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BONUS: Jim Cummings Interview · Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast)

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Australia's number one pop culture convention, Supernova is returning once again in twenty twenty
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three, starting with Gold Coast at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Center on
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April fifteenth and sixteenth, as well as at the Melbourne show Grounds on April
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twenty second and twenty third. Guests include the likes of Boba Fette himself,
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Tamara Morrison, Stephen Armel, legendary Disney voice actor, Jim Cummings and so
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much more. So gets your tickets today at supernova dot com dot au.
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Four Finger Discount. Dude, welcome to fourth Finger Discount, where today we're
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heading all the way back to season eight of The Simpsons to review episode four
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f one two. It's the Itchy and Scratchy and Pucci Show. I am
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Dando, I am guy, and we are not alone Dando No. Today,
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we are incredibly honored to be joined by a man who has probably indirectly
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given me more life advice than my very own parents. He's a true icon
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of pop culture and a man who has built a career. I'm making us
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all smile. Here is the incredible gym coming. Jim thinks for your time.
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How are you doing Hey, you very good. Well, I'm glad
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to be here. I just realized I need to turn on a couple of
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lights. I just got a glimpse of myself and I looked like I'm a
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vampire. Let me see if I can turn around a light here. That's
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fine. Zoom does that to you? I know the family. I'm constantly
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a judge adjusting lights and blinds and all this kind of stuff. I don't
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know if that helps much, but anyway, we're back to live action,
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and we're back. We're back. Well, what's a typical daylight for you
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for Jim Cummings in twenty twenty three when you're not hitting the convention circuit?
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Is it plenty of Boston Cream Pie and Steely Down? I'm assuming yes,
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Actually those are my two of my favorites, as you apparently know. But
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yeah, you know, there's a few auditions. I'm send in a few
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reads here and there, and you know, just get my schedule gone for
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the day or for the week. I thought you've had this incredible career acting
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career, but you've also you're just a muso at heart. Do you think
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being in a band and getting actually getting paid ten dollars to perform at Lady
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of Matt Comwell Social Senate at the age of thirteen. Do you think that's
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what gave you the performing bug or well, I don't know. It's it's
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either that or you know, I've told this before. You know, when
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I when I was very young, I was like five five years old,
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sitting there watching the Jack Benny program on television with my dad and mel Blank
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was a regular you know, of course Bugs Bunny did Daffy Duck, you
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know, Tad the original voice for them, and uh, my dad goes,
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you see this guy, see this guy right here. I said,
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yeah, he goes. His guy does all those voices for those cartoons like
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to watch on Saturday morning, Bugs and Daffy and Tazz and blah blah blah.
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And I thought, wow, well he doesn't have to stand in the
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corner, does he? For being weird? So I said, well,
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okay, I'm gonna do that, And so I did. We're all glad
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you did that. Yeah, me too, Thank you. I appreciate that.
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So when he told you that you've got it in Ralph Russo's office,
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that must have been like the off made a moment, right, Yeah,
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that was yeah, he It was interesting because it was my first demo tape
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and I didn't know anybody in the business. I didn't know. I mean,
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who do you know? You know? But I did know a guy
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who was at the video depot where I worked as a as a manager,
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and he had a talent company talent agency. But it was all like,
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you know, clown acts and guys who would you know, poodle acts and
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he would book you know, bad musicians, magicians and jugglers and things like
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that. And I said, well, okay, he's in show business.
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So I gave him my first demo tape. And it turned out that Mel
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Blank just coincidentally had offices in his building and it was it was on Sunset
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Boulevard, and he saw him walking down the hall one day and he goes,
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hey, maw maw, maw maw, come here. Hey he got
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two minutes. He goes, yeah, yeah, what do you need,
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kid? And he said, I got a guy here that wants to be
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you. And he goes they all do what else you got? He goes,
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well, you've got two minutes. He just sent me a demo tape.
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At least I could say that I played it from Mel Blank. In
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fact, you know because I'll see him. Okay, all right, play.
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So he hits play and he said, mel stood there and they put
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his head back and he closed his eyes and about ten fifteen seconds and he
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had to speak smile and uh, and he listened to the tape is about,
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like I said, two minutes long, and it was over and he
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goes tell the kid, he's got it. Oh, and he left and
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that was it. And so that was like my official sanction. I've got
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it. He didn't say what, but apparently I had it. It's like
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being blessed by the Pope. Yeah, it was. I made it.
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Yeah, Mel blank said, I've got it. So we're here anyway to
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talk about the art The Simpsons, a show you've actually been on, you
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know, dunk In the Horse in Settles or Galactica. You broke out like
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with Winnie the Prove when The Simpsons was, it was before the Simpsons really
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exploited, So you were pretty much a Disney legend by the time the Simpsons
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exploited. Was ever desire to go on Simpsons in that earlier In those earlier
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years, Oh gosh, you know, it seemed like they had they had
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their cast and you know, there were just different people on there. Harry
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was, oh gosh his name, but they had a pretty good cast.
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Yeah, people that were very versatile, like Dan Castellanetta, he's an old
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buddy and Nancy. You know, I've done a one hundred cartoons with each
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of them, and uh, you know, with all that talent on there,
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yeah, they didn't have to go very far. I mean they would
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have occasionally people like Kelsey Grammer or some famous facial person Flint Eastwood I think
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did one even and uh it was interesting. So I think they had a
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covered They didn't have to go out of house very often. They did not,
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and I think that's clever on their part, just getting say, five
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core people to do five hundred characters, you know, save a lot of
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money. Yeah. But did you ever watch the Simpsons envious? Or what
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was ever a desire to want to be on the show that seemed to be
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the biggest animated showing the world at that time, or was it just no,
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you know what I'm with Disney Maybe so yeah, I never Now,
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you know, I don't think any any voicewover person gets very envious. I
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mean we're all grateful for what we have. Yeah, I certainly am you
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know. I mean, I I mean, like I've said before, this
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the stuff used to get me kicked out of school. So for somebody give
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me all this fame and fortune and fill in the blank, then okay,
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I'm not gonna I'm not gonna rock that boat with any with any negative feelings
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about it. I'm just I'm just grateful, you know every day, That's
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all. I think. It's one of the big positives compared to just the
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standard acting work that it's the voice acting world. It seems to be so
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tight knit. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. Everybody knows everybody now,
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so when you finally get the role, it's playing a horse, right.
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And Frank Welker, he usually did all the animal sounds for The Simpsons at
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that point he left them two thousand and six. How did that come about?
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Did they approach you? Was Frank sick that day? What happened?
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No? I don't know. Um, it's funny. I remember when they
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were casting for The Simpsons. I was one of the few times I ever
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lost my voice in my life, and I couldn't even audition. I mean,
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they already had a core cast anyway, from the Tracy Ullman Show.
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They were doing those little shorts on there. So but I mean, I
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you know, I guess I could have been a clean up guy. But
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but no, I it just came about. I don't I don't really recall.
