I Am all In again.
Oh that's just you.
I Smell Pop Culture with Eastern Allen and iHeart Radio Podcast. Hi everyone, this is Easton Allen. You heard Scott Patterson say my name just a few seconds ago, and now I'm saying my name. This is Easton Allen. This is the sound of my voice. This is the I Smell Pop Culture Podcast, a subsidiary of I Am all In on iHeartRadio on iHeart Podcasts, one eleven productions, iHeart Media, everything else. All those logos you see at the bottom
of our screen. This is such an exciting week here we're talking to someone so cool and in case you're just joining us for the first time, here's what we do. You came here for Scott Patterson, You got me, Okay, I'm sorry you heard his voice at the beginning. He is not here. That's the last time you'll hear Scott Patterson's voice. But I promise you we're gonna have a lot of fun. We love the pop culture references in Gomart Girls. We go so much deeper than just listing
them off. We are interviewing the people that created them, that brought them to life, that made them pop culture moments and this week, we are going under the sea. We are going to venture to a pineapple under the sea. We're going to talk to Carolyn Lawrence, who is the voice of Sandy Cheeks on SpongeBob square Pants. That's right, SpongeBob SquarePants and Nickelodeon Treasure for twenty five years. SpongeBob has been on the air in its fifteenth season. Here's
why we're talking about SpongeBob. Okay, I know you're hearing this. You're going SpongeBob's cool. But why why Easton? Why tell me? And I'm going to tell you why. Just a few weeks ago, we talked to Robin Lively, who was in The Karate Kid Part three, because she was mentioned in season three, episode three application Anxiety Ladies and Gentlemen. We're going back to that same not just the same episodisode, this same scene. That's how jam packed Gilmour Girls is.
There are sony pop culture references in every scene. There's like twenty per moment, so there's just an endless gold mine here. We're going back to the beginning of the episode. Rory and Laurel I are working on Rory's Harvard application, and if you remember this, Okay, visualize it. I'm going to act this out for you. They're sitting there and
going through the requirements for the application. Laurel I says, Oh, they want a picture, how about the one of us sticking our heads through the carved out holes of Johnny Bravo and spongeboll SquarePants, And Rory says, there's the seriousness I crave. So SpongeBob SquarePants is the fourth longest running animated series of all time. And I should also note that at whatever event they took this photo of which
I'd love to see. I don't think you ever get to see it, but I would love to see that picture of Rory and Laurel with the cartoon characters poking their heads through. Johnny Bravo is a Cartoon Network property. Okay, clashing brands here because we're going to the world Nickelodeon for SpongeBob. And if you haven't seen Specible SquarePants, it is a story of a lovable sea sponge living in scenic Bikini Bottom with his friends Patrick Starr and Sandy Cheeks,
who is a Texan squirrel. Sandy Cheeks is a scientist. She is wearing like she's wearing like an astronaut outfit. So because she's a squirrel, she can't breathe underwater, but she's a scientist. She's a good friend, she's fun loving, she's such a fun character and an integral part of SpongeBob and I mean part of it since the beginning. So we're going to talk to the voice of Sandy here.
This is Carolyn Lawrence. She has been Sandy Cheeks in every single thing Sandy's in, the video games, the toys, the movies, the TV shows, everything. Carolyn is Sandy, and we're going to talk to her right now. She is right here. Carolyn, thank you so much for doing this.
Oh, thank you. It's so nice to be here.
So the reason we're talking to you today Carolyn Lawrence the voice of Sat Cheeks and SpongeBob square Pants, I mean, one of the legendary characters in old cartoon history. In see oh, the compliments will be coming hot and heavy. So strap in here. You're a you're a hero to us. So in season three of Gilmore Girls, they they reference SpongeBob. I mean, you know, Gilmore Girls known for their pop culture references, and Rory and Laura I on if you remember,
but it's there. Rory's filling out her Harvard application and they want a photo and Laura I says, should we include the one of us posing in the SpongeBob like cut out? When you I mean, you must hear SpongeBob and Sandy get referenced like all the time on TV shows like that, Like how does that feel when you see that happen?
It's always exciting, Like there's never a moment where that's not exciting. It's always such a shock too. You'd think, like twenty five years in it wouldn't be surprising, but I'm still like, oh, they just said us, like, it's very.
Have you ever like, have you ever posed with like a Sandy like character like a theme park or something?
Oh? Yeah, Well, the one I remember the most is I went to a SpongeBob event at the Mall of America in Minnesota years ago, and they had all the brown characters there and whoever was in the suit with Sandy. I didn't get to meet the person inside the suit, but whoever, they were amazing and we had so much fun.
Oh my, what a compliment. I mean Sandy herself saying that that complimenting that performance. I mean, I hope they're listening that performer out there. That's incredible.
Yeah, whoever you are, please post.
Yeah. So something I love is that like stars hollow does feel I mean, Sara's hollow in Bikini Bottom share so many similarities. I wanted to ask you, like, do you who do you think would be like the bikini bottom analog to some of our Gilmour Girl's characters. I mean, like, is Luke mister krabs? Is that what we're thinking here?
