Podversations Presents: Magical Rewind | Podversations — Transcript

[Music] iHeart Radio presents pod versations a weekly discussion with the biggest names and influencers in podcasting hello everyone and welcome back to the iHeart podcast speaker

series I'm Greg ashlock president of the iHeart influencer Network standing in for Will Pearson today so it's my distinct honor super excited about this to host the happiest podcast Round Table ever uh about magical rewind it's one of our newest podcasts of the iHeart family it's featuring conversations around iconic wonderful world of Disney Productions and Disney Channel original movies uh it's a walk down Nostalgia Lane and uh and it pretty much puts a smile on everybody's face I know when I started listening to him it did for me uh with us today and part of the Disney DNA are the hosts of the magical rewind so uh will fedell hey how are you uh you may remember will from Boy Meets World uh amongst a million other things that he's done uh and Sabrina Brian Sabrina probably as one of the stars of The Cheetah Girls franchise and a million other things as well uh so guys thanks so much for joining us today to have this conversation about magical rewind thank you for having us our pleasure this is so exciting we have started this podcast what feels like so long ago just because our level of anticipation and excitement to get it out there for the fans and uh now we're here and it's just it's so incredible that we're we we're iHeart has welcomed us with like the biggest Open Arms I just it's been so magical already we're we're super excited to have you in the family and the you know we just met for the first time you know a few minutes ago and when you both popped on the screen and you're smiling from ear to ear I wouldn't have expected anything different from the host of magical rewinds so uh ready to jump in if you guys are can we jump in so everybody can get to know a little bit more about this podcast and about the two of you let's do it let's do it so will I'm gonna

start with you I'm always so curious when there's a podcast that comes out like this I'm how did the idea start like how did this all come about can you give us a little bit of a background on that I can so I was doing another show called pod Meets World and by the way you won't say it but ridiculously successful like it came of the G has been doing very very well thank you yes we've been we we partnered with iHeart we we're all deliriously happy with how well pot has been doing and um we started to get more and more we we've also do live shows and we're doing conventions and especially at the conventions more and more people were asking me about My Date With the President's Daughter which is a movie that I did for wonderful world of Disney back in 1997 it's had this amazing Resurgence and um I was so I a big fan of podcasts I listen to them every day if I'm not recording them which now I am more often than not and I was on a walk with my dog which is where I always listen to my podcasts and I just started think yeah just started thinking about wonderful world of Disney and my date with the president's daughter and then I started thinking about all these old school Disney movies and I literally on the walk shut off I think I was listening to a pod Meets World edit that we were doing so we also have to listen to our to edit everything down so was listening to an edit and I paused it and called Amy Sugarman on the walk and said hey I got something I think I want to rewatch wonderful world of Disney's and she went I love that idea now we got to find you a co-host literally that fast it was that quick um and that's how it started I mean that's the you know you know not to not to to denigrate the industry in any way shape or form because it's an industry I've been in my entire life and I love but the industry's changed a lot and um a lot of times when you're dealing with giant corporations like Disney or anything like that you come up with an idea and you can't even get a no for a year um whereas with the thing that I love about iHeart and Amy and all the people were working with is she was like this is great let's let's do this I love this