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They must have, you know, I'm sure they called my agent said
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you got any horses, and they said, sure, yeah, I got
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one, and uh so I Palomino on my way over there, and uh,
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you know, and how hot does it? You can do a voice,
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can do a horse sound, but how hot is it to act as
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a horse. Yeah, I don't know. I don't remember very much.
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To be honest with you. Well, he didn't have to do a lot
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of acting. It was mostly galloping, yes, you know, and which
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I didn't have to do. But I just wanted to make that sound.
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What was the Simpsons experience lot? Did you actually go to the studio?
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Always just recorded from your hand because you're just doing a couple of horse sounds.
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So yeah, yeah, I went to the studio to the show in
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Centric City. I think it was a Culver City. Yeah, it was
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a long time ago. How has the voice acting experience changed now? Because
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back even in those years of the Simpsons, they all got together, did
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the show together in the studio. Now they do it all from their house.
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Is that how you do did recently? I do a lot of it?
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Yeah, I do a lot of it that way. I did my
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first Shark Week. There's a thing that we have here over here, and
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uh, I did that at home, and that was weird. I don't
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I you know, I've always had a home studio, like you know,
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this fabulous layout that you see here, but you know, started off with
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a closet and and a beach towel behind me. So that was my soundproofing.
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But um, but I really like going in and doing an ensemble.
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I like it because I add live a lot and uh, and so that
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either helps the line before me or after me or makes it irrelevant. And
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if they keep your ad lib and then the line behind you doesn't work,
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then they have to go and rerecord another. Whereas if if if everyone's all
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there at the same time, that's problem is alleviated, you know, and
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uh, and it's and it's and it feels better. I just like it
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because you're playing directly off someone, you know, you're not reading a script
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and imagining how they would say it in your head. And then like like
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Mickey Mouse Fun House. We do them right now. We're in our god,
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I think thirtieth year of doing that. Variations of that show was Clubhouse,
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House of Mouse, fun House blah dah dah and uh. And you
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know, we started off doing it all together and now we do it separately.
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Everybody's completely you know, not in the studio at the same time.
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Blah blah blah. And I don't like it. I don't like it.
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I like it the old one. I think it comes through when you watch
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sort of say modern day Simpsons, you can just sort of tell that they're
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not together something about it. Sort of it's lost that a little bit of
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soul, I think, yeah, oh sure, yeah, And it's and
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it's you know, if they you know, if you're you're thinking that the
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person delivered the line this way, then you're delivering your line according to what
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you thought, and then they weren't saying it that way at all. You
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know, it doesn't it doesn't gel I don't think I agree. What's your
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thoughts on the whole AI thing now? Because you watch some I'll watch a
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clip on YouTube recently of someone who got Harry Shearer's voice as principal Skinner and
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recreated a scene with their own dialogue using Harry Shearer's voice, using AI,
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is that scary as a voice actor? Yeah, I don't. Well,
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I don't like that either, And I don't think I think it's the thing
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that they have to remember is that it's not just a voice, it's a
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it's an actor who's musing a voice. You know. My buddy Jess Harnell
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says, well, as a voice actor, it's a small V, but
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a capital A, you know. And uh, you know, which I
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think is a good way to put it. And yeah, I don't.
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I don't care for it. I mean that's I can't imagine it. You
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know, it'll take over. I imagine something like that would be good for
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a talking toy. Yes, you know, something very static. Well,
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I was gonna ask you what do you think of the Kate differences between doing
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a voice and acting a voice? Wow? You know there is Uh,
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I can't a good thing. I can't remember his name because I'm sure be
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happy to say it. And there was a guy on the interwebs maybe five
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years ago six and he went all down the line and he goes and here
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are Jim Cummings's voices and then he you know, he did dark Wing and
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then he did Tiz and then he did Tigger, and then he did Pooh,
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and then he did Hondo knocka. Then he you know, bump it
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up, up it up, and they were they sounded okay, but I
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mean he couldn't have acted wet if you threw him in the pool. Yes,
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you know, and I thought, okay, wow, you uh you
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sound like that. And that's all. He probably did it to his mates
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at a potty and absolutely killed it. And photo will say, right,
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yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm sure he thought he
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was crushing it. But yeah, you know, it's it's no boy.
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No. So we here today to talk about the Itchy and Scratchy and Pucci
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Show, an episode where Homer becomes a voice actor for the character Pucci on
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each Scratchy show in the Simpsons. Yeah, and at the side of the
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episode, they asked for the cartoon to create a new character and they do
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a focus group. Do you have any fun focus group stories? Remember a
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part of focus groups, particularly children's focus groups for your animated shows. You
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ever get the feedback from them? No, I know that of all the
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closest I ever came to. That was the character Bonkers Bonkers Bobcat. He's
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on. It was on the Disney Afternoon originally now all over Disney Plus.
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And it was interesting, you know, because we it's the only time I've
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ever gone through five auditions, and I think in the third, fourth,
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and fifth audition they actually have to pay you a session fee. Well,
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because they should have made up there they I was told that they are one
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hundred people. And I do remember sitting in a in a lobby with everybody
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there and we're all there was like twenty people in there, and uh,
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they said, well, they're they're not gonna even know this week or next
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week. They'll they'll just figure it out and probably about a month. I
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said, oh wow, that's a long time, so long ago, because
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they're auditioning one hundred people a five hundred, I mean, oh my god,
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everybody in their dog so you know, you're there, you're there,
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you're there. Do that audition and they get a callback. Okay, now
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there's only dozens of people there, and okay, well another call the other
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callback. Really wow, okay, so you go back and made it all
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the way to the fifth callback. And I went in and dog on.
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I'm gonna forget his name, but if Philip was doing Max Headroom, which
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was a and Jim Carrey was sitting there, wow, and he was.
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He was on Living Color at the time, a big on camera role.
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Uh he was kind of a breakout character obviously. And Matt just writ Matt
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Freua, was that the guy? Oh yes, Matt Freuer, thank you.
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Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah, that's who it was. And
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they were there, and the three of us were sitting there looking at each
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other, and Jim Carrey had an at teschee case for whatever reason I'll never
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know, and they took in Matt Frewer first, and he came out and
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go, well, I guess we'll see ce ce ce ce. See what
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happens. You know, really funny because he was the bizarre thing. And
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uh then Jim Carrey went in, and about half an hour or so later
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he came out. He picks up his briefcase and says, well, I
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guess you'd go and then and then he walked on out of there, and
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I said, I think I'll stick around. And uh so then I went
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in finally and I did it. And about him a week later, they
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called me up and they go, how would you like to be bunkers?
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And I said, well, I guess I'll stick around. And so yeah,
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that was that was my That was my big brush with him. So
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you beat Jim Carrey. That's a claim to fame in himself, isn't it.
