To celebrate the release of The School of Good and Evil, which arrives on Netflix this week, we sat down with its new young stars, director, and best-selling author to find out more.

In the village of Gavaldon, two misfits and best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie) share the unlikeliest of bonds. Sophie, a golden-haired seamstress, dreams of escaping her dreary life to become a princess, while Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and offbeat mother, has the makings of a real witch. One night under a blood-red moon, a powerful force sweeps them away to the School for Good and Evil — where the true stories behind every great fairy tale begin. Yet something is amiss from the start: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, run by the glamourous and acid-tongued Lady Lesso (Charlize Theron), and Agatha in the School for Good, overseen by the sunny and kind Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington). But when a dark and dangerous figure (Kit Young) with mysterious ties to Sophie reemerges and threatens to destroy the school and the world beyond entirely — the only way to a happy ending is to survive their real-life fairytale first.

Chatting with stars Caruso and Wylie, we talk about the lure of the story and the scope of the film, how they found their working relationships with Theron, Washington, and more, why Paul Feig is not in a suit, and why a hairless cat helped save the day. Next, we chat to director Feig about his initial reluctance to take on the film, why the characters and world-building lured him in, the unique challenges of an expansive world, and mixing CGI with real-world effects. And we chat with author Soman Chainani about the adaptation of the book, his strong relationship with Paul Feig, and talk of adapting his other books.

You can watch the interviews below:

 

The School for Good and Evil is on Netflix now