No compensation was received for this post. I was invited on a press trip which facilitated the writing of this post.
In Disney’s Tomorrowland, Thomas Robinson plays a young Frank Walker (ie, George Clooney’s character as a boy). Frank is a dreamer. He’s an inventor. And he’s brilliantly smart. He reminded me so much of my youngest son, AJ, who is constantly building and inventing things.
Raffey Cassidy plays the mysterious Athena, a young girl who introduces Frank to Tomorrowland.
I was struck when Thomas and Raffey walked into the room and sat down at our table. It’s one thing to see child actors on the big screen. It’s quite another to see them face to face. It hit me quite hard that they really are just kids – just like my kids. To say that I was impressed both at how they carried themselves and at what they’ve accomplished in their young lives would be an understatement. In fact, we started off our interview talking about just that. I asked them both if they had any advice that they would give kids and young teens about following their dreams.
Raffey said that she would tell kids to, “Never give up. Along the way you’ll fail at some things. But that’s what makes it all the better when you get to it and when your dreams come true. So always follow (your dreams) and carry on and never give up.”
Thoughts on Tomorrowland
I loved young Raffey and Thomas’ perspectives on the movie. Raffey said, “It’s a very optimistic film. I like the message that people are going to walk out feeling that they can do anything. I love that.”
Both actors put on their “dreamer” hats for a few moments and told us their dreams for a real-life Tomorrowland-type future. Thomas thought that having jet packs as a form of transportation would be really cool. Raffey agreed that jet packs would be fun, but “If I had to invent something, it would be that sending emails and stuff would be more like writing a letter. You’d toss it into the sky and it would take it to the person.”
Favorite Moments From Filming
Thomas mentioned an amusing experience that happened to him while filming the scene where he rides the boat into It’s a Small World. First, he said that it was pretty creepy filming that scene because he had to ride through It’s a Small World dozens of times alone with no music playing. All he could hear were the clicks of the dolls’ movements. He also told about the first time they filmed that scene that a huge tidal wave went up over his head and into the back seat (I’m sure he was soaked!). He was only expecting a little splash.
On Following Their Own Dreams
I love watching my own children discover their own passions and talents. I vividly remember my love for writing when I was their age, yet I never imagined that I would be doing so much writing as an adult. We were curious when the two young actors decided that acting was something that they wanted to pursue.
Thomas shared that he sort of stumbled into acting accidentally. “My brother actually started acting when I was 4 years old and I sort of just got caught up in it. It was one of the best things that happened to me. I never really had a moment of like, ‘I want to be an actor.’ It just sort of happened.”
Raffey’s story was similar. She, too, got into acting because of her brother. She said, “It wasn’t really one certain day that I decided I wanted to act. My brother went for an audition and I was outside and was asked to come in. I had so much fun, I wanted to carry on.”
I love that these two kids are following their own dreams and inspiring other kids to do the same.
Disney’s Tomorrowland debuts on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on October 13th, 2015.
Laura is a busy mom of 5 (from 5th grade to college-aged) living in the Washington DC metro area. Laura has been blogging at Better in Bulk since 2007 about everything from food and parenting to entertainment and travel to anything else that might be of interest to busy moms like her.
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