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Yeah? I would think, yeah, yeah, that's crazy. Probably
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I couldn't do it now, but I think he's he's somewhere spending money or
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counting it, yes, slipping on a pile of it. Yes, well
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yeah. In the episode the woman who voices Itchy and scratches Jim Ballamy,
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she does both characters in the episode, and Homer when he meets her,
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he's taken it back. He can't believe a woman is hosting his arm voice
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and these two characters, both of them. Hell yeah? Is that an
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experience you get every day someone has gone, well, you've you've voiced all
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these people, like you must just encounter that every day of your life.
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Well, not quite, but I do a lot of conventions these days.
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Yeah, And oh my gosh, I always get it for Jeremy Iris because
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I sang a song I did like four or five lines looping because he was
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back in England, but I sang a song called be Prepared and he never
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even says the words be prepared and um. And people will often come up
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and they'll and then they'll, first of all, they'll go, okay,
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so you didn't do but you didn't, but this does you don't sound like
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that? I go, thank you. I know, I don't. I'm
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not an actual duck. That's all right, don't worry about it, you
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know. And and they'll say, but but that was you. But I
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thought I thought you were lucky Pakala, and I thought you were and I,
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yeah, I am, I am, And they scar is the one
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from Lion King that gets him every time they got Now, now that was
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that was Jeremy Irons, and I go, you were supposed to think it
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was Jeremy Irons and it wasn't Russell Means and Pokerhonnas either. And I did
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all his singing. You know, he didn't even care. He didn't even
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And now I saw him at entertainment tonight. He kind of took me off.
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He goes, because they asked him, what what did you enjoy most
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about being in this great big Disney movie? And as a Native American,
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he goes, well, I I really enjoyed the singing, I really and
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and and everywhere, and they're all gone, oh, so will you sang?
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Yes? Oh yes, did you like my singing? And I guess
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he was just busting their chops. But if they were going along with it,
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I think he was fine with it, just testing the water to say
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whether they knew anything or not. I don't know anything. I'll go with
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it. Yeah, yeah, I think so, I think so. And
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uh, but that's okay because you know, the check cleared, so Jim.
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When Chris Hemsworth has to play thor again, he obviously has to hit
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the gym again or has to sort of maintain a certain I guess regimen.
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And I'm wondering if for a voice actor you have to constantly be mindful of
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your instrument. You constantly have to be training it or maintaining it. You
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know, is it hot tea and lemon every morning? I mean, how
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do you keep your vocal called sort of limbering and pumped up? Well,
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I've often had hot tea and lemon in the studio with a little bit of
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honey obviously some money, but no, I I have all the cigarettes I've
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ever smoked in my life. Right here in my hand. So you know,
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there's that. And um, you know, I'll go to a football
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game or baseball, you know, and and I clap and I whistle.
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I oh, yeah, you know, because it's a it's an instrument.
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You know, you're gotta be aware. It's the money maker. Yeah.
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Yeah, it's an instrument for me and a money maker. So I don't
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you know, if I was a dancer, I wouldn't be walking across hot
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coals either, you know. So yeah, it's you know, it's just
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maintaining being healthy. You know. So far, so good. We'll spit
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you speaking of the linking just before, and that was funny because when we
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post it up that we're gonna get a chance to speak to you, everyone
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goes, why is Sky there? It's Jeremy. Yeah, it's not him,
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it's Jeremy. But my favorite liking story for yourself is that you wrote
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the fot line in a kutamatada. That's amazing. I did, thank you,
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thank you acting yeah, my buddy, Jess harnell Um. As it
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turns out, Nathan and Ernie, Sabella, Timon and Bomba they were not
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singers, and so they said, well, you know, let's just get
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Jim and Jess in here and have them sing Kuna Matata, and then we
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can get them a cassette because back then it was all cassettes and they can
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drive around in their car listening to it all day. And that way,
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when we get them into the studio at the end of the month, you
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know, they'll know it as well as they know Happy Birthday, you know,
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just they'll know it by heart. They we won't have to sit there
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and agonize because I've done that in studio with people who do not sing,
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and I really feel sorry for them because you're you're really taking them out of
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their wheelhouse. I haven't done it in a long time, but you know
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somebody who just doesn't sing, you know, there while your character sings,
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oh well, m you know, which was actually it was good that Christopher
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Lloyd did that, you know, and he said, wow, that may
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know how I saw and me out here, but bye, you know.
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And then they called me in and I went in and I sang his song,
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Uh call my Men Young bah blah blah blah blah blah and the Dog
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of the Night. You know, it was very Lord Webber and uh,
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oh gosh, where was that going with that? Oh? Yeah, So
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we were we were doing a kun of atada and I was to moan and
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he was or I was pull and he was tom and We're going through the
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song and I remember Rob Minkoff brought up the one of the producers said,
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well, I don't know these lyrics. I mean, it's like it's just
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reminds me. I feel like I'm talking to my parents. You know.
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When I was a kid, it was really hard. You have it easy.
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I had to lift rocks all day and you get it, you know,
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it's loadida for you. And oh I had to go uphill both ways
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to school, you know, and in the snow, and it was terrible
20:52
for me. And I go, yeah, no, it gets old really
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quickly. Hey doesn't this wart hog doesn't he have a flatulence problem? And
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they go yeah, And I said okay, and I went over and I
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whispered the lyrics into Jess's here. Oh the shame, but what's in the
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name? And I got down harder and every time that I but not in
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front of the kids. Sorry, coonamatada. So I alluded to the word
21:18
parted, which you can't say parted because farted is a word that shouldn't be
21:22
said, you know, parted. We're bleeping it out of this Yeah,
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yeah, don't say it. And so I'm just glad I didn't say it,
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you know, farted anyway, so that I'm trying to class up the
21:36
joint. So that was Yeah, that was my That was my big king
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moment. Lyric is oddly enough, I didn't get Sir Tim Rice apparently wrote
21:47
those words. Yeah, Nolton John, that's the last time I let them
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in what everybody remembers you Rice? Yeah, yeah, it's so true.
21:56
Yeah, it's funny because it's literally that's literally my wife's favorite movie. We
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listened to the track at least once a week and my kids kumata that monament.
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That is my kid's favorite monament in the whole movie. Oh my gosh,
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that's funny. You know, I remember got it and I've got it
22:11
around here somewhere. The La Times came out and said that this is a
22:15
Disney movie that everybody has to see. Went for one reason. Who knew
22:21
Jeremy Irons could sing? And he's phenomenal. He is because the bad guys
22:26
always get a really really good song, like Captain hook Hat. It had
22:29
a great song, and uh, and it's also the only of course that
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was me. And it's also the only Disney movie you'll ever see where you
22:38
almost hear a rhyme based around flatulence. So I'm thinking, so, A,
22:45
I'm giving Jeremy Irons credit for something he didn't do, and B I'm
22:51
giving Tim Rice and Elton John credit for writing lyrics that I had lived.