and it was that fast and yeah it's like the resources of a of a big Legacy company but the the mentality of a startup and and Amy is an activator so she just jumps on things which that's what we love about Amy but so let me ask you a question was the Catalyst though the confidence you got from pod Meets World that like there is a Marketplace for this there is a passion for this content that I didn't realize existed and so I think that there's a even a larger Marketplace for us to expand into it yes it was definitely it was definitely helpful you know knowing how how I mean first of all P Meets World Boy Meets World we have the greatest fans in the world we always have they've been so loyal to us they've stuck with us for 30 years they're coming back to us in droves for uh pod Meets World we're just having so much fun um but the that coupled with the Resurgence for My Date With the President's Daughter because we knew we wanted to start with that movie and then when Amy called me and said we talked about co-hosts we talked about different people how we were going to go what direction we were going to go and Amy called me and said have you heard of The Cheetah Girls and I went of course I've heard of The Cheetah Girls everybody's heard of The Cheetah Girls and she went how about Sabrina and before she finished the name I was like perfect that's perfect we're got we're in we're good and that was it so let me ask let me ask you about that I love how quick that all happened but I gotta back up because when I listened to your first episode Because by the way it it's only been on for a few weeks yeah and so like when you did your first episode I didn't know that the two of you hadn't worked together or didn't know each other like personally So I listened and I thought that the chemist istry and just kind of like the connectivity was that something you guys had to work on a while is it just natural because to me it felt like that you guys have been friends for a while if you listen in yeah well so I was lucky enough to get the call and was given you know kind of the the groundwork of what this new podcast idea was and that it would be with Will Ferell and I'm like Boy Meets World uh yes I will take that meeting are you kidding me I know what they doing with um you know their their podcast you know I mean pod Meets World is is giant I I think on the I went and did a little bit on their actual podcast and I was the one that let them know they actually have a radio advertised with that I had been listening I had heard in the morning several times on KISS FM which is the radio station I listen to in the morning on my way to work or you know out taking my kids to school things like that and they didn't even know that it was on which was so funny on their we have a radio we have a radio spot she's like yeah I hear it every morning I hear it um and so anyway I had known about the podcast obviously grew up I was a Disney kid through and through I watched the channel probably every day after school and so I grew up on Boy Meets World and you know loved it and I've Loved how they've transitioned that into a podcast and being able to go back back and one of the things that we love doing on the podcast is kind of letting the the viewers dive into the fact that we haven't known each other for a long time we are getting to know each other and through these movies and rewatching and getting each other's reactions and learning about each other we've become friends throughout the process and that was something we were really adamant from the beginning is you know we had only talked a few times then we met actually face to face at a photo shoot and through that we were talking about we didn't want it to feel disingenuine we wanted it to be very organic and we weren't going to try to put a cross that we've known each other for years and um talked about that get to know you process should definitely be a part of the podcast but after the first taping everyone all the producers from iHeart that were listening in were saying it it sounds like you guys have known each other for years like your Chemistry it was so easy it it felt like talking back to a friend that I've had for a while and you know still learning about him he you know he's not a big fan of musicals

