Hi there, I hope this note finds you well! I wanted to let you know about an amazing family vacation package that I recently came across. It's called the Magic Springs family vacation package. Magic Springs is a popular theme park and water park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It offers a wide range of thrilling rides, exciting attractions, and fun-filled water slides, making it the perfect destination for families looking to have a memorable vacation. The Magic Springs family vacation package includes accommodation at a nearby hotel, park admission for the duration of your stay, and various additional perks and benefits. It's a comprehensive package that takes care of all your needs, allowing you to focus solely on enjoying your time at the park.
Follow STRANGE MAGIC on Vine: @StrangeMagic
Understanding the world the Sunny lives in and what he is like was a challenge, he is sort of the nucleus of the whole operation, pulling everybody together, and trying to save the day, and messing up the day , which he says is kind of like himself in real life. He wanted to bypass the whole process since they already worked together on Red Tails, but after going to two or three auditions, he landed the part.
It's a comprehensive package that takes care of all your needs, allowing you to focus solely on enjoying your time at the park. One of the main highlights of the package is unlimited access to both the theme park and the water park. This means that you can enjoy all the rides and attractions to your heart's content without any restrictions.
Chatting with Elijah Kelley About His Role As Sunny in Strange Magic #StrangeMagicEvent
I am very excited about the new Strange Magic movie. I really enjoyed it! I will be posting my review of the movie tomorrow so keep an eye out for that. While we were at Skywalker Ranch for the #StrangeMagicEvent we had the pleasure of meeting Elijah Kelley who voices Sunny the Elf in the Strange Magic Movie.
Elijah was such a delight to meet. He is so happy and took the time to hug each and every one of us 25 bloggers! He even let us all take selfies with him.
Since Elijah’s character Sunny sings in the movie he performed live just for us! It was a mash up of 3 Little Birds & Say Hey songs which are in the movie. Here is a small part of the performance he did for us.
The video I took doesn’t do it justice. He sounded amazing live, and the sound didn’t quite record as well using my phone. But he is so very talented. Not to mention what a fun entertainer he is while he sings. It was such a fun time!
Then we were able to sit down and hear from Elijah about his work and experience on the Strange Magic movie and more! THE BELOW INTERVIEW CONTAINS A FEW MOVIE SPOILERS!
Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to voice Sunny?
Elijah: I’ve never done a voiceover before in my life, so it was a little bit of a challenge because he’s hyper and super into everything that he always does. So I thought that it was gonna be so easy; I thought it was gonna be a piece of cake. But I would go in there and guarantee you, I would leave lightheaded and sweaty from all the running and everything. It was like P90X. But bringing it to life and understanding the world that Sunny lives in, and understanding that he’s sort of the nucleus of trying to get everything together, and pulling everybody together. And trying to save the day, and messing up the day, it’s a lot like me.
Yeah, he was the driving force of the movie in a lot of ways because he loved Dawn, and he was willing to, to go for it.
Elijah: Yeah, love is the proper thing.
Are there any themes in the movie that you relate to or think people will connect with?
Elijah: I think that people will connect for fighting for what you love. Everybody goes through a lot of trouble to be able to grasp the love of their life, and I think that love is so complicated. The wiring of love is just so weird and the fact that people can go to the ends of the Earth to capture something like that is very inspirational. It’s an animation, but the subject matter is universal and it’s timeless. Whether we’re talking about a divide in America or we’re talking about what’s going on over in Paris, not to be so serious but, love eradicates a lot of those issues.
I think that’s a great point. I think what we see happening in the movie is that love is a really powerful force of change.
Elijah: Right.
Because we have these two kingdoms that have this division and this kind of beef between them, so to speak, and because two of the characters are able to fall in love, everyone’s able to come together.
Elijah: Understanding and conversation. It’s like when the Bog King finally had a conversation with his mom, and she set up the whole place, and they (Marianne & Bog King) went in and they were like, we hate all the same things. So now we can love all the same things so, you know, so our common interest in what we don’t like. You know, love can be spawned from so many different things.
Right, in that scene they really let their guards down, and then they’re able to connect and heal, essentially, after what they’ve both been through which is heartbreak. And then bring everybody else together. It’s also just so great seeing what Sunny and Dawn go through.
Elijah: Yeah, I think that was the most human characteristic of the movie. I know probably everybody in this room has been around somebody that you just look up and you find yourself attracted to; you don’t even know how to say it or what to say.