22:56
And uh, where's my check? You know the check, Claire? You
23:00
know. So I don't know what a quick job is, Jim. With
23:07
all these people lifting your laurels, it must be nice when work you do
23:12
is visibly appreciate. I'm thinking of like when the Christopher Robin movie came out
23:18
of the one with you and McGregor. I think there was a lovely piece
23:19
in Vanity Fair where they basically said, Jim Gummy deserves an ask him for
23:23
this for his for Yeah. I couldn't have agreed more. But oddly enough
23:33
it didn't happen. But I know, and I wrote them a letter,
23:37
wrote that fellow, a letter that was very kind. That was very very
23:40
sweet of him, you know, I and I wasn't even ticker originally,
23:45
no, not to two thousands. Yeah, yeah, that was there was
23:48
another fellow what's the thing as someone who myself I grew up in the nineties.
23:52
The voices behind the characters were never sort of market It was just like
23:56
the characters, right. I think, now we're all getting old enough to
23:59
go back and read his and learn this goes We sort of go he voiced
24:03
our childhood? How is this man not has an a statue at Disney World
24:07
of this man? You know what I mean? Like like, it's just
24:08
it's it's crazy. Yeah, thank you for that. I actually get that
24:14
a lot. You you bo okay, you voiced my entire childhood, you
24:18
know. And the guy's like forty years old, and they go, okay,
24:22
well but I didn't mess you up. Oh no, no, you
24:25
didn't mess me up. It was great, you know. Yeah, there
24:26
was a very good impression of Dando. You just did oh well thirty four
24:33
thirty four not quite forty yet. But speaking of fans, right, So,
24:37
in this episode of the of the Scratching Pitch Up the Simpsons, they
24:41
go up on they look a panel and as an audience in front of them,
24:44
and we have a very snarky fan who thinks he's a genius. He
24:48
has his shirt says, genius at work, and he brings up and a
24:51
mistake during one of the animated shows, and they put they're sort of up
24:53
on the stage going, what are you talking about? You're a gray man,
24:56
what are you doing this for? And do you ever come across moments
24:59
like that where you just wish you could politely to say what is wrong with
25:00
you? Yeah? Occasionally occasionally, you know, when you know it's you
25:08
know, there was Oh wow, No, it's Bob IgA pick up.
25:18
Yeah, it's Bob again with your check for the fighting Jake. Sorry,
25:22
Patrick, I have to call you back. I was accountant. Oh how's
25:26
it calling out for? What's that? To check? What? I don't
25:30
know? I'm sorry, I can't believe that just did. Sorry, we're
25:34
talking about I'm fans that just They asked questions about an episode of Darkwing Duck
25:38
from season two The k How How how will I know this? Yes?
25:45
Yes, yes, and no? And one of my favorites is uh it's
25:48
one of the things. So were you you were like Darkwing dark or something
25:52
or what? Yeah? But I thought I thought I thought you were Naga
25:56
Duck. Well I was Naga Duck. You just said dark Wing. No,
26:00
no, I was dark wing and Naga duck. Oh, well how's
26:03
that? How'd that go? What? What is that? I don't know
26:07
what that means? You know what was that? Like? Well, what
26:12
was that? Are you pooh? Well? Yeah, but I thought you
26:18
were a tigger? Well I yeah, well I am pooh, so you
26:21
pooh and tigger? Yes, that's right? What about you? Or what
26:26
about you? Or I go, well, no, that's that's that's not
26:29
me. Okay, just checking. Okay, thanks, thanks for coming by.
26:37
Would would you like an autograph nowur? It's on pop with what's your
26:40
favorite character that your voice? Yeah? Oh that's painful. I have too
26:44
many of them. It's Pooh, Tiggered, dark Winged, Tazza, Hondo,
26:48
Oanaka, and Ray from Princess in the Frog. So I have to
26:51
thank you, Jim. I've just scratched the next five questions off my list.
26:53
Okay, good. Which which is the character you think gave you the
26:57
most freedom to just beat you? Uh? Boy? Probably Hondo, I'm
27:03
not gonna yeah, because he's a he's a wise guy and uh and uh.
27:10
I think we were talking about a little while ago they had um I
27:15
think it was Vanity Fair that had the ten top twelve lines of Hondo o'naka,
27:22
and I made up ten of them. They were just at you know,
27:26
and I thought that was just that really really works, you know,
27:30
so that was despined with me, Jim. Act actors get get top cast,
27:36
the voice actors get top cast. Well, I think to an extent
27:38
it hadn't really happened to me, but it's about to say, I mean,
27:41
you've got a great degree of versatility. It seems yeah, yeah,
27:45
I think. Well, I started on a show called Dumbo Circus. It's
27:48
not not on anymore. I don't even think they saved any of them.
27:52
And I was kind of like they joked around. Ron Gans got restless,
27:56
solely played. He played a cute tea anyway, he said, oh here
28:03
he is Cast of thousands. Oh thanks. That was my nickname Cast of
28:07
Thousands because I played Lionel and then like half the spectators and guest start guests,
28:15
people you know, coming and going. So that that was it was
28:19
kind of like on the job training, you know, I I was getting
28:22
paid to learn and develop. Lasted for a year and a half. So
28:27
when was the first time you remembered not remembering one of your characters? Because
28:30
you've done so many already. Well it's not that I didn't really remember,
28:36
but you know, I've done some video games, not not many, but
28:41
apparently I've done some really popular ones. And this is at a convention.
28:45
It's got to be like ten years ago. And these two guys come up,
28:48
you know, okay, so do the voice? Do the voice?
28:52
And I go, oh bother, No, no, no, the voice?
28:56
You know the voice? And I go and then I'll do take her
28:57
no dark Wing. No, it's not what what voice? I mean?
29:02
Can you beat more specific? Uh? Balder's Gate? And I went,
29:07
what about it? Oh? It was a video game? Oh geez okay.
29:11
And it was a character named Minsk and he was modeled after Lenny from
29:17
in of Mice and Men. And he had a hamster and uh he was
29:22
sweet. He was Nordic of some sort. But the mean skin the hamster
29:26
of just this boo. Don't mess withe boo or he'll get you through,
29:32
you know. And it's and and I said, wow, okay, that
29:36
was from nineteen ninety five, you know, so that's it's not top of
29:40
mind due the voice. Yeah that one, sure, surely you mean mins
29:45
from nineteen ninety five, do you lot that though, because it's because when
29:48
you haven't a voice of so long, is it like using muscles that haven't
29:51
been used for a while, just trying to remember those kind of voices always
29:53
just there's always always name. Once you've created it, it's you can just
29:56
go to it. Yeah. For for me, it's pretty easy. I
30:00
could just go to it, you know. You know that's my old joke.
30:03
I'm schizophrenic and so are we. Australia's number one pop culture convention,
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Disney voice actor, Jim Cummings and so much more. So it gets your
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tickets today at supernover dot com dot au. Well. In this in this
30:32
Simpsons episode, the guy who's running the convention, he asked for a comic
30:36
book. Guys they call him on the Simpsons. He asked for a ton
30:37
of autographs for himself. What are some of the more interesting things that you
30:41
now get asked to sign besides you know, DVD covers and Funko pops.
