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U P S I D E - D O W N M A G I C | P E R S P E C T I V E 5 7 As we look back at the start of the project, when Bill first received the phone call to interview for Disney Channel's Upside-Down Magic, he remembers thinking: "This is a movie for kids and not what I want to do creatively." But after reading the script about a magic school and how students with unconventional powers are susceptible to a dangerous and evil "shadow magic," he realized it was exactly the opportunity he craved to infuse with his slightly bent and surreal artistic sensibilities. "A flood of images came to me as I read about the dark undercurrent of the movie. I started sketching feverishly and ended up with a scope of drawings and enough images to fill a cauldron." The story itself is based on two best friends, Nory (Izabela Rose) and Reina (Siena Agudong), who discover they have magical powers at a young age. They are recruited to the Sage Academy of Magical Studies, where Nory's powers as a Fluxer (an ability to turn into animals) is labeled as wonky, or upside-down, while Reina is an Honors Flare (she can manipulate flames. When we got to Vancouver, we were on an abbreviated preproduction schedule, so Bill decided we would divide and conquer. Bill focused on all of the fantastical sets, and Suzette took on the all the real-world sets that would match seamlessly to the exterior location work like the protagonists' neighborhoods and bedrooms. We have a shorthand that works well, so this part was easy. In the original script, when the students were traveling through the forest on their way to Sage Academy, there was a mysterious, large and ominous stone gate, the magic portal to the academy beyond. Concept artist Ricardo Sandoval tried numerous beautiful designs, but ultimately, it felt as if this was a concept seen before in many films. We pitched a few esoteric concepts to director B A. FOREST PORTAL. SCALE MODEL BY BILL BOES. B. KYLE HOWARD AS BUDD SKRIFF IN FRONT OF THE FOREST PORTAL. PRODUCTION STILL BY DISNEY CHANNEL/EIKE SCHROTER.