When Janice Karman Bagdasarian and her husband Ross decided to fight to keep his father's namesake alive, she had no idea what gifts truly lay ahead for her. A serendipitous possibility to continue the Chipmunks in a new movie, led to finding more life in herself —pushing her to overcome her own challenges. Not only did she need to suddenly write this movie, something she had never done before, but also voice many of the characters and direct as well. This, combined with life in general, having a baby, building a house and the thought of not being capable to accomplish all of the tasks at hand equated to a stressful situation. Janice so poignantly acknowledges that, challenges, if embraced, can validate that we are stronger and much more capable than we believe ourselves to be. If we can get past ourselves—the self-critiquing and focusing on what we don't know—we might learn something and actually become as broad as we need to be to accomplish what we need. She recognized the goodness in this project as well as the opportunity and growth potential for herself and forged on.
"We need to be willing to throw ourselves into something we know nothing about sometimes, and be willing to lose a little of our 'cool factor' for the possibility of getting better at it." That's what makes us feel alive! You don't have to be good at something already, but you have to take the chance ... the Chipmunks isn't the only legacy she will be keeping alive in this lifetime—her children will learn to recognize their own personal challenges, whatever they might be, and pursue them for themselves. Now that's gutsy, and a tradition worth protecting!
Today Janice and Ross are producers of the Chipmunk franchise and co-owners of Bagdasarian Productions. She has clearly embraced much, protected their family brand and exemplifies what it means to be a Gutsy Gal!
Check out Chipmunks: The Sqeakquel opens today at a theater near you.
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