30:44
Is there anything odd ball that yet asked to sign these days? Well,
30:48
the occasional breask, yeah always helps, and I don't. It's I don't
30:55
and you know, I don't like doing that signing um and and occasionally someone
31:03
will and I remember, and women will do this and that's always on the
31:07
ankle and could I sign their foot their their ankle And I go, you're
31:12
gonna you know, you're gonna shower and this is gonna be there. She
31:17
goes, not till I get the tattoos. Oh, oh, you're tattooing
31:22
my name And I don't know about that. That's that's a tough one.
31:26
That's that's my name is next level fan, isn't it. Yeah, you
31:32
you are a fan? And uh. And then she'll show me that,
31:38
you know, she's got all these characters and there will be Pooh and Ticker
31:42
and dark Ring and they're all dancing up the leg and yeah, I have
31:48
a lot of a lot of tattoos, a lot of tattoos, Jim.
31:52
It strikes me that occasionally you have a very wholesome fan momentum. I was
31:56
reading an article a little while ago about the work you do with with the
32:01
Make a Witch Foundation, particularly you were on the phone to a little girl
32:05
who who wanted he Winnie the Pooh, and uh, I was saying,
32:08
I love you, Winnie the Pooh, and I was like, oh my
32:10
god, God, it's too early for me to be in tears. Oh
32:14
yeah, yeah, I remember it well. I mean, you know,
32:16
terminal cancer. I think I want to say. She was two and a
32:19
half three and to make a wish. People called me up and they said
32:23
can you do this? And I said, my lord, can I would
32:27
love to. I would love to. And then she died like six months
32:30
later. Oh going, and I just it just destroyed me. I didn't
32:35
know what to think, you know. And I said, well, you
32:37
know, and their mother, oh God, bless her. She gets on
32:40
here and she said thank you, thank you, thank you. And I
32:45
said, oh no, it's strange. She goes, yeah, but she's
32:47
smiling. She hasn't smiled in a year and a half. And I'm okay,
32:52
well that was half her life, you know. And I said,
32:57
well, you know, you're only welcome. I feel like I should be
33:02
thanking you for this blessing to you know, see this precious little girl and
33:07
maker Mager smile, Mager smile. I'm sorry to start our bad memories,
33:12
Jim, but I mean it must just do it pointed. Yeah, warm
33:15
inside though, to be able to use your gift in that way. Yeah,
33:19
no, I agree. I agree. It's it's a beautiful, beautiful
33:22
thing. And I have a similar story by this young man has actually just
33:30
texted me yesterday, years ago, years ago, got to be I don't
33:35
know, maybe twenty years ago. He was ten probably at the time.
33:39
And my agent at the time called me up and he said, hey,
33:45
can you talk to this young boy. His his dad is in the Army
33:50
Corps of Engineers or something and and blah blah blah. And he was a
33:52
doctor and but his son is you know, he's he knows all about your
33:59
character. This is one of the Disney Afternoon was going full force, full
34:01
force, and uh and would you talk to him? Would you take some
34:06
time on Saturday to speak with him? And he lives in Washington, DC.
34:09
And I said sure, sure, sure, absolutely, you know,
34:13
and so I get on the phone and as dad's there and he goes,
34:16
is this Jim Cully's Yeah, he goes, listen before before I put him
34:21
on the phone, I'm gonna call him Ronnie. Are you the guy on
34:24
the Wheati's commercial with Boomer Size and the football player? And I go,
34:28
oh, yeah, that's me. He goes, wow, okay, how
34:30
about Havilne the motor Royal for Is that you on that commercial too? And
34:36
I go oh, yeah, yeah, that's me. And he goes,
34:38
wow, Well, I know, I know that you're in all these oh
34:43
you know what here, I'm just gonna put Ronnie on the phone and I
34:45
said, hey, Ronnie, how are you doing. Your dad tells me
34:47
that you recover a really good ear and he goes, yes, thank you.
34:52
Now, I think that you should do the voice of Balker Steve Bobcat,
34:55
who is of course the very first tune detective who lives in Tunetown.
35:00
And they went, oh, but jee you okay there, good. Now,
35:02
I think that you should do the voice of Lucky for Kell, who
35:05
is of course his human counterpart, and he too is in the Hollywood Tune
35:08
Division. Oh I'm doing that, but good Now, I think that you
35:12
should do the voice of cat from Cat Dog. He is, of course
35:15
the other end of dog, and did, well, yeah, okay,
35:19
good Now, I think that you should do the voice of dark winged Duck.
35:22
And he even though he sounds like Drake Mallard, which is of course
35:23
his secret identity, you can do blah blah blah. And I'm doing that,
35:28
doing that, doing that, and we're going for about forty five minutes,
35:32
and it's always good. Now I think that you should do and so
35:37
and I said, is your dad there? And I talked to Dad.
35:44
Yes, And he gets on the phone and he goes, holy, I'm
35:47
so sorry. I had listen. I had no no idea that he his
35:53
mother's got to talk to you. And she gets on and I go and
35:57
I go, hi, how are you, how are you, ma'am?
35:59
And oh my god, oh my god. She's in tears. She's just
36:02
crying. She's crying and crying. She goes, I'm so sorry. But
36:06
we had no idea. We had no idea. We have two video cameras
36:08
going right now and this is, this is phenomenal. And I said,
36:13
oh, I don't worry about it. You know, he's a little chatterbox.
36:15
He you know, he's got a lot to say, and I would
36:19
have done the same thing at his age. She goes, no, no,
36:21
no, no, no, not that kind of no, no idea,
36:24
Ronnie doesn't speak. Oh my god, wow, I said, he
36:30
doesn't speak, this little guy. I couldn't shut up. He goes,
36:37
he's almost ten. We haven't heard his voice since he was three. Whoa,
36:43
oh god, she shoot me. And I just I was flabbergasted.
36:50
And uh. And his dad gets on it and he says, he goes,
36:52
this is great. I can't thank you enough. This is beyond therapeutic.
36:57
This is miraculous. This is you know. And he was he was
37:00
in tears, and then I was in tears. Then my two daughters are
37:02
here there, and then we're all sitting around crying and uh and and he
37:07
says, now I can take this to his therapist and I could play this
37:12
this video for him and say, oh, yes, Ronnie, you do
37:15
speak, you speak very very well. And to twenty years later, he
37:22
called me yesterday he told you, thank god, Yeah, I'm still in
37:27
contact with him. So now so so you basically helped him to lend a
37:30
talk going forward. He spent going forward all oh yeah, oh yeah,
37:37
well see I looked it like, I said, yeah, I've seen him,
37:38
Yeah, I've seen him. That's an amazing story. Yeah, And
37:43
and his dad was explained. They explained autism to me like if if we
37:46
see people at through an open door, completely opened door and not at you
37:52
know, that's how we do. But if you're certain people that have autism,
37:55
and there's many degrees, they see the same world, but they only
38:00
get to look through the keyhole. And he says, and the way he
38:05
explained it, he said, when he was looking through the keyhole, the
38:07
Disney Afternoon was on the other side, and he would sit there and he
38:12
would watch the show with his dad and he would lean over and go and
38:15
he would whisper many make sure what's you say? And it would be Monterey
38:21
Jack or uh, you know King Louis or just you know dark Wing or
38:24
who negative check? Oh wow, so he really really picked up. He
38:32
he's got it. You know it got an ear. You know that is
38:37
well you may not have got the check for the kunamatata, but you got
38:39
stories like that. So yeah, yeah, no, it's true, exactly
38:44
right, because I was thinking, I mean, the voice actors are clearly
38:46
beloved advice many people but at the same time that don't decide like the high
38:52
profile of you know, sitting about the line talent particularly you know from the
38:54
two thousands onwards. You know, you started saying Mikes and Eddie Murphy and
39:00
so and so in Shrek and you know, oh yeah stock cost of shocktail
39:05
or something like that. Oh yeah, yeah, you know my friend calls
39:07
a TV guidecasting. Yeah, how is that? So has that made your
39:14
Did that make your career more difficult because it felt like the biggars were focusing
39:16
on actors as opposed to the voice actor. Yeah? Yeah, well,
39:21
you know, I know a lot of people were not crazy about it.
