Last night, my son took the stage in his very first stage production. He played the title role in Peter Pan. He was fantastic.
And he was over-the-moon when I told him that THE Peter Pan would be making a guest appearance on one of the shows we watch—often—at our house, Jake and The Never Land Pirates. It's true! Thanks so Astral's Disney Junior, the Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns 45-minute special will be making its way onto Canadian televisions this Friday. March 23rd at 6 p.m. ET.
And he was also pretty excited (and by 'excited' I really mean 'envious and jealous') that I got the chance to speak with Colin Ford (who plays Jake), Madison Pettis (who plays Izzy) and Jonathan Morgan Heit (who plays Cubby) about the new special.
When I asked the three to tell me a little bit about what fans (and I) can expect from the special, Colin was quick to say that as Jake, it was cool for him to go back to the roots. When the series begins, Jake and his crewmates are already ON the island, so "it was cool to take it back to the early days. And, of course, to go on an adventure with Peter Pan."
Jonathan tells me that Peter Pan losing something important. "I don't want to give anything away, but I will tell you that it's pretty cool because instead of him helping us, we help Peter Pan find the thing he has lost." I asked him about Cubby. "Cubby is a leader in his own way because he has the map, so whenever the crew goes anywhere, Cubby knows where to go. But, you know, he can get scared of things. I'm like Cubby. And he's like me. He's very intelligent!" (And very funny, obviously.)
Apparently Madison was okay telling me what Peter loses. "Well, Peter comes to Never Land to check on Jake, Izzy, and Cubby but he lost his shadow and needs everyone to help him get it back from captain hook. And well, as Izzy, I try a little bit too hard to impress Peter Pan with my pixie dust and Peter Pan teaches us that you don't need to show off; you just need to try your best and focus and you will succeed."
Colin, Jonathan, and Madison are no strangers to the small and big screens.
You may recognize Colin Ford from his role on Supernatural and his role as Matt Damon's son in last year's We Bought a Zoo. He told me about his experience on the film. "I mean, it was such an amazing cast. I got to work with Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson and Cameron Crowe. There's something in it for everyone. Kids can relate to my younger sister, adults can relate to the adults in the movie, and the teenage audience can relate to Elle [Fanning]'s and my characters. Also, I got to hang out with animals all day!" When I asked him who he'd love to work with in the future, he said he actually had A LIST which includes Reese Witherspoon, Leonardo di Caprio, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock. "I actually worked with Reese a little bit on Sweet Home Alabama," he says. "I'd love to work with her again!"
You may recognize Jonathan Morgan Heit from his roles in Date Night and Bedtime Stories. For a little kid, he has certainly worked with some high-profile actors, which is why it didn't surprise me at all that he said he'd love to work with the amazing Morgan Freeman. Jonathan is pretty busy these days because between Jake and the Never Land Pirates and auditions and new movies coming out, he's actually going to Haiti with Soles4Souls, an organization that makes sure underprivileged kids in Haiti have shoes to wear.
You may recognize Madison Pettis from her role on Cory in the House and as Allie on YTV's Life With Boys. Madison and I spoke about social media and how it has really connected actors to fans. "I don't really use Twitter to talk to my friends—I use it to talk to my fans. When they tweet at me, I always DM them back! It's an instant way to talk to my fans, to let them know what I'm doing." It's way different, I said, than it used to be when I was a kid—sending fan mail through an agent, not knowing if the celebrity ever got the letter. You can follow Madison on Twitter. You never know, you may get a tweet back!
I certainly know where my son and I will be this Friday night. We hope you will too!
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