Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, interview with Gloria Estefan

How did you relate to the character of Gigi, and did you draw on your personal experience?

"There's a lot of me in Gigi. I really identified with her when I read the script and saw the stuff that she did... I just, I saw myself in it. You absolutely have to prep for any role you do. I already had an in, 'cause I'm a grandma. So it's not like I had to imagine what a grandma feels like; that is in me. The emotional part was very much there. But because you have to create the character, and this is a fantasy, I created a whole backstory for Gigi—that she had been an architect and that's why she built her own house. But she's a magical architect, so everything that she touches has its own flair."

Would you like to have that house or any of the props in real life?

"I want to bring that whole dollhouse to life. Gigi lives in a house that the dollhouse is fashioned after, and that craft room... oh, my gosh, that's like a dream for any grandma or mom to have a room like that. It was magical just being in that room. When I walked in, I already felt like something come to life. So I would love to have that actual little dollhouse. The little cats were so cute, and everything in there was really special. But what I'd really like to have is that VW van that was all decked out—I think it's from the '70s. That I would love to have with the cat ears and the whole style of it."

What do you hope children and their parents take away from this film?

"I'm hoping that the kids, and more specifically, their parents, learn from Gigi that you are never too old to play. We have to keep the child in us alive, and that magic never has to go away. You can grow up and be a part of the world, but you don't ever have to let go of fun or play or games or just enjoying time with the people that you love. I hope that both the kids and the parents take that lesson away from this movie."

What was your favorite scene to shoot?

"My favorite part when we were shooting was that ride with Gabby in the car because we were able to ad-lib, we were having fun, we were improvising, we were doing crazy things. That road trip absolutely was my favorite thing to shoot. We laughed a lot, and it was all real. So, that was a lot of fun."