39:23
I had knocker would. I had enough characters that were kind of established,
39:30
and I would sneak in to a lot of movies anyway, uh, you
39:35
know, like Princess and the Frog, and I got that one because I
39:39
could sing. And also they wanted I was a decan on a riverboat.
39:45
And the caging. They wanted a cage in accent. That's not like somebody
39:50
from down there and Alabama talking like ess so I do and there Boddy.
39:53
You know that's that's just a sudden accent, whereas a cage and accent you
39:58
go out that the value day like that, you've got to know, you
40:01
got to know. And so and I was a decade out of riverboat,
40:05
so I had it down, you know. And quick aside, The first
40:08
teenage muting Ninja Turtles I ever did was I played a character, a Cajun
40:15
alligator called Letter yea yeah, and he was He was the voice of my
40:22
very first riverboat tugboat captain. That's how he talked. Yeah, that's and
40:28
I always have said that if you do a perfect impression of somebody, nobody
40:30
knows, it's a new character. If you do a terrible impression of somebody,
40:35
everybody knows, I can't even tell who it is, that's a new
40:37
character. So he was a new character and evil Letter and he told black
40:42
days. And I often wonder, because my career started a couple of years
40:45
right after that. He was sitting there and the teenage muting Ninja Turtles.
40:49
Come on, Hey, grandpa, you want to come in here? Look
40:52
at this galligator here, you want to to you know this guy? I
40:57
don't know. Fun stuff growing out. One of my friend it toys was
41:00
a leather head toys. Oh really, there you go. That's why that's
41:05
how I knew that. Yea, yeah, but yeah, but you've mentioned
41:08
in previous interviews Dark Ring Duck Right when they pulled the pin on that show,
41:12
it was still one of the most popular, the most popular Disney animated
41:15
show going at the time. Did you get back to that now and just
41:17
think why there was rumors of a reboot? Is that still happening, What's
41:21
what's the plan? Yeah, well he was in one of the duck Tails
41:27
just for yeah year or two, a couple of years ago, and uh,
41:30
and that was it. I mean, there's always a rumor of dark
41:35
Well, you know, I hear they're making more dark Wings and I go,
41:37
well, i'd I'd like to get a phone call because we're not waiting
41:42
on me. You know, they redid Ducktails completely the newcast. I don't
41:47
know for better or worse, but they did, you know, but you
41:52
know it was pretty good. It was odd looking animation. It was it
41:55
wasn't my wasn't my cup of tea. But I know I grew up with
41:58
what you were working on. But what were your thoughts on the Chippendale movie
42:01
from from last year? I thought I really enjoyed that. I thought it
42:04
was fantastic. Yeah, I got a kick out of it. Yeah.
42:07
I had a few cameos in there, so that was what documents. And
42:10
I think Pete was in there as well. I mean a Goofy movie was
42:14
one of my favorite movies growing up. I loved Pete. Yeah, yeah,
42:17
I liked it. Yeah, I liked that movie. It was It
42:20
was great. And uh, you know, uh Pete, Pete, Goofy.
42:24
They're just like Mutton, jeff Or Laurel and Hardy. You know,
42:28
they're they're quite a team. You know, they're better with each other than
42:32
they are separately. I always thought you mentioned Hondo earlier Big Style Wars him,
42:37
assuming your Big Style Wars fan yourself as well. Oh yeah, you
42:40
were in your mid twenties when the first film came out. Were you a
42:43
Luke Skywalker guy or a Han solo guy? Oh boy? I uh were
42:47
you lay guys buddy? Yeah, I was a layout guy. Uh yeah,
42:53
but probably I'd probably identified more with Han because he was more of a
42:58
wise guy. Yeah. But uh but Mark's a good buddy of mine.
43:01
So yeah, that's what I was gonna say. What with Mark, you
43:04
know, a legendary voice after in his own right, You know, I
43:07
think he's oh yeah, he's known as Luke Skawalker. But I think to
43:10
anyone who grew up in the nineties and beyond is like, no, he's
43:14
the joker. Yeah, oh you bet, yeah. Absolutely. It's so
43:19
funny because the first time I met him, we were at we were doing
43:22
Tasmania and uh and they were starting up Batman and he was a joker and
43:28
they go, Jim, did you know that Mark Camills is down there and
43:31
he's doing the joke? And I go, oh my god, I'm gonna
43:34
go bust in because you know, I did a couple of Batman too.
43:36
I mean they know, yeah, yeah, I can just go in and
43:38
bug him and and uh. And it's I'm walking across the parking lot and
43:43
Mark's walking and he goes, oh wow. And then he comes up to
43:46
me and he goes, hey, how are you doing, buddy, Mark
43:49
Camill? And I go, yeah, I know, man. Jim Commings,
43:52
good to meet you goes, yeah, so what are you doing?
43:54
I said, well, I'm I'm doing tasks right now and uh and and
44:00
he goes, oh, we'll listen to me. Fame. Give me some
44:01
dark wing, what give me? Give me some dark win dug. I
44:07
am the terror that blaps him. He goes, oh, okay, so
44:10
that's in the mask. It's not entirely in the mask. It's not it's
44:15
not really nasal, is it. I go, uh, okay, you
44:19
go, okay, well give me some times. It was Oh to see,
44:22
that's perfect that that sounds just like no blank now give me pooh.
44:27
Oh my god, I cannot believe this again. I'm so gonna turn this
44:30
off. Sorry, really popular guy. Why is it ringing? Uh?
44:36
Yeah, there you go anyway. Uh. And he's having me do all
44:39
these characters and he goes and give me some Tigger and I go, you
44:45
know, he goes and and finally like three or four characters and they go,
44:50
okay, hold on, you're not getting to meet me. I'm getting
44:53
to meet you. Okay, okay, give me some Luke and he laugh
45:00
and you know, we just became buddies ever since. A great guy.
