn’t know how Jamaican[s] really sounded.”
Cool Runnings went on to inspire viewers from different walks of life.
A lot of people think I was in prison with them,” shared Lewis. “They tell me [the guards] let them watch it because it’s not too violent. I like that we’re the safe choice in prisons.”
“So many people have shared stories with us about how Cool Runnings has changed their lives,” Leon added. “I’ll never forget the 12-year-old boy who lost his dad and was so depressed that he watched the movie for 30 days straight to make himself feel better. I don’t take it for granted.”
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