Absolute madness in Girona for the macrocasting of a new Disney production
Thousands of young people and teenagers queue from early in the morning at the Devesa park to be extras in the live-action version of 'Tangled'
GironaGirona's Devesa park woke up this Monday to an absolutely unprecedented crowd. A stream of people, mostly young people and teenagers, from all over Catalonia and beyond, have been queuing since the crack of dawn, summoned by the announcement of a casting call for the new Disney film Tangled (Enredats), a Disney live-action remake of the original animated film, which will be shot in July in the city and is expected to be released from 2027 onwards. By midday, the line of interested people still surrounds the entire Girona park: from the Palau Firal, where the casting is taking place, to past the roundabout of the courts and the esplanade of La Copa. The surrounding streets are also packed, the car parks are saturated, and at some point in the morning, traffic problems have even been generated.
The production is looking for between 1,500 and 2,000 men, women, and children between the ages of 4 and 80, as well as professional and amateur dancers up to 70 years old, with no restrictions on origin or appearance. Among the applicants, the majority are young people and teenagers, as well as children, some even in costume for the occasion. They are of school age on a Monday morning and have come accompanied by an adult. They have skipped class because they like the film and saw the announcement on social media, where the call went viral, especially on TikTok, through profiles unrelated to the company that echoed it and captured the attention of Generation Z.
This is the case of a group of girls from a dance school in Torelló, who came with their teacher, between 12 and 13 years old. "A video popped up on TikTok and yesterday we decided we were coming. We should be at school, but we would like to be the dancers, to be able to dance in a professional film, we can adapt to the medieval aesthetic of a fairy tale and we dance very well," they comment, sitting on the floor in a circle.
By car from Murcia and Alicante
In La Devesa, people from all over the State and also some foreigners have come expressly. Near the final zigzag of the queue, friends who have come by car from Murcia and Alicante, where the production is also scheduled to be filmed, are sitting in folding chairs. "We arrived at 7 a.m. and in five hours we have advanced less than a kilometer," resigns Àngel, 22 years old. His friend Isa, jokingly, adds: "It's a shame that the role of Rapunzel is already taken, otherwise they would have chosen me, but as extras we will also do very well, it will be an experience." Participation is paid, which has further increased interest in the call.
The vast majority of applicants like and know the original animated film, Tangled, released in 2010: an adaptation with touches of humor and adventure of the romantic tale of the princess with long, golden hair, Rapunzel. Now, this same story will arrive in cinemas in a version with live-action actors, continuing Disney's recent trend of remakes of some of its classics such as The Little Mermaid or Lilo & Stitch. It will be directed by Michael Gracey, director of The Greatest Showman (2017), and will feature Teagan Croft as Rapunzel and Milo Manheim as Prince Flynn.
Questions about correfocs and castellers
The casting has started at 10 am and lasts until 7 pm. Hundreds of people have already entered, but the queue is moving slowly and thousands of people are still waiting under the plane trees of La Devesa, which cover the entire ground with pollen balls. It all recalls the also massive castings of Game of Thrones from eleven years ago. The announcement asked for 2,000 extras, but in the Girona park the number of applicants far exceeds this figure. Those who have had the luck to get in are given a small questionnaire and photographed one by one on a white chroma. They are asked in writing about their experience dancing, but also about whether they have ever participated in castellers or correfocs, as Catalan popular culture may play some role in the atmosphere of a festive scene in the film.
The organizers admit that they are really overwhelmed and did not expect so much anticipation at all. In order to decongest the massive demand, they hand out sheets with QR codes for applicants to send their application online and thus leave their place in the queue. Most, however, distrust that the result may be the same and remain standing until they close the shop.
