Premiering in 2002, Kim Possible was one of the Disney Channel's defining series for a generation of girls and boys, showcasing the talented and skilled Kim Possible heading into missions against dastardly villains across the world.
Now the franchise has been reinvented for a new generation of fans as a live-action TV movie starring Sadie Stanley as Kim Possible, Sean Giambrone as Ron Stoppable and Ciara Riley Wilson as new character, Athena. Ahead of the reboot's debut on the Disney Channel, CBR got the chance to speak with the cast about what it's like to take on the universe of Kim Possible, their favorite elements of the world and what they wish they could do if the universe was real.
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What's The Sitch?
The entire cast seems keenly aware about the responsibility they're taking on with the projects with Stanley talked about what it's like to take on the title role. "It's a little bit nerve wracking.," she admitted. "She's a very iconic character to so many people. She means a lot to a lot of people, and that's something I want to continue to have with the live-action version [of the character].
"It's a little bit nerve wracking because people have expectations, and you want to meet those expectations and for the old generation that watched it growing up to love this new version. And you also want the little kids who are watching it today to also love it. It's a little bit of a balancing act. It's also such an honor and exciting, for lack of a better word. It's just thrilling."
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Giambrone is the pitch perfect choice for Ron. Part of the trick to Ron Stoppable is that he's a lovable doofus, even in a spy/super heroic setting. He means well, but just as often wrecks their plans as often as he saves them. When asked about taking on that balancing act, Giambrone explained, "[Ron's] definitely an excitable guy, but he also has all these small moments too where he's got this internal excitement. The directors [Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein] and I were talking about it. And him being a sidekick, sometimes he'll just stumble across the right thing or sometimes [Kim] just needs him to be there for her. I definitely love the character, and just trying to think like him has been a really fun thing."
Wilson had perhaps the toughest job of all three, considering her character, Athena, isn't in the original series. Because of this, she had the responsibility of bringing a new perspective to the universe. "During the audition process for me, it was really exciting and challenging to be able create a new world for this character that's coming into the Kim Possible universe,' she revealed. "I kind of got to create her backstory and where she came from, and her little tics about her personality.
"It's really fun for me to sorta of create that world and that character during filming," she continued, "and it's really exciting to see how Athena fits into the universe that everyone loves of Kim Possible. I think fans are really going to love this breath of new air into the original new series. I think it's really exciting for Athena."
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Living The Life
"[Kim] has so many fun gadgets," Stanley noted while discussing the arsenal Kim deploys during the course of the film. "I actually got to take home one of the pendants that she uses as a communicator, so I still have that at home." Given the choice of taking any of Kim Possible's gadgets in a world where they actually worked, she said she'd stick with the device she already has. "She uses it so many times throughout the movie, and it just makes her life so much easier. I'm not saving the world or anything, but I'd use it for other stuff."
Meanwhile, Wilson went for the lipstick laser ("It's pocket sized, you could be nonchalant but also take down anyone in a moments notice", she imagined), while Giambrone had some difficulty trying to decide between the grappling hook and the jet pack. "I'd almost say the grappling hook," he pondered. "Because [with] the jet pack I could see myself getting out of control."
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While considering which villains they hoped would show up in future live-action installments, Giambrone said "it'd be a toss-up, because I could see DNAmy being a really cool villain for a movie. But I've always liked Monkey-Fist, too." Wilson concurred, saying, "I'd want to see how they'd do him." But she still admitted "Draken and Shego are number-one, and they're so cool. The banter and the dynamic between the two, [Todd Stashwick &Taylor Ortega] did that so well."
One episode of original the series that proved eerily preminiscent of the new film is "And We'll Make The Mole Rat CGI," where a movie about Kim Possible goes into production and the actors playing the roles get to actually meet Kim and Ron. Asked what they would do if they had that opportunity, Giambrone spoke with some awe when he said, "I'd go eat with Ron. I'd want to do one of those Man vs. Food challenges with Ron. That would be a good time."
"First, I would go raid Kim's closet," Stanley confessed. "Just hang out in her room. The live-action room is really, really cool. That was so fun, on set. And then I'd want to go on a mission! And try to not, like, kill myself or get hurt. I think it'd be fun to go on a mission with her and Ron. I'd want to hang out with Ron too." Wilson added "And then I would try and go back to find Athena. Somewhere in the universe, but then fail, and just go hang out with Kim and Ron."
Kim Possible stars Sadie Stanley, Sean Giambrone, Ciara Riley Wilson, Christy Carlson Romano, Alyson Hannigan, Patton Oswalt, Todd Stashwick, Taylor Ortega, Nancy Cartwright, Erika Tham, Issac Ryan Brown, and Connie Ray. The movie premieres today on Disney Channel.