“Good morning – well, I guess it’s not morning in New York, where you are,” actress Jenifer Lewis said with a laugh.
“Actually,” the reporter said, “I’m with The St. Louis American.”
She instantly hit the soulful, sassy tone that made her famous.
“You from The American? Girl, shut up!” said Lewis, who was born and raised in Kinloch.
“Are you from St. Louis? What’s your name again? Who are your people?”
She savored the taste of home, sprinkled surprisingly into her grueling media obligations to promote Disney’s landmark film, The Princess and the Frog, the first to feature an African-American princess.
Anika Noni Rose gives voice to Tiana, the princess. Lewis makes history of her own, giving voice to the first black fairy godmother on the big screen, Mama Odie.
Lewis made a name for herself playing trademark “Mama” characters in a host of black movies – most recently, T.D. Jake’s Not Easily Broken.
While Mama Odie is another “Mama,” the character is a departure for Lewis. The 197-year-old blind woman is a witch doctor from the heart of the bayou. No one would take her voice for Lewis’ if they didn’t read the credits or know beforehand.
Already established in animation through her roles in The Proud Family, The PJ’s and films like Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Lewis was initially asked to read for the role of yet another Mama – the princess Tiana’s mother, Eudora. That role ultimately went to none other than Oprah Winfrey.
“You know that my performance would have been much different than Oprah’s,” Lewis said. “I would have been more like, ‘Come on now, Tiana … Come on, girl.’”
When Disney executives asked her how she felt about reading for a much older character, Lewis instantly traveled back in time. Listening to her own mother’s Moms Mabley albums growing up in Kinloch as a young girl would ultimately land her the groundbreaking role.
“I thought about Moms and her line ‘the only thing an old man can do for me is introduce me to a young man’ – in that toothless tone,” Lewis said.
“So I took my teeth out and read for Mama Odie, and they loved it.”
The studio execs were blown away. John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Pixar and Disney, already knew Lewis from her previous work with the studio. When he received her audition voiceover, along with two others, he selected Lewis – without even knowing it was her.
And so began the journey of Lewis’ contribution to the historic film as Disney’s first black fairy godmother.
“We know how movies can change culture and society, and the impact of films. It’s very powerful,” Lewis said.
“And the young African American coming up right now won’t grow up in a world where there wasn’t a princess Tiana. They will be able to look at this film and say, ‘I’m a princess, too.’”
She even went as far as to correlate the Obama era with the onscreen emergence of Tiana.
“Fortunately – and unfortunately – ideas come at their own time,” Lewis said. “It’s an idea whose time has arrived. It’s here and it’s unstoppable and shows that the world is changing.”
While Tiana is the main character, who is sure to anchor the dreams of countless young black girls, Mama Odie is equally important to the film. She serves as the vessel through which the film’s life lessons are imparted – mainly, through her signature song “Dig a Little Deeper.”
Lewis said, “One of life’s greatest lessons is that the answer – and everything you need – lies within and you can find it inside yourself.”
The Princess and the Frog opens in theatres nationwide on Friday, December 11. The film is rated G with a running time of 95 minutes. For a review, see page C1.
