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The Willoughbys marks a major milestone for Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Alessia Cara. It’s her very first animated feature, and her first acting gig, period. Based on the Lois Lowry novel, the film puts the spotlight on four siblings with terrible parents. There’s the eldest, Tim (voiced by Will Forte), the two twins Barnaby A and Barnaby B (Seán Cullen), and Cara’s character, Jane, right in the middle. Whereas Tim is laser focused on the past and honoring the Willoughby family history, Jane is ready and eager to forge forward and carve a new path for her and her brothers.

The Willoughbys is an ensemble film where a significant amount of the roster gets the opportunity to shine and grow, but Cara really is a scene-stealer as Jane. She rocks a winning wit and determination, and – this shouldn’t come as a surprise whatsoever – but she really makes the most of Jane’s love of music.

With The Willoughbys celebrating its big debut on Netflix this week, I got the chance to hop on a Zoom call with Cara to talk about what surprised her most about the voice acting experience, the advice she’d give to someone else taking on their first voice acting gig, if The Willoughbys gave her the itch to continue acting, and so much more!

The Willoughbys is now streaming on Netflix!

Alessia Cara:

Did Cara seek out any advice before jumping into her first acting role?

What did Cara find most surprising about the voice acting process?

It took Cara three years to record this role; what was she recording at the beginning of that process compared to the end?

Cara talks about Jane’s transformation throughout the film, specifically how Nanny influences the character.

Even with all her experience singing, was there any voice technique required here that she found challenging?

Has Cara been bit by the acting bug?

What advice would she give to someone about to jump into their first voice acting role?

Here’s the official synopsis for The Willoughbys: