Gabrielle Union reveals why Cheaper by the Dozen needed a reboot

19 years on from the release of Cheaper by the Dozen, the family comedy starring Steve Martin, Hilary Duff and Ashton Kutcher based on the 1950 film of the same name, Disney is giving the iconic story a new life.

The 2022 Disney+ remake stars Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union as parents of a multiracial, blended 12-person family trying to manage both a chaotic home life and a flourishing business.

While there may be questions over why the film is being rebooted almost two decades on, Gabrielle tells Yahoo Lifestyle why she believes this fresh take is so important in 2022.

“All content right now should be geared towards a global audience, and the global audience comes in all shapes, sizes, colours, cultures, languages,” she says.

“And rarely do we give that global audience content that actually looks like the world. I wanted not just my own family to be represented, but all different kinds of families to be called in and celebrated.”

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As well as sharing a three-year-old daughter with her husband, former professional basketball player Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle is also stepmother to his three children from previous relationships - which is a concept that the film addresses.

“We tend to shame families that that are not typical to what we see in media, so I want to blow that idea of what a family has to be,” she adds.

“A family can be your chosen family, it can neighbourhood children, your extended family all under one roof. And all of us should be celebrated and recognised, it just doesn't always happen. So that's why it's important to me today to bring this new Cheaper by the Dozen to the forefront.”

Gabrielle, who serves as a producer for the new film, went on to say that she feels proud to be able to showcase a family not completely unlike her own in a major Hollywood production.

“Whether it’s racially, culturally, socioeconomically, ability-wise, we have so much representation, not just on-screen, but in front of and behind the camera,” she details.

While she says that her children were able to realise the importance of this movie, she reveals that they aren’t typically the biggest fans of her work.

“My kids have not seen Bring It On,” she admits. “Zaya was competitive cheerleading and one of her coaches was in Bring It On, still didn't watch the movie. So, you know, I'm not for everyone, clearly.

“I think one of the 20-year-olds might have seen some of Bad Boys 2. Once they started watching Being Mary Jane and I was making out with a lot of dudes that weren’t their dad, they didn't love that so much. But they really don’t watch at all,” she continues, before adding with a laugh, “They’re just like, ‘Make sure that cheque clears!”.

Cheaper by the Dozen is streaming now on Disney+.

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