I'm a giant fan of musicals and so you know we we talk about that in the in our

podcast of what draws Us in and and you know what's special to us and how we can kind of banter back and forth of those kinds of things and he's got a great sense of humor he's so hilarious he has me cracking up the whole time and so it's just been so easy yeah and it shows that you guys both have a passion for the project too like when you start talking about the films that you're going to talk about today both of you kind of light up on the air like you can hear your voice getting excited to share some of the experiences and it's great that you guys have this common passion uh behind behind the podcast well it's also you know what as for you know just piggybacking off of what Sabrina said you know pod Meets World one of the reasons that people love pod Meets World much is because they can tell that we grew up together you know Daniel Ryder and I have known each other for 30 years it's effortless we're family and we're using that word properly a lot of people throw that word around but we really are Sabrina and I met and we as we were talking the first time we were like we can't fake this you can't fake hey we've known each other forever and this is the way it's going to be it's like so let's go exactly the opposite let's let people know we don't know each other let's let people know especially when it comes to these movies that are movies you watch as a kid we're like 10 12 years apart even a little bit farther that's night and day when it comes to to Disney Channel and the movies that you watch so my Disney Channel movies and Disney movies that I grew up with are different than her Disney Channel movies and what she grew up with and so we were like let's lean into that let's lean into the getting to know you process because everyone people aren't stupid and and and fans of podcast especially aren't stupid and they can tell when you're faking it so it's like we're not gonna We're not gonna fake this we're gonna just get to know each other the entire time I'm going to be sometimes the Crogan old guy going what the music's too loud I don't understand this movie and and she's sometimes gonna be going God this this movie is so old I don't understand that's and we wanted that to be what people experience so as we're getting to know each other that's happening more and more well it's it's working and by the way Sabrina you brought something up that I have to stop down on that part about you hearing it on KISS FM that's actually our secret sauce that I to is that we've got this massive broadcast network to tell people about the amazing podcast that we have so it's this built-in marketing engine and so I love the how you discovered it like that's awesome so it's just exactly how it was I was driving and went what I need to hear this you know and I'm like cool so I definitely clicked on and started sub it subscribed it worked 100% I am like so Soul that's great all right so let me let me keep going let me let me keep us going here Sabrina what was it like I think a lot of people would be interested in this growing up in the Disney family like from an Insider's perspective what can you share with us you know to be because there's this you know this expectation that Disney does things a certain way like what can you share about that you know I I loved being a part of the family I I Disney puts out nothing but good messaging and you know even at a younger age you knew that you were a part of you know for the Cheetah Girls We we were a part of kind of the beginning of a girl power movement you know just really leaning into inspiring young girls um but another part of my experience was before I had been auditioning I had guest starred on several different things um you know within the channel and or on ABC and um you walk around the the stage and you would see so many of the young actors that were what's called triple thr so they were they weren't just acting they could dance they could sing there was just so many of them especially when I joined the channel and at the time Cheetah Girls was really the first big Musical that they put on as a decom And yet when youd walk around obviously the sets there were so many of them that could do M they were multifaceted to really lean in and give their Channel stars opportunities to sing on um you know albums like Disney Mania which was a full soundtrack of Disney Channel stars that were remaking movies from the Disney you know cartoon movies the classic that the actual animated movies and they were redoing them in their own way you know whether they're making a song into a rock song or a fast song into a slow song and so that was kind of the beginning of all of that and then it comes to high school Musical and now descendants which by the way I've said it so many times I am such a huge fan of The Descendants now and that's from magical rewind podcast literally I've never watched it before and now I'm a giant fan I love all I can't wait to watch all of them but now you're looking at the channel and they have so many artists Olivia Rodrigo I mean it's like insane to know that I was at like the beginning part of that so um you know being a part of the dis channels like being a part of iHeart it it's a giant huge mega machine that just knows how to do it right and that that's one thing about the Disney Channel that I will always be appreciative that I got a chance to work with a company that just Nails it out of the park every time was there like training and education was it more like being part of a university than it was like okay just this episode was there that go to Disney school go to Disney school yeah kind of or no um I don't know did you feel that will I I I feel like as you go along you got better as I went along I would be around other you know Channel stars that knew how to do press better knew how to you know how to walk the red carpet a little bit better but it was kind of trial and erir that there this certainly wasn't like a sitdown school process but I think being around you know when you come across somebody who's been on the channel longer you kind of watch how they do it and start sort of get your own own stride but you know learn from each other because we were all you know so many people on the channel as you're working are just so young and a lot of times it's like your first big thing to do so a question for both of you when you have your guests on is it you know for the Disney does it feel more like a fraternity and sorority of like friends instead of guests you call them guests but are they really because it seems like it's a small world that you know everybody kind of knows each other it is you know what's funny is is it's there's there's two kind of schools going together two fraternities going together because you have the one that's certainly the Disney family and when you're in that Disney Family it is you get the secret handshake and it's like you're going from one fraternity to another across the country but you're still you've you've gone through the same thing so you know each other but then on top of that you also have the added fraternity of being um a child actor so there's there's kind of the the double hey we've we've been there we know what you've been through um good and bad because there there's parts of being a child actor that are the best Mo the greatest thing you could ever have in your life it is phenomenal there's parts that are really really terrible and then there's everything in between um so when you're you're dealing with people that have some of the same life experiences even if they're younger than you older than you there is that kind of wink in a nod of hey you know I've been there I mean William Daniels who played Mr feny on boy M's World 90 got to be 90 7 years old he still gives us the kind of hey I was a child actor I've been there you know he'll say that to us so that's something that it does it bonds you and the second you uh bring on any of these guests we've talked to people from Brink we've talked to people from The Descendants we've talked to people I mean doesn't matter who we bring on you're starting from a place of I know what you've been through I know it's like I know how much fun it is I know this kind of some of the stories you have so let's get into it so there is that kind of comad that's instantly built in when these guests come on that's yeah you can feel it there feels

like a just a natural camaraderie that

you have um two uh two quick things one

is um one question for you will and then

we'll we'll U bring a question to both

of you how different is it rewatching and talking about films now at a different stage in life than when you went through it because when you were talking about my date with the

