After completing the work of the first two seasons Big city green space, Natasha Klein is fulfilling her childhood dream of creating her own animated series cousin. Based on Klein’s childhood experience growing up in a multicultural, Mexican-American mixed-race family in Southern California. cousin It tells the story of Tater Ramirez Humphrey, an eccentric girl with ambitious dreams. However, her plans for self-discovery take an unexpected turn when her family invites her 12 cousins to spend the summer together, leading to a wacky and unforgettable adventure.
After addressing initial criticism last year when details of the show were first announced, such as changing the town’s name from Terremoto Heights to Hacienda Hills, the show is poised to be another winner for Disney-branded television. before premiere cousin next week, beat had the opportunity to speak with Klein about this personal passion project.
Taimur Dar: One of the things that strikes me is how much your own specific personal and cultural experiences can resonate, even as a Southeast Asian American like me. I’d love to know if there’s a broad audience cousin Is not sacrificing its cultural identity the goal?
Natasha Klein: Absolutely. I feel like I always wanted to tell this story in a very universal way so that a lot of people can relate to it. Even if you don’t have experience with extended families or aren’t Mexican-American, there’s something there that you can relate to. I just wanted to create relatable characters that were universally lovable.
SCOOTER, CHACHA, LITA, GORDITA, NACHITO, BIG NACHO, TATER, LOLOT, CUSIN BUD, TABI, TERE, TO„ITA, LUCITA
Dahl: One of my favorite authors, Dwayne McDuffie, expressed frustration that minority characters in fiction often carry the burden of representing an entire group. His solution was to present a variety of characters. The fact that Tate is a “non-Saab kid” is unique and rarely seen in pop culture. Any specific characteristics of Mexican Americans that you feel are lacking in media that you proudly display cousin?
Klein: I feel like the “No Saab” experience was something we built into the show from the beginning. This is something that a lot of the writers in the room relate to. We are all excited to tell this story. We also wanted to build a lot of other layers into the character to show different sides of Latinos. All I can think of is Big Nacho, or what we call old “Nakbro.” I like his character because on the surface he’s a big, tough guy. He can even come off as a bit of a bully, especially when [episode] 101 When he gives Tater head noogies. We also want to understand how much tenderness and love he has for his brothers and how he needs his brothers to complete his life’s journey. It’s really fun to show one side of the coin and then naturally be able to reveal the other layers. It’s fun and it’s cool for people to see. If you only look at these characters on the surface, you won’t understand all the layers that go into them.
POP, BUELA, BABY BUD, TATER, BUD, BIBI
Dar: Myrna Velasco voices the protagonist Tater. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her a few times over the years and quickly became a fan of her as a performer. I am excited cousin Not only does this mark her first starring role in a Disney animated series, but it also showcases her incredible talent. I was interested in having Myrna play such an obviously personal character.
Klein: We searched and searched for Tate. This is a very long process. Disney’s casting is fantastic. They typically offer 20-30 auditions for each role. Soon I would find someone in one of those auditions. Tate was the only one that we probably had less than a hundred auditions for. I didn’t find that specific voice in my head. She needed to be comedic but also a little nerdy and be able to withstand those extreme emotions. She needs to be able to leave an impression. There is a lot of demand for Tate. It even comes from my own sales style. I did most of the storyboarding myself. I think there were four episodes that I didn’t contribute. This is what I like to do. I like to make impressions, with an emotional range. When I listened to the audition, that’s what I listened to. Finally, we meet Myrna, who had this strange change during her audition. She read things in a way that no one else had ever done. Sometimes you hear auditions and people will say the same thing over and over in the exact same way. She was the first person who made me think, “Wow, that’s a weird way to put it! There’s something here.” When we brought her in to audition, she was so excited about the audition because, to her, the story really resonated. [She said]”This is my family. This is my race. This story is about me. I feel like I am Tate. Just her connection to the material is really exciting. I’m so glad you’re hers fan, because I think she’s awesome. She really does it all, mostly weird. [Laughs]. I love how weird she gets. She really took it to another level.
Dahl: To me, the sign of a great children’s show is the ability to talk to adults. cousin Definitely qualified. How do you engage children and adults?
Klein: I have to give credit to my writers for that. When we were writing jokes and running our writers room, we would just come up with stuff and everyone would come up with their jokes. Someone would pitch one thing, and then someone would say, “And then there’s this.” Everyone was telling their own joke until the end and we were all laughing because we all told the joke together and now it’s the ultimate joke. We all laughed, we were adults. I think it happens naturally. If it appeals to adults, that’s because it was written by adults. [Laughs]. We’re not trying to tell adult jokes, but we’re trying to make ourselves laugh. I think adults find it funny because we find it funny.
TATER, LITA, NACHITO, CUSIN BUD, SCOOTER, BIG NACHO, TABI, LOLOT, GORDITA, TERE, CHACHA, TO„ITA, LUCITA
Dahl: Finally, while many of the episodes are stand-alone stories, there is clearly a linear narrative and character development. Will the mashed potatoes at the beginning of the season be different from the mashed potatoes we see at the end of the season?
Klein: Absolutely. Tate is going through a very, very subtle arc. That’s intentional. We really thought about that from the beginning. Tate starts out as a more introverted character and hopes to stay that way. She thought this was how she could grow. I think in the end she realized, “I actually have a lot of support around me. So if I become more outgoing and dependent on the people around me and understand the people around me and their specific struggles, then I can understand myself as well. Then maybe grow way of actually existing in the world.
cousin will premiere on Disney Channel on Thursday, July 25 at 8:00 pm ET. The first nine episodes will be available on Disney+ the following day, Friday, July 26.
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