And you’re a little out, out of your league.
Elijah: Right, so it’s like, I don’t even know how to function in this relationship, but you know, give it time. Sunny got his little kiss at the end, his little groove on at the end.
Yeah, because he- Sunny was the one she really loved.
Elijah: Yeah.
So you’re a quadruple threat, Elijah. You’re not only a great actor, dancer, and philanthropist, but today we experienced your amazing singing. Can you tell us a little bit about your background as a singer, and what was your favorite song to perform in Strange Magic?
Elijah: Well, actually my favorite song in Strange Magic isn’t there anymore. It was a song called Hold On, I’m Coming. But my favorite song in the movie is not even a full song. It’s when the the little birdies, they sing, Gotcha Looking So Crazy Right Now. That’s seriously my favorite part.
My musical background started in church. I grew up in church all my life. My mom was in ministry; my dad was in ministry. We had a traveling singing group that we go all around the southeast to different churches and we would just sing and congregate.
And where did you grow up?
Elijah: I grew up in a small town called LaGrange, Georgia. It’s about forty-five minutes south of Atlanta, right on the Georgia/Alabama line.
How much did you improvise in the roll?
Elijah: It was a lot. They were so gracious in allowing you bring the character to life in your way. The funny thing was, the first time I came up here, all the elves in the forest, everybody looked the same. They were little white elves. And I was like, okay, somebody’s gonna have to get some tanning lotion, put in a super soaker and just spray everybody. You wanna put a little flavor in there, put a little swag in there; I think Sunny has that.
I would like to know what characteristics you have yourself that are similar to your character?
Elijah: Sunny doesn’t quit. I’ll tell you a, a bit of personal information. Uh, like, over the Christmas holidays, both my laptops were stolen; hard drives were stolen, all of this stuff, and I had to do these police reports and everything. And literally everything that I have worked on in 2014 had seemingly vanished. I had to sit down; still myself and this is a quality about him. Once you understand that there’s a task at hand, you can’t stop until that task is finished. So throughout adversity, throughout trial, you have to keep going, and I think that’s something that Sunny carries.
What’s the difference between doing a voice for an animated feature versus like what you did in Hairspray or even singing?
Elijah: The difference between doing a voiceover in a movie and a real movie is you can literally look horrible. You can look like crap. You can just go in the studio and just be the most disgusting looking person ever, but nobody will ever see you. But Hairspray, you’ve gotta do hair and makeup. I wore a big, thick mustache for Red Tails. That’s pretty much the difference. The aesthetic of the work that goes into it, I really feel like voiceover is a bit more difficult because you’re creating a universe, and you’re reacting to a universe that you don’t get to see. And that’s really, really difficult.
How did you get involved in the project?
Elijah: The first time I heard about it, what was it, like, four years ago? Maybe five? I heard through the grape vine that Mr. Lucas was doing this movie and he sent me to an audition. I think I auditioned maybe two or three times and I made the cut.
Since you worked with George on Red Tails, what is it that you love working about working with George Lucas?
Elijah: I’m glad you asked that question because I never really get to tell him. George has surpassed, he surpassed, I think what we are on Earth. He’s become an idea. It’s like every time I come here, I get so inspired because everything that we’re sitting on, everything that we drove up on was spawned from an idea. And when you have an idea that you’re convicted about, and you can change the world from that idea, you don’t stray away from it, and you dedicate your life to that idea.
So every time I’m around him, it reinvigorates the passion for art in me that it only takes one thing. It only takes one idea. It only takes one thought to pretty much change your universe, and that’s why I love working with him because I’m constantly reminded of that. Thanks, George.
I know that in films like this, a lot of times they’ll film the actors while you’re recording your voices and incorporate your gestures and facial expressions and performance into the animated character. Did you see a lot of yourself showing up in facial expressions and gestures and personality?
Elijah: There were these two small cameras that we had while we were filming, and so they- it did capture a lot of our facial expressions and motions and all of that stuff. So yeah, you’re exactly right.
Was it weird seeing your facial expressions and such on a character that doesn’t look like you?
Elijah: The whole process is weird. Honestly, I’m not over it yet. Being that this is only the second time I’ve seen the movie. On film you get used to yourself. You can see yourself in a different character. They literally bring your voice to life. And so all you do is talk and sing, and they do everything else. It’s really amazing.
