By Emily Hewitt
Disney’s Dashing Through the Snow is a story about Eddie (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), a social worker who goes on a Christmas Eve journey with his 8-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Madison Skye Validum), that helps him remember the joy and magic of the yuletide season after they meet a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick (Lil Rel Howery). The film premiered November 17 on Disney+ and will be streaming on Hulu from December 7 through January 21.
Validum recently shared some behind-the-scenes stories about the festive set with D23.
Validum found it easy to get into character and play the outgoing character of Charlotte due to having similar characteristics.
“When I saw Charlotte, I already pictured how she would act,” Validum said. “I saw all her emotions… I think Charlotte [is] so bubbly and bold and exciting, and that’s pretty similar to me.”
To ensure she was in the utmost uplifted spirits when filming this jolly holiday film, Validum performed a specific ritual at the start of every filming day.
“My mom and me, we have a song like, ‘Show ’em what you got / Show ’em what you’re working with / Show ’em what you got,’” Validum said.
One day she especially showed “’em what [she] got” when she filmed a dance sequence with Howery.
“We improvised it,” Validum said. “[Howery] just said, ‘I’m just going to dance. You do whatever you want, and we’ll just match each other and have fun.”
Another major memory for Validum is filming a scene with delicious smelling cookies—which she wanted to eat so badly but had to refrain from devouring! Although she couldn’t eat the cookies on set, she enjoys baking cookies and traditional family foods around the holidays.
“One of our family traditions is that we make macaroni, and we make ackee and codfish,” Validum said. “All of those Jamaican dishes are so amazing.”
Although she also adores opening presents and is wishing for a skateboard this holiday season (after her cousin taught her how to skate), above all, she enjoys spending time with her family.
“Remember that family is so important,” Validum said. “I hope people watch this with [their] family.”
She also hopes that other little girls are inspired to follow their dreams like she has.
“I really want young little Black girls like me to never feel discouraged from acting and always do what you love,” Validum said. “Because if you pursue what you love, then it wouldn’t be a job, and it would just be a hobby.”