Pitbull discusses voicing Bufo
The creators of ICE AGE and RIO will reveal a hidden world unlike any other in an all new 3D CG action-adventure comedy. EPIC tells the story of a battle raging all around us between the forces of good, who protect nature, and the forces of evil, who wish to see it destroyed. When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and unique characters to save their world…and ours.
Recording artist Pitbull discusses his latest role of Bufo and making the transition from Music to Film…
What do you want your film roles to say about you?
As far as the roles that I pick, the beautiful thing is songs are just like roles in movies. If you do a great song, then people really believe that that’s you in that record list you’re singing which half of the records I do is believe me, it’s me, but what I mean by the role, if you play a role to a tee, then you make someone feel like either you’re the bad guy or you’re really that hustler or you’re really that hero or that romantic, so with the roles that I pick I just hope that we play them to a tee. And making sure that when we do play them, we’re not always going to knock it out of the park, we’re going to learn from each role just like we learn from Bufo in this movie Epic and to be able to animate something, see your voice come out through a cartoon or an animation, for me it was very surprising on how I would act. It actually made me happy, emotional and surprised all at the same time.
Did you have a good time playing the voice role?
Man, I’m always having a good time and to be involved with something like Epic, this kind of franchise, and the people in it, you know, Beyoncé, Steven, Colin, is, it’s epic.
What attracted you to the film?
When it came across the people that were involved, behind the scenes, I didn’t know other actors or artists that were going to be involved, but the story, I just related to the story because there’s things I grew up around, let’s just say, Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets like an Avatar, so to me, it was going to be funny, fun and action all at the same time. Man, what more can you ask for? That equals success to me.
What is the message of the film?
That’s exactly what it is. Epic. It’s a little bit of everything in this. For one, it goes to show you, you should always believe, you should always fight for what you believe in and at the same time, it goes to show you that we never know what might be out there and you don’t know who might be watching us and there’s so many things out there that we could learn from. I think that sums up the four letter word, epic.
Is it important for you to make careful choices regarding the films that you want to be part of?
I think it’s always very important to make careful choices about everything that you’re involved in, not just films. I think kids, when they watch you, that is your audience. Those are the guys, in the music business, they call them A and R’s who pick records for artists or pick artists for records and pick their careers basically. To me, the kids are the best A and R’s that’s out there. They’re the ones that understand talent. Why? Because they relate, for one. They’re real and they always tell you the truth so with that I know that the Bufo character is something that’s already catching their ear because I’m having little kids make fun of me already, telling me, pooper of parties, and shooting little lines at me from the movie, or from the trailer so I can’t wait until it does hit the living rooms and those kids are watching it and know every word to a tee, so I can be walking through the street and they won’t even know me as Pitbull, they’ll know me as Bufo. Man, I’m game. I love it. I think it’s amazing.
Was it a calculated decision to do this film and alter your image?
No, it wasn’t about being calculated. It was about always having fun and going with your gut. Epic, I feel is going to be an amazing franchise and as far as if you look at, the reason that there’s a Bud Light commercial that shows a certain image, the reason I do ads with marquee brands is to create a marquee brand and show people what it is to grow and create other opportunities for us as a culture, let’s just say. As far as the movie, it just goes to show you that the brand is versatile. You can do the ads, you can do the movies, you can do the music. And that in turn shows you a true entrepreneur, I would say and someone that is building a legacy little by little.
Does a project like Epic make the transition from music to film easier?
Well, the biggest risk you take is not taking one. Is it a little easier transition for a recording artist, absolutely. Did I learn as far as the fact of person that was feeding me the lines how they envisioned my voice on the animation before they even could put it together? I thought that was ten and I think it’s the perfect lead way into what we got coming up in Hollywood whether it be TV shows and things that we’re talking about doing which is partnering up, owning, at the same time, acting and creating an empire little by little.
Is this a watershed moment for Latino artists?
I think we’ve, as far as the coach in us, Latin and Latino, Latinas, nosotros, we’ve always been here. Now, when you look at Denzel Washington, do you say he’s a great Black actor? No. He’s a great actor. When you look at Will Smith, do you say that? Do you say he’s a great Black actor? No, you don’t, so I think that we’ve got to be careful when we say, oh, Latinos are here. Do I think I’m a great artist, someone that works very hard? Yeah, it doesn’t make me a Latin artist. So we’ve got to be careful how we box ourselves in. We’re here, we’re just as good as everyone else, everyone else is just as good as us. The good thing is, is that, I think we have a lot to learn as a culture, but also to give as a culture and all this does is open the doors and show everybody that as much as you think we’re different, we’re really all the same one way or another. It’s crazy.
What is it like playing a Judas in this movie?
Well, that goes to show you, some people use the word manipulate, I use the word navigate. Bufo navigates his way, the forest is his business and it just goes to the perfect term. It’s business, not personal.
Why should audiences see this film as a family adventure?
As a family adventure, and it being Epic, it’s quite simple. What better than to go to a movie and have the beautiful voice of Beyonce, the crazy voice of Steven Tyler and I would say the strong hero voice of Colin Farrell and the slick smooth voice of some guy named Pitbull and I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s sophisticated. The parents can enjoy it and the kids are going to love it, so go out there and make any weekend or any weekday that y’all are going to the movies and make it Epic.
EPIC IS OUT NOW ON 3D BLU-RAY, BLU-RAY AND DVD