Without giving away too much of the storyline, Robin Williams's portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt in his final big-screen role is almost chillingly appropriate. His performance throughout the film is stellar, and Shawn Levy shared some thoughts on what it was like to work with the comedic legend:
"It was really important to all of us and certainly to me in the editing room every day to have it be a fitting and loving kind of piece of his legacy.
"We finished shooting this movie less than three months before he passed. And he did some voice work for me a month before his death. In fact, you know that little Garuda statue in the movie? That's Robin. Robin saw that picture on my laptop. And he said, 'That guy's cute. What's he? And I said, 'Oh, he's this statue in the British Museum. I want to bring him to life.' And he goes, 'Well, he looks kind of mischievous. Let me take a whack at that, huh?' And it wasn't his job, wasn't planned. And he just recorded an entire language for that little Garuda.
"That was kind of emblematic of this guy who was certainly a grown man, but very much still a boy with all the playful spirit of that. And so, it was a horrible day when we heard. And it's been a rough few months since. There's kind of no positive spin on that. But I certainly am very, very grateful that I got the experience of being friendly with him and being collaborative with him."
