Getting hairy

Forget singing lessons and pops stars, for Mandy Moore it was a little mermaid who first made her want to be singer.
``The whole reason I wanted to start singing was because of Ariel, it's crazy for life to come full circle in that way,'' says the 26-year-old.

The singer and actress was in Australia recently promoting Disney film Tangled, with co-star Zachary Levi of Chuck fame and I got to chat them exclusively from their Melbourne hotel room (above). The animated flick is a retelling of Rapunzel and a return to the classic fairytales Disney is renowned for says Moore.
``Zach and I both loved Disney movies growing up, I know he loved Aladdin and for me it was The Little Mermaid.
``To have the opportunity to make an animated Disney musical is . . . wow.
``They're not making very many any more and knowing too what those films meant to us as kids, there's nothing cooler.''

Levi too says being part of Tangled was an `absolute bucket list dream come true'.
``We were both in that prime age when The Little Mermaid started the third dynasty of Disney and now we're part of kicking off that fourth dynasty,'' he says.
``Regardless of their chapters or dynasties, we have done a Disney animated musical and it happens to be their 50th so we got to be part of that milestone.
``Thank God we weren't told that until after because it would have been a lot of pressure and now with the Golden Globe nominations, it's amazing.''During their time in Australia the Golden Globe nominations were announced, with Tangled up for animated feature and original song. With Oscar nominations at the end of next month, the film is a sure thing to fight it out against Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon in the animation category.
``I don't know what the chances are, it sounds so clichaacé to say `just to be nominated' but just to be nominated is amazing,'' says Levi.
``Each of the films is very different.
``You can watch Tangled and appreciate it for its very classic Disney storytelling mixed with great CGI.''
Moore says ``As someone who has never been involved with anything that has been nominated before, I'm very excited.''

While Moore is known for her vocal chords, having started in the industry as pop singer before crossing over to acting, Levi had the opportunity to belt a few notes in the Disney musical as well. And although he's known for his acting, the result of his first time in a singing role are both impressive and surprising.
``First of all thank you very much, I really appreciate that,'' he says.
``I always sang. I've always grown up doing musical theatre and I always believed I had an adequate voice, but so to do the people in first weeks of American Idol.
``To have never been hired for my voice and then with this, suddenly I was.
``I like the idea of surprising people and I have different things that I can do, I just don't advertise it.''
``He's very gracious,'' says Moore.You would think the pair have established a playful banter from their hours in the studio working together on the film, but they say the only time they really got to collaborate together was afterwards.
``We did 100 per cent more work together during this press tour than we ever did during the film,'' says Levi.
``The only time we got to work together was on the duet,'' agrees Moore.
``The whole thing was surreal,'' says Levi.
``I was in a real orchestral sound stage and I look over in the booth and there was Mandy Moore who has an incredible voice and has been recording for a long time.''

Although Moore is a recording veteran, having worked professionally since she was 14, Tangled provided plenty of challenges.
``It takes you back to being a kid because you have to dig back into your imagination - there's no point of reference,'' she says.
``It's not like the animation is done and it's playing on a big screen and you can just lip sync in with characters.
``It's sort of a blank slate so it's up to you to figure out how you view this world.
``There's an element about that that's really taxing emotionally, but it's really fun as well.
``The directors were fantastic and were happy to indulge me and read lines.
``Zach and I did the dialogue separately and Nathan (Greno) and Byron (Howard) (the directors) were roped into playing Mother Gothel and thugs.
``It was a lot of fun.''

Tangled is out Thursday, January 6.