200% WOLF, continues the adventures of werewolf pack member, Freddy Lupin (Ilai Swindells) who has resigned himself to the fact that he’ll never be a mighty werewolf like the rest of his family, but instead remain a tiny pink poodle. In 200% WOLF, Freddy Lupin thinks he has everything it takes to lead his werewolf pack, although earning the respect of his packmates proves to be a challenge. But when a wayward wish transforms him into a werewolf and deposits a mischievous moon spirit on earth, Freddy must restore the cosmic order before it’s too late!
With 200% Wolf howling it’s way in to Australian cinemas on August 8, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the voice behind this story’s hero, Ilai Swindells, about when he knew he found Freddy’s voice, the freedom of acting in animated films, and the importance behind this story’s message about self-worth.
Nick: Ilai, thank you so much for taking the time to chat, and on release day too!
Ilai Swindells: Yes! Thank you!
Nick: So, this isn’t your first time voicing Freddy, but in 200% Wolf, there is an element of his story now where he grows up in a very physical sense, so I’m curious to know how you adapt and change Freddy’s voice to show that transformation, but still keep that familiarity of his voice that the fans have come to love?
Ilai Swindells: I’d like to say that I had a big, fancy method and process for changing the voice and letting it grow for the teenage, sort of, wolf form. But I didn’t really because I think it’s the same as when he’s a human or when he’s an animal. Like, for me, it’s the same voice. He’s the same person.
I guess, you know, the spirit is the same. He always wanted to be a wolf. It’s not like going through puberty, by any means!! But I think the spirit of his is the same, and I just try to sort of stick to that mentality.
Nick: That’s interesting! The character of Freddy has evolved over the films and the shows, so was there perhaps anything you discovered about Freddy after the first film and show that you got to flesh out a little bit more in this sequel?
Ilai Swindells: I guess maybe because the overarching message is the same for me, you know? Like, really accepting your self-worth and loving your authentic skin. For both films, I think it’s a lesson Freddy almost had to learn twice.
So, the background work that foes into that is what can we strip back to find what he loves about himself. I think that’s the best way to put it. It’s a message that he just sort of had to learn twice.
Nick: Has there ever been a point in your career where that lesson happened? And then using that to help inform discovering that about Freddy?
Ilai Swindells: Yeah, 100%! Pun intended [laughs]. I don’t think that really goes away. That feeling like you’re not enough, for all kids and for all adults. That’s why the takeaway message of 100% Wolf and 200% Wolf is so important because it’s a value that needs to be instilled in children from their parents, and from yourself within growing up.
You always have self-doubts when you’re in this business, or when you’re in your everyday life. I feel like we’re all the hero in our own heroes journey every day. Everyone has a different version of affirming their self-worth and their self-importance.
I feel like when you see film like this, or coming of age stories like this, you can relate to it, no matter what you age is because it’s a lesson everyone always learns in life.
Nick: I feel like something that helps this make messages like that so accessible is animation as an art-form and being able to explore those themes in these wonderful, magical worlds. What were some of the animated films you watched growing up that had such an impact on you?
Ilai Swindells: I mean, growing up there’s all the massive Disney classics. The Lion King, Aladdin, Sword and the Stone. Even Alice in Wonderland was a huge favourite of my sisters as well. But my favourite movies of all time that has this overarching message in it is Mrs. Doubtfire.
It has all these beautiful storytelling elements, and it’s a great family film. It has the same message of like, everybody’s different. All families are different. But we are all the same as long as we love ourselves and treat others with respect.
Nick: I love that! I’m keen to break down with you the technicalities behind voice over work. Especially with acting because we use so much of our body to convey emotion, but in animation, so much relies on your voice to do that work. What does the physicality of a recording session look like for you?
Ilai Swindells: It’s very physical! I reckon voice-over and animation is the closest thing to acting because of all the emotions and levels that you have to go through, from 1 to 100, and all the exertion sounds, performing action sequences. It’s real emotions.
If you ever watching footage of me, or footage of other actors like Tom Hanks in Toy Story, or even Chris Pratt in The Garfield Movie, all of the emotions are such high stakes. The lessons we were just talking about are all serious, and everything is very important for these characters, especially when you’re the hero or the lead, or if you’re in every scene, you’re going through a whole spectrum of emotions. You’ve got an objective, and you’ve got somewhere you wanted to be, and whether you reach that or not affect your performance. It’s incredibly emotional.
Nick: Was there a particular scene or moment you recorded that you weren’t too sure how it was going to turn out, but you saw it against the incredible animation and was astounded by how well it did turn out?
Ilai Swindells: Yeah, I think because you offer up so many takes in the booth on the day, there’s quite an array of options recorded. It’s nice to see what ends up in the film, and I guess my favourite experience so far was watching the film with an audience at the Sydney Film Festival, because some people got quite emotional!
And you can’t help but be affected by the detail of the animation because it’s world class. We love characters with big eyes and small bodies, like MooPoo who is like a little toddler. It pulls on your heartstrings! It’s to see where Alexs, our director, went with all of these heartfelt, emotional scenes, with the whole brotherly love aspect as well.
Nick: I’m glad you brought up Alexs Stadermann, because he is obviously someone who has had such an incredible career as a filmmaker and animator. How valuable is the experience of a director like Alexs for you as an actor?
Ilai Swindells: It’s great. He’s a perfectionist, and he likes to do many takes, which isn’t a bad thing. I feel like he’s got the whole story in his mind, like many directors need to. So, your kind of trusting him and just letting it all go.
You just offer up a bunch of options, which you can do in animation because you’re not waiting around for a gaffer or grip to finish something off. Like, you just go and run a million miles an hour and offer up so many things!
It sounds bad, but I think the good thing about animation is that when you know your character so well, and when you know what you have is going to hit, there is a sort of right way to hit a line, in my opinion. So, when you hit that line, and you know that they way it comes across will hit the audience in the same way when they digest it, it’s a nice win.
Nick: Do you remember the moment you felt like you truly knew and understood Freddy as a character?
Ilai Swindells: Do I remember that moment? That’s a deep question! I just loved him right from the first audition way back in 2018. The character description from Flying Bark was so niche and concise, that it was fun to create what it could be.
I do love animation so much, and I think anything in that world, having free reign, is awesome. I had voices in my head that I felt like would be great for him, and it was a nice thing to hear back from Alexs saying that he went through a lot of tapes, and mine was the one that stood out the most.
There are so many chances that you can take in animation, and I think sometimes people are afraid to go balls to the wall. I’ve seen it done in the series version of this. I’ve seen actors come into their first read, and they were maybe real timid or not laid back because they were treating it more like they were acting on camera.
But animation is huge because you can use all of your abilities and emotions in every single line, and that’s cool. You don’t have to be precious about the way you’re being directed because they have to animated it to fit into a certain sequence. I didn’t realise that, and early on, I learned doing the first film, when there was no pictures or storyboarding or anything done yet, that you have the most freedom because the animators animate to your voice.
Thank you so much to Ilai Swindells for his time, and to StudioCanal for organising the interview. 200% Wolf is in Australian cinemas on August 8.
