BONUS: Jim Cummings Interview

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