Birds of Paradise is an animated film featuring the voices of Drake Bell (Drake and Josh), Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) and Jane Lynch (Glee). Like any upstanding movie for kids, it has a message, Bell explained.
"Kids are always looking for people to look up to, like the Justin Biebers, people with the lavish lifestyle, you've got to have the hottest cars, the coolest clothing — it's not about what's within," Bell said.
"My character, Jack the Sparrow, thinks that to get the doves to notice me I've got to be grand and pretend I'm something that I’m not. In the end, he realizes that it's what's on the inside that matters." We totally agree.
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We asked Bell about the secret to maintaining a successful career, especially for those who've come up through the ranks of child stardom, which he said creates "a lot of road blocks."
"Paying attention to the craft. Focusing more on the art than the party," he advised. He continued, saying, "I've always just been more interested in creating and playing music. Anything that would interfere with that just isn't worth it. I love what I do."
He admits that going the rock — not the pop — route as a musician was a bit of a risk, but performing live rock music is what he loves to do. "I'd rather be playing the music I love to five people rather than music that's blah to 5,000 people." Bell's new album, titled Ready, Steady, Go, releases on April 22.
Besides spending his time acting and rocking out, Bell openly admits to having an "unhealthy obsession with Disneyland." So what exactly does that mean? "I've been to Disneyland over 50 times this year. I go hundreds of times a year. If I'm not working, I'm at Disneyland."
But he does fit in the occasional business call while on the rides. "I was actually on the Matterhorn the other day doing a business meeting. I'm on a conference call with all these people and at the end, I said, 'Oh, by the way, just to let you know, you just went on the Matterhorn with me.'"
Lessons learned at Disneyland >>
Bell says he's inspired by Walt Disney and that being in the actual park "makes me feel creative, I get tons of ideas. Instead of going to my local bar, I go to Disneyland." If only more young celebrities did the same.
Birds of Paradise takes flight on DVD (plus Digital UltraViolet) on April 1 and is exclusively available at Walmart and Redbox.