Shine bright, shine far 18 years later.
By Sam Brodsky, Metro
I don’t know about you, but as soon as I read Ann M. Martin’s The Doll People, I knew that my childhood toys came to life. Sometime in the dead of night, or while I was away from my bedroom, they’d all come out to play and have conversations about the weather or, maybe, political views (dolls are people too, you know). The 2000 Disney original TV movie Life Size further confirmed my suspicions. And now, Life Size 2 is hitting screens just in time for the holidays.
Freeform officially confirmed the production of Life Size 2 in spring 2017.
The original film, starring a young Lindsay Lohan as Casey Stuart and Tyra Banks as Casey’s doll, reminded viewers that no one’s perfect — not even "you’re my special friend" Eve who’s supposed to be good at, well, everything.
Casey taught Eve how to walk, break out of her plastic shell and embrace her human "flaws." (After all, perfect is boring.) Eve, in return, showed Casey that she can overcome the grief of losing her mom and find confidence in herself.
Life Size 2 will feature mostly new characters but is packed with surprises you’ll have to wait to uncover this December.
The film is written by Cameron Fay and Stacey Harman. Younger’s Steven K. Tsuchida directs.
Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Life Size 2.
Life Size 2 plot
In the first film, we saw a perfect-on-paper Eve navigate the ups and downs — and nonstop typing — of the working world. Now, in Life Size 2, she’s all grown up.
According to TV Guide, Eve’s main goal for the sequel is to "help a young woman [named Grace] learn to love again."
The IMBd description reads as follows: "Grace is a hot mess in the middle of a quarter-life crisis, realizing that she is in over her head as a toy company's CEO. To make it worse, her wild-child ways are causing the company's stock to plummet." Sounds promising and realistic, no doubt.
Some of the original viewers, Banks told Entertainment Weekly, are moms now. The sequel had to grow up with them.
"There’s a little bit of a bait-and-switch where you think Eve is one thing and she turns out to be something else, so fans of the original will go, 'Oh my gosh!'" the 44-year-old mother of one and ANTM alum said. "Things are new and she’s still excited about seeing things for the first time."
Life Size 2 trailer
Freeform has not released a Life Size 2 trailer yet.
For now, flip through Life Size 2 photos, first published by Entertainment Weekly, below:
Life Size 2 cast
Tyra Banks will star as Eve once again, and she's also a producer on the film.
She will "dust off [her] retired vocal chords" to record a different version of that bubblegum pop theme song from the original entitled, "Be a Star." If you need a refresher, the chorus goes:
Shine bright, shine far
- Don't be shy, be a star
- Where you live, where you are, be a star
This time around, the song is more of a "club banger."
"I play her differently now," Banks told EW of Eve. "There are a little bit more layers, and much more comedy. There’s something I find a bit more endearing with this Eve than the first one."
Taking the place of Lohan's leading role, Francia Raisa will star as Grace Manning. Freeform describes Grace as "the confident and funny CEO of Marathon Toys, a huge toy company started by her mother that is most famous for manufacturing the iconic Eve doll. Grace is also notorious for her drunken exploits that wind up on the front page of the tabloids and cause the company’s stock to plunge on a daily basis."
"Sometimes we’re forced to grow…we’re put into situations that weren’t part of the plan. And you’re going to have resentment towards that. I think that’s what happened to Grace: she was forced to grow up and be a part of a world that she didn’t ask for and wasn’t ready for," Raisa told Entertainment Weekly of her character. "You try to put your best foot forward, and that’s the evolution you see within Grace."
Life Size 2
Gavin Stenhouse will portray Grace’s potential love interest named Calum. Her best friends Tahlia and Brendan will be played by Shanica Knowles and Hank Chen.
Alison Fernandez stars as Lex, Grace's neighbor. And Lohan, as it turns out, will reportedly return one way or another.
"You're going to have to see Life Size, to see what Lindsay does," Banks told E! in September. "It's an interesting creative way that my producers have Lindsay involved."
View the entire cast list (which does include Lohan) on the Life Size 2 IMBd page,
Life Size 2 release date
Life Size 2 is hitting TV screens Sunday, December 2 on Freeform.
It’s debuting as part of Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas this year. Check back in with Metro — we'll be updating this with further details as they're made available.
"I actually think we are going to surpass expectations," Banks told The Hollywood Reporter of Life Size 2, "because [for] me as a producer and actor in it, it surpassed my own expectations."
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