Production began at locations in and around the Los Angeles area, with Northern California’s Napa Valley serving as the exterior setting of the Bakers’ Midland, Illinois farmhouse.
“One of the unusual choices made for this film was building a two-story house on a stage for the interior shots,” says production designer Nina Ruscio. “For most productions, the first and second story sets are built side by side and shot separately, but we opted for two levels, so we could shoot from the first floor up to the second and vice-versa; this enabled us to capture the full fury and fun of the family in action.”
“We had a lot of fun coming up with ways to visually define each of the different Baker kids. Henry has an interest in jazz and we gave Sarah a love of cartooning and put little drawings all over her space. Jessica and Kim are bookish so we posted a little book report on their door with their list of recommended reading. Audiences might not notice these little touches, but it helped us distinguish the individual children and give them their own little nooks and crannies in the house.”
Another design subtlety was the placement throughout the Baker house of several fertility symbols, such as stalks of wheat in the mouldings and a little woman carved into the area above a doorway. These touches make important contributions to the creation of the Baker family’s world at home.
The CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN set often was a frenzied environment that mirrored the dynamics of the Baker family. “If you’re going to make a movie about the craziness of a big family, you can’t have a set without some level of chaos,” says Levy.
The younger, less-experienced actors contributed to the set’s frenetic energy. “There’s a madness and level of anarchy that happens between kids who are having fun without the fear of failure, and that creates a great environment,” says Tom Welling. “When you have 12 kids who are playing brothers and sisters, there’s a lot of energy that reflects that of a real family.”
“At first I didn’t really know how it was going to work with so many of us on set,” says Hilary Duff. “Sometimes scenes took a little bit longer to shoot, because there were 12 of us and we all had to be focused and work together, but there was never a boring moment.”
Steve Martin developed critical psychological tactics when working with his very young co-stars. “With 12 kids on set, it’s impossible to control everything,” he says.
Controlled chaos was a key component of several large set pieces that incorporate physical comedy and complicated action. One involved a big family breakfast with a frog on the loose – and a melee of flying scrambled eggs. The scene was not one of Hilary Duff’s favorites. “I got splattered with the eggs the most,” says Duff. “It was horrible because I can’t stand eggs!”
Shawn Levy captured the honesty of Duff’s repulsion and enjoyed the authenticity of the scene’s chaos. “The frog wreaking havoc in the kitchen was one of the high points for me,” says Levy. “I give a lot of credit to Hilary for her reactions.”
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