By: Jennifer Ortega | HFLF Contributor
“TIMMY FAILURE: MISTAKES WERE MADE” is a new film based the book series of the same name set to premiere on Disney+ on February 7th, 2020. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Tom McCarthy (PIXELS, LITTLE FOCKERS), TIMMY FAILURE follows the hilarious exploits of the quirky deadpan hero, Timmy Failure (Winslow Fegley) who along with his 1500 pound polar bear Total, operates Total Failure, Inc, a Portland detective agency.
Hollywood First Look Features recently attended the press day for the film. Winslow Fegley, Kei, Chloe Coleman, Ai-chan Carrier, Kyle Bornehimer, Wallace Shawn, and Ophelia Lovibon spoke to us at Disney Studios about the film.
Tell us a little bit about your characters.
Kei: I play Rollo Tookus in Timmy Failure. Well he’s that kind of good kid who doesn’t really want to get in trouble that much. He gets good grades, and to me doesn’t want to get in trouble. Or, Timmy gets him in trouble and he doesn’t want to get in trouble. I think Rollo keeps on coming back to Timmy because they’re complete opposites. I think he finds Timmy interesting.
Winslow Fegley: Hi, I’m Winslow Fegley, and I play Timmy in Timmy Failure. Timmy is kind of this, 11 year old kid who has got this polar bear imaginary friend, and it’s all about, kind of his adventures through both his personal, and his detective agency too, that he owns. It’s really cool to see how all these characters fit in.
Chloe Coleman: My name is Chloe Coleman, and I play Molly Moskins in Timmy Failure. Molly is not afraid to stand out or be unique, or speak up what she likes. She likes to make sure people are happy, so when it comes to Timmy wanting something, she’s there for him, or if anybody wants something, she likes that about people, especially when they’re not like everybody else. So she’s not afraid to be herself.
Ai-chan Carrier: I’m Ai-chan Carrier, and I play Corrina Corrina. Corrina, she’s well… In Timmy’s imagination, she’s this evil Russian secret agent. We don’t actually really know if she’s really evil, or if she’s just a sweet, innocent kid.
How were you approached with this script? And what made each of you want to do it?
Chloe Coleman: I think one of the main reasons that I really wanted to do Timmy… When I went in for the audition, and I didn’t even get a call back, and they offered the job. I read about my character, and what I liked is that she’s not like everybody else, and how she likes to speak up for what she wants. She’s an activist, and a feminist, so when it comes to all that stuff, she supports it. Also, I thought it was a really interesting role, and I’m very happy that I got it.
Kei: When I got the script, me and my family have this tradition whenever we get a script, we all gather around and read it. We had a couple of laughs and I thought the script was really funny, because when we looked at the script, my favorite scene was the bank scene, where I really run into the door. When I was approached with the script, I was very excited.
Ai-chan Carrier: So for me, I also actually auditioned as Molly Moskin. In one audition, we got a call a few weeks later, and we were like, okay, we want to sign a contract with you, blah, blah, blah for Disney, and I wanted to do… I mean Disney first of all. Then my dad’s like, but you got Corrina, Corrina, and I was like, who’s she? And my dad’s like, well, she might be this evil person. I was like, okay.
Kyle Bornheimer: It’s always nice to get an opportunity at all. It’s fun to act. But, I think that Tom had written it in a way that seemed like he was going to do something. He’s really, really going to celebrate everything we just talked about in a really neat way. Just given his other work that I knew of his, I felt like I’d be in good hands.
Ophelia Lovibon: When I went, I loved the relationship the mother son relationship really struck me. Because, it seemed she never ever patronizes him. She appeals to him and they’re teammates and they do it. They’re doing this together. Each one has to pull their weight. She’s never condescending. That was really clear reading it. It thought that’s a really beautiful … She’s bringing him up on her own. She doesn’t have any money. She’s quite candid with him to try to protect him enough, but is also honest with him and lets him in to explain. Doesn’t say well do it because I’m telling you, she’ll give him a reason so he can understand. I thought that’s a really lovely relationship.
