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How Do You Dress A Fairy Godmother? Take A Peek At The Costuming In Godmothered

We all know about Fairy Godmothers dressing their charges for the ball…but who dresses a Fairy Godmother? It turns out it’s award-winning costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus–at least when it comes to the cast of the upcoming Disney+ film Godmothered.

The Fairy Godmother costume was particularly important for Jillian Bell’s Eleanor. “I didn’t really have a costume change besides [being] in PJs at one point,” says Bell. “For the most part, I am in a corset and a ball gown the entire time we shot.”

While they’re not known for their comfort, there are advantages to restrictive costumes like those corsets. “They forced you into a certain posture and a certain way of being,” according to Jane Curtin, who plays Godmother Moira. “It really suited the strictness of Moira, so I liked the whole outfit.” Bell agrees. “It really helps [you] get into character!”

L-R: Willa Skye as Mia, Jillian Shea Spaeder as Jane, Jillian Bell as Eleanor and Isla Fisher as Mackenzie Walsh in GODMOTHERED, exclusively on Disney+.

There’s more than just sketching and sewing involved when it comes to creating a signature look for your titular character. Bell also took an interesting research trip to assist Kalfus and director Sharon Maguire with planning her costume. “I actually went to David’s Bridal and I tried on all different types of wedding dresses,” Bell laughs. “They were all huge ballgowns… That’s how we found the framing for the corset and the ball gown look.”

Jillian Bell as Eleanor in GODMOTHERED, exclusively on Disney+.

The team effort paid off. “It went through many different versions, but we all kind of got there together and I was so pleased when I saw the final product,” Bell says about the final look they created. “I wish I could’ve kept one!”

You can see the Fairy Godmother costumes and more for yourself with Godmothered premieres on Disney+ on December 4, 2020!

Godmothered Virtual Press Junket

About Godmothered

Set at Christmas time, “Godmothered” is a comedy about Eleanor, a young, inexperienced fairy godmother-in-training (Jillian Bell) who upon hearing that her chosen profession is facing extinction, decides to show the world that people still need fairy godmothers. Finding a mislaid letter from a 10-year-old girl in distress, Eleanor tracks her down and discovers that the girl, Mackenzie, is now a 40-year-old single mom (Isla Fisher) working at a news station in Boston. Having lost her husband several years earlier, Mackenzie has all but given up on the idea of “Happily Ever After,” but Eleanor is bound and determined to give Mackenzie a happiness makeover, whether she likes it or not.

As The Bunny Hops®