Nathalia Ramos was drawn to the role of Yasmin because she feels like Yasmin is a kindred spirit because so much of her character resonates in her real life.
“Yasmin comes from a very mixed family— she’s Latin and Jewish which is a really unique combination but ironically that’s what I am. My father’s from Spain and Catholic and my mom is from Australia and Jewish. I can relate to Yasmin because she really loves music and wants to sing. The difference between us is that Yasmin is really shy about singing but I love performing,” Nathalia says with a hearty laugh.
“Yasmin is also very independent and self-minded. She knows what she wants. She loves journalism and she also desperately wants to sing but has crippling stage fright. I think a lot of kids will identify with her because everyone has fears and wants to overcome them.”
“Jade is very feisty with lots of attitude,” offers Janel Parrish “She’s very stubborn and says what’s on her mind at the particular moment. But that’s why her friends love her: because she just says how it is. She’s bi-racial — her mom’s is Asian and very traditional and wants Jade to focus on her academics but Jade wants to be a fashionista. She leads kind of a double life where she goes to school wearing mom-approved outfits but as soon as she gets there she’ll change into something “Jade-ified,” as we call it on set. She’ll cut up clothes, put blue streaks in her hair— she’s a bit rebellious. I can relate to Jade because I’m bi-racial and I know what it’s like to have to struggle with the traditional influences of one culture and then kind of wanting to be yourself and step outside the box. When I was younger I went through the some of the same kind of things that Jade goes through. But now that I’m a bit older, I think I’ve found the balance.”
For Logan Browning, she explains that maybe in some aspects, Sasha and herself have six degrees of separation.
“Sasha is African American and she’s a cheerleader.. She’s not very outspoken but she’s a leader. She’s very glamorous and has great fashion sense but she doesn’t follow trends — she has style because trends come and go. So she wears what she wants and what she wants says a lot about her. Sasha and I both love to dance and I was once a cheerleader so we’re similar in that way. Differences, I’m not glamorous I just throw on whatever I feel good in, I’m really laid back when it comes to clothes.”
Skyler Shaye says there are some talents that her character Cloe has that she wouldn’t mind having and others she’s a dead ringer for. “I’m not really very athletic so I’d love to be like the girls’ equivalent to David Beckham ¬— that would be awesome. Cloe like me can be a little clumsy and I’m not a dancer so I had to work really hard to get the dance moves down in the musical numbers.”
For Arad, celebrating diversity and having characters that represent the multi-ethnicity and various socio-economic realities in our backyard is what he is most inspired by and takes the most joy in. “What we have here is the League of Nations with a passion for fashion. More importantly however, the movie offers everyone a place to talk about what does it mean to believe in yourself and we explore that in a backdrop of fun, music, dance and fashion.
“For me what’s really important when you make a movie for this age group is leaving them with something. It’s not being preachy but I believe that the thing that kids need the most is self-esteem and unfortunately I don’t think they get enough in the schoolyard. If kids come out of this movie feeling good and feeling better about each other saying, ‘I wish I hadn’t done that to this girl last year’…if we can make them think about the way they behave, that’s a victory.”
What excites Paul is providing audiences with a film everyone can see together. “I know that young kids are really going to like the four girls and everything they stand for. They’re going to enjoy the acting, the singing and dancing but what I’m really looking forward to is that the whole family will be able to see this film and all come out having had a good time.”
“BRATZ is pure family fun. It’s a feel good movie about empowerment and I think people of all ages are going to love it because it’s a family film with a lot of heart and a lot of laughter,” adds McNamara.
And what do the BRATZ themselves say, “This film has tons of laughter, awesome music, amazing fashion and is a great story about friendship — this movie is all about BRATITUDE!”
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