Wallace Shawn: I watched a couple of Tom’s movies and I was frankly a little intimidated. He has a high standard for acting and he was intimidating in real life as well I will say. I mean he has a very high standard. I don’t know what is on the cutting room floor of me, but all the acting in the movie is I thought really great. I thought everybody was pretty amazing.
Well, I love the eccentricities of all the characters in this. There’s kind of uniqueness, that kind of reminds me of Wes Anderson in a way, but a family movie, which is great. But were any of you fans of detective novels before this, or are you now?
Kei: I didn’t really read any detective novels, but I was reading, what is it called? Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I know that’s kind of a big competitor of Timmy Failure, but I read it, and when I found out that Timmy Failure was kind of the same thing, I was pretty excited.
Ai-chan Carrier: I love reading, it’s not detective, but it’s a spy novel, it’s the Spice School series. I read all of them, and that helped me a little bit. So yeah.
Chloe Coleman: I had read all the Timmy Failure books and when they gave me the script, I was looking at the character that I was going to play, and I realized that I look exactly like her. I had the same curly hair and everything, it was crazy. I had this person pictured in my mind, there’s this girl in my class and she looks exactly like her. And I was like, that is crazy. She has this giant poofy red hair, and it was insane.
What was your favorite scene?
Winslow Fegley: All the scenes at the school were very fun because it was with them. Another really fun scene for me was when I was at the fence with Craig Robinson and he was coaching me and there’s kind of a point in the movie, and Craig would sing and then I would beatbox to it. We were just kind of chilling at the fence. It was really cool.
Ai-chan Carrier: My favorite is when I was near all the light switches, and I turn and smile and do my little eyebrow thing, and it kind of zooms out. That was really fun because I did it 20 times. Sometimes I’d do my eyebrows way too much.
Kei: I think I already shared my favorite, but my second favorite would be when Winslow and Wallace were at the dam, and they thought the water was going to spill on them, but it was right below them. That was my second favorite scene.
Can you also say, I’m speaking with respect to the kids, but as adults, what can adult audiences, what do you think they’ll think about the movie?
Kyle Bornheimer: I think if you’re a parent, you’re going to just notice things about yourself and your own kids. I think if you’re not a parent, I think that there’s a humanity and a story to tell about human beings in here that has nothing really to do with your own, like whether you’re a parent or not. If you’re an adult, I think A, you’re probably, if you’re a movie lover, you’ll know Tom’s work and you’ll see what he though too as a director. I think that’ll be interesting. We always talk about theme and everything and what you want people to get from the movie. But, I always go back to too, it’s just funny. You could miss all these themes and still just have a great time at it. It’s fun. It goes into his imagination and you’re all of a sudden you’re with him on the barrel going over a waterfall. It’s all that kind of stuff is just fun regardless of what you’re taking from it. You’re going to get some belly laughs and have a smile on your face.
About:
Based on the best-selling book by Stephan Pastis, the Disney+ original movie “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” follows Timmy Failure, a 5th grader from Portland who, along with a 1,500-pound polar bear named Total, operates Total Failure Inc., a detective agency. Somewhat of an outsider at his elementary school, Timmy is clueless but confident and wants to see his detective agency become the best in the world. But first he must navigate the world of adults around him, including his overburdened mother Patty, her well-meaning boyfriend Crispin, his teacher and nemesis Mr. Crocus, and Mr. Jenkins, a school-mandated guidance counselor, and figure out what it means to be normal when you know deep down inside you’re different.
Rating: PG (for thematic elements, some language and mild action)
Starring: Winslow Fegley, Craig Robinson, Chloe Coleman, Ophelia Lovibond, Wallace Shawn, Kyle Bornheimer, Ai-Chan Carrier, Kei
Directed by: Tom McCarthy
Written by: Tom McCarthy, Stephan Pastis
Twitter/Instagram: @disneyplus
Hashtags: #TimmyFailure #DisneyPlus
