ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Spy x Family: Code White stars Megan Shipman and Natalie Van Sistine about the anime movie. The duo discussed playing their unique characters and the appeal of the film for newcomers to the series. Spy x Family: Code White is set to premiere in theaters on Friday, April 19.
“He’s a spy. She’s an assassin. Together, Loid and Yor keep their double lives to themselves while pretending to be the perfect family,” reads the film‘s synopsis. “However, their adopted daughter Anya, a telepath, knows both of their exciting secrets unbeknownst to them. While under the guise of taking his family on a weekend winter getaway, Loid’s attempt to make progress on his current mission Operation Strix proves difficult when Anya mistakenly gets involved and triggers events that threaten world peace!”
Tyler Treese: Spy x Family Code White was so much fun. Megan, you get one of the most ridiculous scenes I’ve seen in a movie in a while with the Poop God. What was your reaction when you saw that the series was getting to this next level of goofiness?
Megan Shipman: I died laughing because I didn’t know anything about the movie, as it had come out in December in Japan, but I still hadn’t watched it. I hadn’t seen anything about it. So when we went in to record, I was cackling. I was dying laughing at the absurdity. It’s like they just kept taking this one joke and just kept building and building upon it, and it just got funnier and funnier while maintaining its family-friendliness. You would think, “Oh, how many funny poop jokes can we make that are still family-friendly?” But they really were so creative. It was so great. They were walking a line, and they stayed true to it. I know exactly what scene you’re talking about and it is so fantastic. And I was just dying because I was like, “Wow, this animation is gorgeous, but it’s about toilets.” [Laughs]. But it was amazing.
It’s paired with the most beautiful animation. It’s very Ghibli-esque and beautiful.
Natalie Van Sistine: I’m so excited. You’re hyping me up so much.
Shipman: You’re going to be like, “Wow, this is gorgeous animation.” I can’t wait to see your fight scene; you can’t wait to see my toilet Imagination scene. [Laughs]. It’s crazy. So, yeah, it was done so well, and it’s so genuinely funny, but in a nice way that, like, yeah, “I’ll take my kid to see this.” You know? [Laughs]. I feel like it could be really weird, but they did it so well. It’s so funny. And it’s great. So I can’t wait to watch that on the big screen. [Laughs].
That’ll definitely be a highlight. Natalie, as Megan mentioned, Yor has the biggest fight scene yet in this film. It’s so intense and you’re going up against a super soldier. What was the highlight of getting to act out this very extended sequence that you don’t normally see in a TV episode? There’s been some great action in the past, but this is really next level and sets it apart from truly being a movie compared to just a longer TV episode.
Van Sistine: Yeah. I would say honestly, like you mentioned where it just was next level and the animation was so gorgeous and I’m getting hyped up in the moment and like, “Oh my gosh, I want this to be as cool as possible.” Because I think it’s just insanely cool. I think that was the biggest thing for me, where I’m sitting there going, “Oh, this is amazing. I want to try to live up to this as much as possible.” Just knowing that it’s gotten to that point and it’s getting to that point where we’re building up to that level of stakes … it’s just really cool.
Megan, I wanted to ask specifically about playing Anya, because she’s the only character that knows what’s really going on. She knows all the secrets, but she’s also a small child, so she doesn’t fully comprehend everything and she misinterprets stuff. How is it voicing that innocence of the character? That’s such a great trait of hers.
Shipman: Yeah, it is. She’s such a, well-written child. We were at a convention and Alex [Organ, voice of Loid] was with us and he put it so great. He was like, “The show really works because Anya is just a kid. She is such a well-written child. Yes, she happens to have like this superhuman ability, but she is still just a kid. It doesn’t give her any other fantastical powers. She still has the brain of a child.” [Laughs]. So it’s fun to get to play that where she’s like, “Oh, cool, my mom does this and my dad is a spy and my dog can see the future.” And it just sounds like the ramblings of a child if she ever said it out loud.
People always go, “What would you do? What would everyone do if Anya told everyone the truth?” I’m like, “They would think she was just playing because she’s such a kid.” She has a big imagination and she tells these stories all the time. She tells crazy stories just to seem cool to her classmates. [Laughs]. So I think she’s such a well-written kid while having this knowledge about everyone around her. I think that is just so fun. And it truly is what makes her so perfect and fun to play, because there’s nothing special other than, “Oh wow, I can hear what you’re thinking.” Other than that, it’s like she’s still a five-year-old if she’s even five — allegedly. [Laughs].
Natalie, we talked up the fight scene, which is incredible, but there are so many great character moments throughout this film — especially with Yor and Loid. There are so many cute little romance elements. I’m just screaming at the computer saying, “Get together you two!” [Laughs]. How was it getting to show both sides of the character and having those more sweet moments of insecurity as well?
Van Sistine: I love that aspect about her. To me, the fact that she does have these moments where she’s so strong and competent and able to hold her own against all kinds of crazy bad guys versus her struggle with being able to be vulnerable and explore her feelings and working slowly but surely on overcoming her anxiety around Loid and her relationship with him and Anya. I love that about her. I think it’s what really grounds her and makes her such an accessible and relatable character and where it’s like, she’s not just the cool anime girl character. She also feels like someone that is so realistic. Again, where Anya is this real kid, Yor feels like a real person with insecurities.
Where she’s dealing with this voice in her head that’s constantly telling her that she’s not enough, she’s not normal enough and she has to be normal. And I love how much Loid reaffirms that society’s definition of normal isn’t necessarily the important thing. It’s, “Are you happy? Are we supporting each other? Are we communicating? Are we meeting each other’s needs?” That’s more important than looking and acting normal, especially as long as, again, your goal is to love and support each other as a family. I love that it keeps reinforcing that message home, and I think that’s really one of the strong points of the series. And that carries over into the movie as well.
I think that’s one of the reasons why this series has become such a huge hit. Megan, this franchise has become gigantic, but there are people that haven’t seen it yet. Do you think this is a good starting point for someone to bring in a friend and check out the series for the first time?
Shipman: Yeah. We were just talking about this, about how they do such a great job at the beginning of the movie of giving you a nice quick little recap of, “Hey, this guy does this, this lady does this. They’re married, this is their adopted child who also does this.” They give you a nice little recap of everything and it’s such a simple enough concept where you’re like, “Okay, cool.” That you can go into this movie and watch it and bring your friend along who has seen zero of the show … even the scenes with the kids at school, right? Where she gets her assignment of cooking or whatever — you really don’t have to know everything about those kids because she goes to school and you’re like, “Oh, okay. That’s her friend and that’s the boy who calls her a stinky butt.” [Laughs]. We all have had that experience where you’re like, “Yeah, there’s always that one kid in class who’s just rude.” [Laughs].
So, yeah, I think it’s just such a good starting point and it is such a great great way to get someone into it. If they don’t want to sit down and watch a bunch of episodes at once, it’s like, “Okay, well just watch the movie and if you like this, you could watch a bunch of episodes about the same thing.”
Van Sistine: Yeah, I think this movie and a lot of anime movies serve as a, “If you are thinking about watching this, this is a great way to kind of see if it’s to your taste and if it’s the kind of thing you like, if you’re going to emotionally start to resonate with the characters once they’ve had some momentum going.” So I love that aspect of it a lot.
