A Goofy Movie Director Reacts To That Incredible Atlanta Episode About The ‘Making’ Of The Film [Exclusive]
Walt Disney Animation
“My social media all just blew up,” he told me. “I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’”
Kevin Lima, who also directed movies like Disney’s “Enchanted” and “Tarzan,” is never mentioned in the episode (that would have broken the fake reality “Atlanta” was trying to construct), but he says he was “completely honored” by director Donald Glover and his team choosing to tell a story that included his film.
“I sat down and watched it with wide eyes and my jaw on the floor. Like, ‘I can’t believe they got away with this.’”
‘It’s amazing to me’
FX Networks
“The movie is so entrenched in our culture and in Black culture in that way,” he said. “It’s amazing to me and it’s so confirming that it touches people. So I dig it, I’m into it.”
Lima said none of the writing staff reached to him about the episode beforehand, so the whole thing took him by delightful surprise. Regarding how the episode came together, he has a theory:
“I’m guessing that [Donald] loved it when he was a kid. I’m just guessing — and I’m supposed to talk to him. I have a friend of a friend. There have been a couple of videos online that people have made calling it like ‘The Blackest Disney Film Ever Made.’ I’ve watched a couple of those things just to get a sense. The Black community just adores the movie and takes ownership of it in a big way. So I’m sure it’s the perfect storm of all of those things. And then I figured FX is owned by Disney. So there’s that little connection there.”