45:04
He just seems like the loveliest person who just enjoys being Mike Hamill. Oh
45:07
yeah, yeah. We did a couple of Hannah Barbara's shows and I was
45:14
the Cajun, of course, designated Cajun, and he was he was a
45:19
bad guy and what was it? Returned to swamp something village, you know.
45:23
But I got a great poster out of it and a lot of great
45:27
stories. So it's just a lot of fun. Well, your your friends,
45:30
he said, and your friends of Mark and it's a very tight in
45:31
the community. Do you guys ever help each other with voices? Have you
45:35
ever not given a voice of somebody but sort of gone, Maybe if you
45:37
do it more like this, it might be better. Have you ever you
45:39
can think of an iconic character that you've sort of helped guide somebody too?
45:44
Yeah, No, I haven't had that. Um, but my dear friend
45:50
Wayne Allwine was Mickey Mouse and he he got he was ill for a while,
45:55
and uh, I know that he was instrumental in helping along Brett the
46:02
new Mickey Mouse. And he was very gracious in that regard. You know,
46:07
he and Rucy Taylor, Mickey and Minnie were married, you know,
46:09
which I thought, I was just so sweet, you can't even stand it.
46:14
And yeah, and he, God rest his soul, he was.
46:16
He was very gracious. But I've never yeah, I've given you know,
46:23
advice, and you know, I think I did a seminar once or twice,
46:27
But I realize I'm not that good a teacher. I don't. I
46:30
don't know how. You know, how do you go back? Yeah?
46:34
Go go tell people. I mean, you know, I always recommend d
46:37
Bradley Baker. He's got one, he's got a good website. And you
46:40
know, Chris Zimmerman did, and I know bj Ward gave some classes for
46:45
a while. But yeah, I don't. I don't know how. I
46:51
mean, you know, do bad impressions of famous people? And are good
46:53
impressions of famous people? Do perfect impressions of people nobody knows? And that's
46:58
about it, you know, and characters that you met, gentleman. On
47:02
that note, I'm sorry, I might have to skip out the content more
47:07
content mill is calling. Okay, but Jim, you did mention doing good
47:12
accents of famous people. I wondered before I depart, I could hear your
47:15
Mike Tyson, I here, it's quite good. Well, I could think
47:20
of this nature how Never, if I did, I would have to wipe
47:25
your head up up the flow because it's so good. Yeah, I just
47:30
hope, I just hope I don't run into make one of these days.
47:32
So you don't want me on it in a web, you know, we
47:38
don't want that, we don't. I think it's a different side of mine
47:42
these days, anyway, with his own little brand of what if we call
47:45
it. Yeah, I think he's mellowed out a little. Yeah. Yeah,
47:49
I'll let you gentlemen keep talking. But Jim, thank you so much
47:52
for your time too. It was a great, great pleasure for me to
47:54
speak with you. I know it is for Dan. He's probably gonna keep
47:58
you on the line for another hour. But thank you so much for being
48:02
up a bit, for being with us today. Man, I really really
48:05
appreciate it was a great pleasure. Thank you. All right, Daniel,
48:07
enjoy the rest of your chat. I'll talk to you a bit of a
48:09
letter. So you got your gig for Winnie in the late eighties. Do
48:15
you think that was just a case of just perfect timing, because in my
48:17
opinion, that was really the golden era for Disney animation, That was the
48:22
real boot. No. I agree. I you know, I've told the
48:25
story before, and I auditioned for Gopher Rabbit, Pooh Tigger and uh an
48:35
eyor you know, because you just throw it again some wall, see what
48:37
happens. And I thought I really nailed or I thought, oh, I'm
48:43
so gonna be Ego. Yeah, you know. I went home and I
48:46
took about a week and a half, two weeks, and my agent calls
48:50
up. She goes, well, I have good news and I have bad
48:52
news. And I said, oh, really, what's We'll give me the
48:55
bad news, give me the bad news. She goes, You're not gonna
48:59
be or. And I go, really, who's he or? She said,
49:02
well, Peter Cullen. And I went, oh, wow, you
49:06
know, you lose to the great Peter Culin. He amazing, he optimist,
49:08
prime, he's you know, he's Peter Cullen exactly. I said,
49:13
well, I can't I guess, I guess I can't complain, you know.
49:17
And I said, what's the good news. She goes, You're winning
49:21
the Pooh and Tigger, and I said, the hell of the or?
49:25
He or we are. But at the time, you know, Paul Winchell
49:30
was, uh, he was still with us when Sterling, God rest his
49:35
soul. You know, they're both gone now. But Sterling was in his
49:37
late nineties, so he was just you know, he was done. He
49:42
didn't want to go out to play anymore. He was and God love him,
49:45
and and but Paul did and He was going back and forth this in
49:50
the late eighties, and they were having this famine over there, and he
49:53
had developed an idea to raise these in the shore in Mississippi. Over here,
50:00
we have these little things that are like half salamander, half fish,
50:05
and they're all very very nutritious and very ugly. And they're called mud skippers.
50:09
And you look at him, oh yeah, oh yeah, so but
50:15
they're all nutrition. And so he decided he was going to teach them how
50:20
to raise these because you can raise them in mud practically, you know.
50:24
And so he was going back and forth to try and cure hunger. You
50:29
know, he invented one of the artificials. It was one of the inventors
50:31
of the Jarvis artificial heart, Knucklehead Smith Tigger, and he was curing hunger.
50:38
Yeah. Well, so, I mean he had his plate was full,
50:42
yes, And so when he was over there, I was Tigger.
50:45
I jokingly referred to myself as Tigger. Like fortunately a lot of nobody was
50:50
able to tell I mean, I all I could hear was me, you
50:53
know, like at the time he said when he first heard your tiger,
50:57
and you sort of went through what doesn't sound right? Yeah, no,
51:00
doesn't. That's the problem, sterling. He just was we need the pooh,
51:06
wasn't he He heard him talking, just talking. Yeah, it was
51:08
just him talking a lot that story. You said. I think it was
51:12
maybe your girlfriend. I maybe you watch at the time. You were having
51:14
lunch at a diner and you heard him. You heard him ordering the food.
51:17
How does how does no one else in the room just commedicately get that's
51:20
when the food? Yeah? Yeah, well there he was. He was
51:23
the only other table. Oh yeah, there was no one else there.
51:28
And you could we couldn't see him because he was in a booth and we
51:30
were sitting at a upper table, and and he said, I believe I
51:34
will have the choulder, And I went yeah, And so I got up
51:39
and I looked and there he wasn't God bless him. He would looked like
51:42
an albino crow. Yeah, you know, I had a big shock of
51:45
giant white hair. It was really something. And I wish I went up
51:51
and talked to him, because I mean, I had no idea that I
51:53
would that this was going to revive it like two or three years later,
51:58
that I would end up being WINNI The poop described the intimidation of having to
52:02
voice such an icon of Disney. Well, I didn't know it was intimidating
52:07
at the time. I was too young and stupid. Okay, yeah,
52:09
so I just okay, you know, because he hadn't he hadn't been around.
