When most young actors break into the film industry they’re expected to smile, keep quiet and just be happy that they’re caught up in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. But not Isabela Moner.
Despite being just 17-years-old, Moner has two million followers on Instagram and her box office receipts already total over £710 million. Transformers: The Last Knight and Sicario: Day Of The Soldado preceded her most recent release, Instant Family, which revolves around Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne adopting three troubled young children, the eldest of whom, 15-year-old Lizzy, Moner portrays.
When Instant Family was released in cinemas, it met with critical acclaim from respected publications, such as The Big Issue, that said it was: “a serious-minded, often tear-jerking message movie dressed in oversize clown shoes.”
But in its marketing, it was the comedy elements that were emphasised over its social message.
“It seemed like a completely different movie and honestly, I was a little disappointed in how the put together the previews for the movie,” Moner says.
“It just didn’t capture the heart of it all. It seemed like just another family comedy. It didn’t look as though it took the whole foster adoption care process seriously.”
The film was a passion project of writer/director Sean Anders, whose biggest success so far has been the Daddy’s Home franchise, a more traditional family comedy without the nuance. Instant Family instead was based on his and his wife’s experiences of fostering three young children.
“Sean Anders balanced comedy and drama so well, while still managing to give a realistic experience of what it is like if you ever adopt a child,” Moner says. In order to do here character justice, Moner dove deep into research, and became close friends with a young woman named Maria, who the part is “basically based on.”
“Her mother was a meth-head and she was in foster families for years. You would assume she’s messed up now, right? But she is such a well-rounded young woman, who is educated and smart and funny and doesn’t have trust issues. That really opened my eyes to things in life and showed how wrong we can be about stereotypes.”
The cast and crew decided to cancel the red carpet for Instant Family and donate that money to the Red Cross to help take care of the victims of recent forest fires in Los Angeles.
After Instant Family, Moner decided that her approach to future roles would be determined by the impact and reach they have.
“Having done a movie like this, I have been inspired. On the side I enjoy using my platform to help people, and I hope that’s where movies are heading now. I hope movies can inspire people to do stuff that is greater.”
That includes her title role in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon's epically popular animated preschool series Dora The Explorer, which is entitled Dora And The Lost City Of Gold, heading for cinemas later this summer.
“It is going to be a big blockbuster, a family adventure comedy, but it is also a crazy game changer in in a big way, too. It is all Latinos in the cast. There is a token white guy, when it is usually reversed.”
Moner compares Dora to Will Ferrell’s lovably naïve character Buddy from Elf. However, Moner says Dora shouldn’t be underestimated. “She has this unbreakable strength that is going to change lives and inspire young people to know that they can do more than what they think.”
Instant Family is out now on Blu-Ray, DVD and available digitally online. Dora And The Lost City Of Gold swings into theatres across the U.S.A. on Friday, August 9, 2019 and in cinemas across the U.K. on Friday 16th August 2019.
The latest issue of The Big Issue is available to purchase from street vendors across the U.K. today, with the money raised from every issue going to a very good and worthy cause. You can find out more information about The Big Issue Foundation, a national charity throughout the U.K. which connects vendors with the vital support and solutions that enable them to rebuild their lives and journey away from homelessness and poverty, here on the organisations official website, bigissue.org.uk.
To further celebrate the upcoming theatrical release of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, the actor is gracing the cover of the June/July 2019 issue of Girls’ Life, which features an an-DORA-ble photo of her giving her pup Pluto a kiss!
In the cover story, the 17-year-old star opens up about her adorable canine companion, a three-legged dog whom she adopted whilst filming Dora in Australia, her upcoming Dora the Explorer movie, and more! Check it:
On portraying Dora: “I’ve been called Dora my whole life. It was this ongoing joke between my friends and me that I was Dora—I had the bangs, I’d teach them Spanish. It’s crazy how life works out.”
On her music career: “Acting has always been fun for me, but I still feel like I haven’t found a place where I fit in, and that sounds really sad. But I think it’s because I consider myself more of a musician. That’s where I find true creativity and where I really let myself go. And I get so terrifyingly scared when I play people my music. I write it, I produce it and I sing it. The entire message is by me, and it’s so personal. But I have a lot that I want to say.”
On her rescue dog, Pluto: “He’s got three legs, but he doesn’t let that define him because he’s got a good soul, you know? Pluto is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
For more on Isabela, head over to GirlsLife.com and pick up a copy of the mag, on newsstands now!
Follow the movie online:
Web - dora.movie
Facebook - DoraMovieUK
Twitter - @DoraMovie
Instagram - @DoraMovie
Hashtags: #DoraMovie #DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold
More Nick: Isabela Moner Adopts Three-Legged Dog She Found Whilst Filming 'Dora And The Lost City Of Gold' in Australia!
Additional source Just Jared Jr..
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