president's daughter you're like I

haven't seen that film in like years years but it was such a big film for you how different is it rewatching and now than what you thought you know when you saw it 10 15 years ago yeah I had not seen my date with the president's daughter I think since it came out or close to it so that was 97 so almost 30 years um it's strange I always tell people it's it's like watching it's like you have home movies but they're home movies of you that everybody got to see so when you see you know when you watch your home movie your birthday parties when you're eight nine years old you don't remember the party you don't remember even the video but you might have memories of what present you got I mean there's so that's what it's like watching these movies is or watching Boy Meets World when we do that where you don't necessarily remember the shooting you don't remember the episode but you might remember something that happened on the set that day you might remember uh oh yeah that's right that guest star and I ended up going out one time we had a date or we had dinner so it brings back something to where then it opens a whole new line memories um it's it's very interesting um to see to to because you're watching them it is it's I I have home movies from the time I started professionally acting at 10 years old to now that I can turn on and stream whenever I want and it's really kind of an interesting an interesting whole new experience yeah I think really is I think that's definitely something that our podcast is really a little bit different for us because we have our own experiences like that so we have a little bit more Intel when we bring those guests on to ask them like we know other stuff happened on Backstage you know what was this like or when you were filming at that you know location or you know will talking about one in our first episode he talks about how exciting he was how excited he was to work with the giant actor so when we know that someone else has done that you know we ask that question you know whether it was in that movie or not because that we know from experience when it was our time how big it was for us in our career at the moment what we learned from it so I think with our podcast we get to bring that special element versus it just being rewatching the movies maybe having a guest on kind of going through it but to not really have that experience yourself that's something that I feel is a little just extra Sparkle that we bring to our podcast and the one thing Disney does almost better than anybody else is no matter when you watch one of their movies you're gonna get something different out of it so if you're eight years old you're watching a movie you're going to get one thing if you're 15 you're going to get something else if you're 25 you're going to get something else if you're 47 you're G to get something else so every time you watch these these movies or these TV shows that Disney is putting out it Chang when I was watching Boy Meets World back in the day I was identifying with my character and Corey because they're closest an age when I'm watching them now I'm identifying with the parents eventually God willing I'm going to be old enough to then be identifying with Mr feny you just everything you watch you're you're watching from the generation that that you are at the time and that's one thing that Disney does almost better than anybody else so I had never seen these decom so now I'm watching Through The Eyes of the parents as opposed to watching the eyes of the kids it's or there's things that you you pick up on when we're watching Brink I'm I'm asking why is that kids helmet not locked in where is the safety patrol you know and it it brings like a funny element because you're you're thinking and I probably never noticed and if I did notice when I was watching it back in the day I probably thought it was cool now I'm like somebody get on that kid and buckle his freaking helmet you know so those kinds of things that add a little bit of a funny twist to it because we are seeing it in a totally different set of eyes this time around hey last question uh just because we're running out of time and so you guys can answer this one uh either one of you um or both scripted versus unscripted you've done both like your thoughts and preferences like I'm I'm just curious for somebody that grew up we know you from a scripted world but now you've played an unscripted like I'd love to hear your thoughts um I I'll go first because I Will's got so much more experience than I do this is super new for me on the podcast world I love it I first of all love that I'm in my own home and I'm able to not I don't have to drive all the way to La that part is amazing but I feel really free and able to to express my my thoughts my opinions keep it fun keep it light that's how I am you know super laidback I will say differently on unscripted when I was on Dancing With the Stars I didn't love that part so much there was a lot more um because I was on like a competition show I felt really guarded because that was also the first time I did the show was when they first started having chat forums and I was dumb enough to go in one and check it out and you know what I would say on camera seemed a little bit more competitive than what I wanted it to come across you know things like that so I felt really guarded here especially because there is no competition we are just here to have fun and and you know bring back the incredible memories I feel so free and able to really just kind of be myself on camera I obviously love acting that's what got me in the industry I love portraying a character but I'm having the time of my life doing this and I'm so thankful that IH heart's given me this opportunity because I feel like I've been doing this like that I that I found a niche that I never realized I would love so much that's great anything you would add to that will or same thoughts script scripted is a great way to disappear into another character unscripted is a great way to disappear more into yourself that's how I would say it nice see look at that I I feel like you had prepared for that you didn't even know you didn't even know what the question was gonna be but I feel like that's pretty good I listen really enjoyed the conversation with both of you today um looking forward to future episodes thank you so much for joining us and for everybody that was able to join and and listen in today thank you and we'll see you again next week bye thanks everybody thank you pod versations is a production of iHeart Radio you can find more from the biggest names in podcasting on the iHeart Radio App or wherever you get your podcast