Alessia Cara's latest project pushes the singer out of her comfort zone and into the world of animation

In 2017, Alessia Cara sat on the set of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, squeezing its host's hand with her eyes closed as she declared her next big goal: to voice a character in an animated film. 

Soon after that segment aired, she received an offer. 

"I've only ever acted in school plays," she admits now, three years later, as that film she said yes to, The Willoughbys, hits Netflix this week. 

Cara says she set her sights on animated films specifically because of her "camera shy" personality. "Doing something animated was just a lot easier," she explains, "because it felt like it was in my wheelhouse. I was in a recording studio as I usually am with my regular job so it just felt like a really good bridge between acting and singing." 

The role itself is also a combination of the two: Cara plays Jane, one of four Willoughby children — her siblings are voiced by Will Forte and Seán Cullen (who plays a set of twins) — who plot to get rid of their neglectful parents (Jane Krakowski and Martin Short) in order to free themselves from their draconian home life. Jane loves to sing, often improvising lyrics to the same melody throughout the film, but is constantly silenced by her parents who can't stand the sound of kids.  

While the singing part might've come easily to Cara, other parts proved to be challenging. 

"Playing a character as energetic as Jane, you kind of have to do things that are sometimes uncomfortable," she notes. "You have to scream a lot and sound really silly [...] when you're in a room with 20 people, having to do all these weird things, you really just have to let go of your ego and not be scared to adlib and do your own thing."

Cara's busy touring schedule also provided its own obstacles as she remembers the team behind the film (including director Kris Pearn) "chasing me around the world" to record her parts. (She has not met her cast mates yet and was looking forward to seeing them at the film's premiere except it was cancelled due to COVID-19.) 

And since she was performing almost everyday, she would go into voice recording sessions "a lot of the time with no voice because I was either sick or strained from singing all day." That, she says, actually worked in their favour though: "It sort of worked out for the character because she yells a lot and she's really loud so that rasp in her tone makes her interesting."

The aforementioned melody Jane sings throughout the movie evolves into a full-fledged song by the film's climax, followed by a polished version in its end credits. The track is called "I Choose," detailing Jane's love and devotion to her real family: her siblings. Cara, who's used to crafting songs from her personal experiences, says the end result of this track was "if I were to cover a Jane song," striking a balance of hers and her character's perspectives. 

The Willoughbys is an unconventional yet still heartwarming and fun family film that's perfect for those staying indoors with their loved ones right now, as Cara has been with her family. The Brampton, Ontario-born singer has been self-isolating for over a month now, ever since her hosting duties at the 2020 Juno Awards were put on hold as the March broadcast of the show was cancelled. "That's when I realized the severity of the situation," she recalls. 

Cara has been staying busy by partaking in some Instagram live sessions with Tori Kelly and H.E.R. (Cara is also scheduled to appear on the upcoming Stronger Together, Tous ensemble special airing on CBC.) But she's been careful not to force anything creatively. 

"I don't want to pressure myself into having to make something," she reveals, "but at the same time I am finding inspiration in being reflective and being at home with my thoughts and feelings and there's a lot going on in the world right now, there's a lot to digest so there's inspiration in that for sure."