52:15
Yeah, because that that animated series really revived it, didn't it.
52:17
Yeah? Oh yeah, yeah, very very much. So you know,
52:22
um, you know, people will say, now, were you the original
52:25
because and I got no. No. I was in grade school when the
52:29
original came out, but then it was gone for twenty years, and I
52:31
was grateful, I said, it gave me time to grow up. So
52:36
so then I then I could, you know, be the new one of
52:38
the poop. I know you've said you had to an audition for every role,
52:42
but were they ever roles that you just felt, well, they probably
52:45
had me and mom when they wrote this one. Boy, I don't know
52:46
if it was. It might be dark Wing or Hondo. Dark Wing Hondo
52:51
really feel like they just you an extension of you, don't they? Yeah?
52:54
Yeah, you know they have this similar sense of sense of humor.
52:59
Yes, all ye, that's for sure. And you know, and I,
53:01
like I said, I had lived all of them. The you know
53:06
when dark Wing was getting ready to launch into battle. He was I am
53:08
the terror that flaps in the night. I am the wicked scourge that picks
53:13
such her nightmares. I am dark Way Duck and that would be his battle
53:16
cry. And by about the seventh or eighth show, and I would always
53:21
do it as written, one take, and then we'd do a second take,
53:23
and I would and by the seventh or eighth show, the writers going,
53:28
I am the terror that flaps in the night. It doesn't matter what
53:31
I right here, Jim's gonna say something else anyway. I am dark Wayne
53:36
Duck. And I always wish I saved that script because that would that would
53:40
be good in a frame. What's great is that they have the faith that
53:43
for you to just be able to just make stuff up anyway. Yeah,
53:46
it doesn't matter what I say here. Yes, but I always did it
53:50
as written, and then I just did another one. You know. Jenny
53:52
mc swaine would she our great director. She would say, okay, give
53:55
me one for the give me one for the road comings. Then I said,
53:59
okay. It was easier back then for Chooting's animation, because you think
54:01
there was more freedom to sort of get away with things. He probably couldn't
54:04
get away with now yeah, oh yeah, yeah, we you know,
54:08
And I would occasionally try to sneak things by and I would then they would
54:15
have to fix it in post. You have to come in and do And
54:17
I remember once, I think it was on The Bunker Show or there was
54:21
these two hillbilly hound dogs and it would billy talk like legs, she has
54:27
list down there lack an old hill billy and and one of the lines would
54:31
know that that that don't belong to me, that must be yours and my.
54:37
Instead I said, well, that ain't none of mine. I believe
54:40
that's urine, and and it sounded okay, yeah, you know, it
54:47
sounded like a hillbilly. And they go, you can't say it must be
54:52
urine. I got it, but it is his and it ain't mine.
54:58
And that this okay, we'll just say it's not yours. Just do that,
55:01
okay, So okay. One of the it's funny in the modern world
55:06
that was streaming. Streaming is just everything now. I think one of the
55:07
biggest positives of streaming is that it's made it all these shows that you that
55:13
we grew up on, all these shows that you worked on in the early
55:15
ninet is so accessible now because shows we met a bunk as a couple of
55:17
times for a good while before streaming was a thing. I'm thinking in my
55:22
head, was Bonk as a show? Or am I just crazy? Because
55:23
I remember watching this Bunkers show as a kid, but no one remembered it
55:27
really was. It wasn't on TV anymore. I'm like, was it just
55:29
a figment of my imagination? And the Disney Plus coming and I went,
55:31
it's the show. I knew this existed. Yeah, so that's the positive
55:36
Disney Plus. It had two origins. The first one started off with Bonkers
55:42
had a a lady partner, and it wasn't as good. It was kind
55:47
of forgetting the name of whose partner got up so longer. But anyway,
55:52
when they rebooted it, they new writers, new new complete art direction,
55:59
and that's when Lucky Pakeel was brought on and I wounded up being my Bonkers
56:06
and Lucky, so that was kind of fun, and you know, and
56:09
I would get in arguments with myself and we invented a really interesting way to
56:15
have these arguments because Bonkers Lucky we have to go no, but yeah,
56:21
we have to get over and we're not going to do that, but but
56:24
you know, and so I would record all of bonkers lines in my head
56:29
when they would get these little made you know, those little quick, quick,
56:32
quick arguments, and I would record Bonkers first and thinking in my mind
56:38
what I was going to do with Lucky Paquell, and then they would play
56:43
Bonkers back through the headphones and I would just insert Lucky into into the right
56:47
spots, you know, and it was really organic. It was really nice
56:52
sort of times when you would voice a conversation in one take. Also always
56:55
separated with the characters. That might be easy for the editing side of things.
57:00
Well, I used to do do all the characters in a row,
57:05
but then I just wanted to separate them because I wanted to, like Pooh
57:07
and Tigger, you know, definitely, because I wanted to keep poo in
57:12
a pristine you know, because if you bounce back and forth, the first
57:15
syllable might sound like the other character or something. That's a good point.
57:17
Yeah, I never thought about that. Yeah, one, we'll find a
57:21
question for you. Go. So, in this Simpsons episode that we're discussing
57:23
earlier, that the character of Pooch the Humber voices gets marketed everywhere, you
57:28
know, nappies and magazine covers. Do you have a look at your characters
57:31
and see yourself or is it important that you have to separate Jim Cummings from
57:36
the character. Oh gosh, you know, I'm very proprietary of them.
57:40
I'm very you know, I watch out for them. I don't let you
57:45
know there was I wan't to even mentioned this spoof horrible movie, but uh,
57:52
I'm talking about Yeah. I'm just I'm very respectful of them. I
57:57
you know, I you know, I don't take myself seriously, but I
58:00
take the work seriously, you know. And you have to be grateful and
58:05
be full of gratitude, and uh and I certainly, yeah, I mean
58:08
to be and because you know, there, for the grace of God,
58:14
I could be working at a steel mill. So you know, you have
58:16
to have to be humble and be grateful. Yes, that's the way I
58:22
feel about it. And I'm very you know, people will say, like
58:24
at a convention, hey, could you could could you speak like winning to
58:28
poo? And I ask my girlfriend, no, no, I can't tell
58:31
you how much. No, you know, getting Brandy points that way,
58:34
buddy, Yeah, yeah, and you're not no, could you make Winn
58:37
a pood cust about dark? No? If he did that, would this
58:44
NY be annoyed? Do you think it is? It? Yeah? It
58:46
should be, I would be yeah, exactly. Yeah. All right,
58:50
guys, well doc forget. As we said earlier, Jim's gonna be hitting
58:52
the convention circuit. I'll walk throughout the states in twenty twenty three, so
58:55
be sure to check out Jim cummings well dot com to see when he'll be
58:59
in a town. Knee, But Jim, thank you so much for your
59:00
time today. It's been an absolute honor to be able to speak with you.
59:02
You're an absolute legend and I wish you nothing but the best going for
59:06
it, all right, you two? Damn God bless