Let’s get dangerous! While Jim Cummings has over four hundred credits to his name, he is undoubtedly best known as the voice behind iconic Disney characters Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Darkwing Duck, roles through which he has defined many a childhood.
Ahead of his appearances at Supanova in Sydney (17-18 June) and Perth (24-25 June), we revisit some highlights from his Melbnova panel this past April, where he discussed his own favourite characters (and his least favourite!), and how he feels about his part in raising multiple generations of children.
“But no potty mouths” Cummings reminded the audience, slipping into the voice of a beloved bear with very little brain, “because I’m Winnie the Pooh, and we don’t want to do that.”
HIS FAVOURITE VOICE TO PERFORM
“People ask that a lot. I’ve got about four or five. There’s Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger. Gotta love those guys. Darkwing Duck, Taz is up there. And I really like Ray, from The Princess and the Frog. When I was a kid, I accidentally learned a Cajun accent, so now I’m Hollywood’s designated Cajun voice. Then there’s Hondo Ohnaka, from the Star Wars cartoons. That about does it.”
APPROACHING ESTABLISHED CHARACTERS VS. CREATING ONE
“If it’s someone who already exists, like a voice match, that’s cut and dry. You have to sound like the guy. I kind of like coming up with my own. One thing I always say is, if you can do a great impression of someone you know, that’s a new character. One of my favourites, from Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers, was Sergeant Spinelli. He was one of the human characters, and he wasn’t in that many episodes. That was my Aunt Grace, exactly her voice. I’ve done that for a few of my relatives. I was a dragon, for a couple of things, and that was a dead-on impression of my Uncle Sam, God rest his soul. My cousins get a real kick out of it.”
PORTRAYING A FUNNY THANOS IN ‘THE SUPERHERO SQUAD SHOW’
“That was before the movies came out, about ten, twelve years ago, when I did Thanos. He was a bit of a goof, but it’s fun to make fun of the bad guys, right? Yes, I’d do a more serious version if they asked me… but they’d have to pay.”
GETTING INTO CHARACTER
“I saw some publicity shots once, and realised that when I do Tigger, I’m usually standing all proud, puffing my chest out. Then when I was Pooh, my stomach would get larger. So, I suppose you assume the body language too. That’s part of the character.”
A FAN INTERACTION THAT STUCK WITH HIM
“There were these twins, very sweet, whom I met years ago. In America, there used to be something called the Disney Afternoon. It was a two-hour block, Darkwing, TaleSpin, Bonkers, and, just luck of the draw, I was in every single show. One day, the twins were reading the credits, and realised they’d just been listening to me for two hours. I’d been babysitting them. Their parents set the VCR to record the shows, and every day after school, these kids would rewind the tape and watch it, and by the time it was over, their parents would be home. I was babysitting generations of kids. I hope I didn’t mess all of you up.”
MOVIES VS. VIDEO GAMES
“With video games, it’s all mostly phrases. Movies are more detailed, but it’s cut from the same cloth. It’s just an honour, and I’m pleased that everyone gets such a kick out of it now, because these are the things that used to get me kicked out of class.”
INHERITING ROLES
“With Sterling [Holloway], the first one was Pooh, and then he was Kaa, from Jungle Book, and Cheshire Cat. They don’t get around as much, but I’ve done Kaa a few times, Cheshire Cat a few times, and Pooh a few thousand times. The thing about character voices that are already established, is that you have to sound exactly the same. Disney insists on that. I like that. It’s continuity. They have a division called Disney Character Voices, and their whole thrust is to make sure you sound on-model, that you sound like it’s always been. It’s that consistency that people like. Warner Bros. doesn’t do it that much. But as long as they call me for Taz, I’m happy.”
HEROES OR VILLAINS?
“I think I like them both. But villains can be a bit more fun, especially when they’re a bit more tongue-in-cheek, not outright ‘evil, evil, evil’. Don Karnage from Talespin is a good example. He was a bad guy, but he’s got that goofy sense of humour. That kind of takes the edge off. Those kinds of bad guys are way up there. Good guys can be a bit yeah, okay, you’re the good guy, boring. That’s why, with Darkwing, he’s a good guy, but he’s got a bit of spit and vinegar to him. As long as you can get that in there, I’m happy.”
LEAST FAVOURITE ROLE
“A movie called The Mangler (inspired by Stephen King’s Christine, with Cummings voicing a different possessed car). Run away, don’t go out and see it as soon as you can. It was a piece of Poo, without the ‘H’.”
WHEN HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE A VOICE ACTOR
“Being a very naughty child is a start. When I was about five years old, there was a show called The Jack Benny Show. Mel Blanc was a regular on that show. My Dad said, ‘You see this guy? He does Bugs Bunny, and Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, all those cartoons you wake up and watch on Saturday morning.’ The first thing I thought was, well, he doesn’t have to go stand in the corner for being a little weirdo. So that’s when I knew that I was going to do stuff like [voice acting] and then I never went to school.”
HIS FAVOURITE CARTOONS GROWING UP
“I really got a kick out of a show nobody can find anymore, it was called Calvin and the Colonel, that was a really cool one. And I liked Mighty Mouse, Rocky and Bullwinkle, all the classics. And I liked all the Disney shorts, like Goofy, all those, the usual suspects.”
Jim Cummings is confirmed for Supanova in Sydney (17-18 June) and Perth (24-25 June), with tickets now available through Moshtix.
Lead Image: Jim Cummings at Supanova 2023 – Gold Coast next to an image of Darkwing Duck. Photo by Dean Muir