What are you doing next?
Elijah: I’m producing an album right now for a group- it’s a Somalian duo- their names are called Faarrow. They’re the first young ladies from their country to get an international record deal and they’re signed to Warner Bros. I’m producing, songwriting and I’m working on my own album.
I know that you’re a philanthropist, but I don’t know much about what your philanthropy work is, can you explain?
Elijah: I have a foundation; the Elijah Kelley Foundation. And basically what we do is I try to be a liaison between underprivileged kids back from where I’m from and their dreams in arts and entertainment. And so during the tenure that we’ve had the non-profit, I’ve given out, four scholarships over the last five years, with students from low-income housing that are going on to pursue careers in performing arts. From the Savannah College of Art and Design to, there’s a very small, great art school in Georgia called Gordon College.
What a charismatic and fun guy he is! It was great hearing all about his role in Strange Magic as well as the work he is doing to give back. Here is the selfie we got with Elijah.
And the group photo with Elijah Kelley, George Lucas, & Gary Rydstrom.
Here is a clip from the Strange Magic movie of Sunny (Elijah) singing!
Strange Magic arrives in theaters THIS FRIDAY, Jan 23rd!
Follow STRANGE MAGIC on Twitter, #StrangeMagic #StrangeMagicEvent
Follow STRANGE MAGIC on Vine: @StrangeMagic
Check out the trailer for Strange Magic…
As in most films, there was a written script and pre-defined characters in the movie. Strange Magic Director Gary Rydstrom was gracious enough to allow Kelley to exercise a little creative freedom with his lines and expressions. “Gary, they were so gracious in allowing you bring the character to life in your way. The funny thing was, the first time I came up here, all the elves, you know, in the forest, like, they were all- everybody looked the same, they were little white elves. And I was like, okay, somebody’s gonna have to get some tanning lotion, put in a super soaker and just spray everybody.” That’s how Sunny got his color on screen, he was able to put a little flavor and a little swag into the character!
From heart-pounding roller coasters to refreshing water slides, there's something for everyone in the family to enjoy. Additionally, the package also includes exclusive early entry to the parks, allowing you to beat the crowds and make the most of your time at Magic Springs. This is especially beneficial if you want to experience the most popular rides without long wait times. Furthermore, the package offers discounted rates on food and drinks within the park, which can be a great cost-saving opportunity for families. You can enjoy delicious meals, snacks, and refreshing beverages without breaking the bank. To top it all off, the package also includes complimentary parking, which is always a plus when visiting a popular theme park. It saves you the hassle of finding parking and also eliminates the need to pay exorbitant parking fees. Overall, the Magic Springs family vacation package is a fantastic choice for families looking to have a fun-filled and hassle-free vacation. It offers everything you need, from accommodation to park admission and additional perks, all at a great value. So, if you're planning a family vacation and want to make unforgettable memories, I highly recommend considering the Magic Springs family vacation package. Best regards, [Your Name].
Reviews for "Magic Springs and Beyond: Exploring Nearby Attractions during your Family Vacation Package"
1. Emma Thompson - 2 out of 5 stars - I was really disappointed with the Magic Springs family vacation package. First of all, the accommodations were far from satisfactory. The hotel room was dirty and in need of maintenance. Additionally, the package advertised exclusive access to certain attractions but when we arrived, we were told the passes were sold out. Communication between the package organizers and guests was lacking and it left us feeling frustrated. Overall, I would not recommend this package to anyone looking for a magical family vacation experience.
2. John Smith - 1 out of 5 stars - My family and I had high hopes for the Magic Springs family vacation package, but it turned out to be a complete letdown. The advertised activities and entertainment were not as exciting as we expected. The park was overcrowded, lines were long, and many of the rides were not operational. Furthermore, the food options were limited and overpriced. It felt like a money-grabbing scheme rather than a well-planned family vacation package. Save your money and consider other options if you want a truly enjoyable and memorable vacation.
3. Sarah Johnson - 2.5 out of 5 stars - The Magic Springs family vacation package fell short of my expectations. The hotel accommodations were average, and the entrance to the park was confusing and poorly organized. While some of the attractions were enjoyable, the overall experience was dampened by the long wait times for popular rides. Additionally, the package did not include any meals or dining options, which was inconvenient and added additional costs to our trip. I would recommend researching other vacation packages before settling on this one.