Strange World star on “exciting” chance to play out gay Disney character
Jaboukie Young-White voices Ethan Clade in the new animated adventure film.
Disney's new animated feature Strange World includes the first out gay teenager in the studio's history – and star Jaboukie Young-White has spoken about the exciting opportunity to voice the character.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the actor and comedian said: "I mean, it's crazy because Mbita in [the TV show] Baymax was like the first [out gay] Disney character, period. And I was also able to voice that character.
"And then finding out that they were also doing it in film was like... it was so exciting. It was great."
At 26 years old, Young-White is 10 years older than his character Ethan Clade, and he said that he had to go back to watch video footage of himself as a teenager to help find the right voice for the part.
"I went back and I watched a video of me when I was 14, and I was like, 'Okay, how can I change my voice a little bit?' So yeah, there was some voice modulation going on there.
"And just trying to capture that, just like physically, but then also the energy and the kind of brightness and wide-eyedness of being a teenager. I think trying to capture that in the voice is probably the hardest part."
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The animation team for the film also used video footage of the voice cast in order to give their characters some of their mannerisms, and Young-White revealed that this made watching the finished film something of a "surreal" experience.
"I'm like, they have to have been following me – how did they get that?" he laughed. "There's a moment where I remember seeing Ethan sit down in a chair a certain way. And I'm like, I don't think I ever sat down in that booth. Where did they get that from?
"But yeah, there's just like so many little magical animation moments that really catch you off guard."
Strange World is released in UK cinemas on 23rd November 2022. Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Film hub for more news and features.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
