The 34-year-old original voice of Kim Possible also revealed that she created the character's iconic catchphrase!
You don't need to call her or beep her, the new Kim Possible is almost here!
ET caught up with Christy Carlson Romano, the original voice of Kim Possible, and Sadie Stanley, who plays Kim in Disney Channel's upcoming live-action flick, and the OG Kim opened up about how her new character in the movie, Poppy Blue, pays tribute to the original series. The new film follows Kim as she navigates high school, super villains and hangs with her buddy, Ron Stoppable (Sean Giambrone)... and his naked mole rat, Rufus.
"She's got this whole Gaga-esque persona and she's this larger-than-life pop star," Romano, 34, said of her character. "... She is sort of a throwback to, when we were doing the first couple of episodes, there was a pop star that picks up Kim in a private jet."
"I mean, let's face it, Kim, you don't have your driver's license yet, right? So you gotta rely on the Marines to, like, drop you off," Romano quipped.
In the movie, Poppy "swings in to kind of help Kim save the day," though, Romano teased, Kim ends up helping Poppy just as much. The entire experience was a great joy for Romano to be a part of, something she thinks fans will pick up on.
"Not only is it that it's that throwback to some of the original episodes, [but also] I could kind of like be a part of that and feel kind of plugged in and connected," she said. "... So it's kind of like an Easter egg."
"I think [fans will] be happy in general," she added
Though 17-year-old Stanley is stepping into Kim's cargo pants, Romano definitely left an indelible mark on the character, even coming up with some of Kim's traits herself.
"I kinda came up with 'What’s the sitch?'" Romano said of Kim's iconic catchphrase "... I didn't realize that it was happening... The creators of Kim Possible had asked me in the studio, 'Hey, what would be the way that you would say, 'What's up?' but in a modern way?' So I was like, 'I don't know, What’s the sitch?’ And they kind of were like, 'I think that works!'"
The name of the store where Kim works, Club Banana, also came to be thanks to Romano. "They asked me, 'Where do you shop?' And I was like, 'Club Monaco and Banana Republic' and they were like 'Club Banana.'"
Despite initially being "confused" by the new live-action take on her former character, Romano was thrilled once she got a better sense of the project.
"I was excited, but I was confused because I was like, 'Wait, you guys are bringing back the cartoon? Wait, what's happening?'... And also, to me, it was like, 'How are they gonna do this? How are they gonna be able to make the whole live-action big?'" she recalled. "... Once I came onto set and... I saw Drakken's henchmen come to life I was like, 'Do I need to, like, kick their butts now?'"
"I kinda felt like, even though, I wasn't playing Kim, there was a part of me that still felt a little nervous around the henchmen," she confessed with a laugh.
In order to take on those frightening henchmen, Stanley -- who watched "pretty much every single episode" to prep for the role -- had to do some intense training for her fight scenes, something she said was "an empowering experience."
"The most challenging part was the whole stunt fighting aspect, but that was also one of the most fun parts... It definitely took a lot of work, a lot of training had to be done... Her fighting style is very martial arts influence, so I learned a lot of Taekwondo, hand-to-hand combat," Stanley said. "... It was all super fun and new and exciting."
"This was before we started filming, so I was becoming more like Kim Possible," she continued. "It was a nice process and I felt, like, ready, like I could do it all. Sometimes we'd be learning fight sequences, like, the day of or the day before and you gotta remember it. It's kind of like dance choreography almost and so it takes a lot of tries. It was really fun, though! But, sometimes, it was hard 'cause you had to do it a bunch of times and you get tired and that kind of thing."
Even with Kim Possible easily taking down henchmen, Stanley was thrilled that there was a bit more emotional depth to the character in her iteration.
"They were showing a more vulnerable side of Kim in this live-action," she said. "... Through the majority of the cartoons, she's really put together and knows what she's doing most of the time. There's a few spots where she's more vulnerable, but [in] this we really get to see her struggle and struggle with things I've struggled with. She's very relatable and I liked that."
It seems Stanley nailed her performance, even earning Romano's sweet praise.
"When I came on set you were such a pro and I felt like you really took on Kim with just such an amazing, amazing take," Romano gushed. "I'm really proud of you, Sadie."
Kim Possible premieres Friday, Feb. 15 on Disney Channel.
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