You know what? As he was saying that, I was trying to think of it, and I was like, well, wait, or would he be kind of a less enthusiastic SpongeBob. Yes, everybody kind of circle around him. And my cat is now talking to us as well, because it's just that kind of day. And I thought, if you if your viewer saw anything it looked like a rat, it was my cat. She's hairless, so don't be worried. There's no
rodents running by except squirrels. So and then I was thinking about Kirk, like could Kirk be he's kind of a squid word and that he's an enigma?
Yes, I was having the same thoughts.
I was like, who would be, who, Yes, that's a crossover I would love to see. But we'll get more into a more Gilmore stuff in in a minute here. But I'm I'm so curious. I was going back into your turning the pages of Carolyn Lawrence's life, and I was, I, I'm so curious, Like you, you have a dance background, and I don't know if a lot of people know that, but I mean, you're a classically trained dancer. How do you go from dancing to voice acting? I mean, how does that transition happen?
That was one of those random moments in life. So when I was with Gus Giernano's in Chicago, that's a dance company, we used to have what is called a company class, So that basically is a class that's open for any traveling dancers. Dancers are in town doing a musical or they're whatever they're doing that they can come and take a company class to stay fit and on
top of things and feel good. And there was this one man who used to come take company class and he was not a dancer, but he was always welcome. His name was Steve, and we just don't really liked him, Like even if the whole class is going this direction and he's going that direction where we're like what I read Seve. But he came up to me day and he said, I work at Universal Recording, and you have a really interesting sound, and we haven't been able to
find a voice for this particular product. It was a line of stuffed animals and do you want to audition? And I was like sure. I had no idea what that even entailed. Honestly, I didn't know voice for something that people do. I didn't really even understand what he's asking of me. I was just like, it's an opportunity. Let's go, and and I booked that. I did like three or four different voices.
I don't remember.
I know I was a lamb and a duck. I don't know if I was anything else.
Did you have to like say, did they give you lines? Like do you remember what you had?
So it was like a stuffed animal that kids could cuddle with and it would say nice things if they were afraid to go to sleep, like if they were afraid of the dark or whatever. It was very sweet. I don't remember any of the exact lines, but it was probably something hopefully soothing. And when I looked that job. I was like, wait a minute, you can make money doing this because the life of a dancer is really
really hard. And I was smart enough to know that while I have some talent, I wasn't going to be a version of call, you know what I mean. I wasn't. I wasn't going to be somebody who's like dancing for the rest of my life probably and making a great living. I might be working really hard the rest of my life, but it would probably be a struggle. So so yeah, that's how that came about. Total random you.
Know, It's so interesting how the universe works that way sometimes, Like and I know that, like your your career kind of you did some acting in front of the camera before you became just this voiceover superstar that you are today. But when you were growing up, did you like make funny voices? Was that something you would do?
No?
No, So I'm the anomaly in the voice world, because I know a lot of voice actors are are They were like the Hams of the class, and they were always yeah, that was their trajectory. I was, well, people thought I was painfully shy. I wasn't. What I was was somebody who liked to observe. So I was somebody who really liked to watch everything going on around me
instead of being engaged in it. So I was pretty quiet actually, which I think is why this thing worked for me, because I didn't have to talk to anybody, and I didn't have to really I felt protected in it somehow.
Yeah, that makes sense. It makes a lot of sense. And also, I mean being an observer that helps me understand like how you're so in my opinion, how you're so good at creating these characters with your voice. I mean because you're like you're observing all these people around you, how they act, how they operate, and you can build that to make your characters. It's so fascinating.
Yeah. Yeah, and you tuck things away, right like you at the grocery you see somebody You're like, oh, I have to save that for later.
So like when you were you come out to LA from you were grown up or in Chicago, dancing in Chicago, and then you come out to LA and like, you know, you score a role on Wings Carry in the City, the weird science TV show. Uh, what was that? Like, did you enjoy acting in front of the camera. Is that something that you were into yeah.
So moving to LA I had that young like, oh my gosh, I should should pursue at all, right, because why not. I came out here to pursue dancing and instantly knew that that wasn't going to work because at the time, music videos didn't want a classically trained dancer. They wanted something that I wasn't, so so that dream
got dashed pretty fast. But then yes, I had the opportunity to start doing some on camera stuff, and then I had that moment of like, oh, maybe this is a good path for me, right because it is fun. Even though I'll be honest with you, it was so stressful for me as somebody who kind of likes to hide. Oh yeah, doing on camera work was really I was always so happy when it was done that I had done it, but the process of it was really challenging for my well being. I got really, I would get
really really. I don't know about most of your listeners and viewers, but like when you're doing a sitcom and you're just a guest star, you're working with a cast that's been together, they know each other that there's like a certain rhythm, right yeah, and you're just coming in with your couple of lines and leaving. It's kind of like jarring.
Yeah, Like you don't you don't have a lead up.
You're just in and you do your think and you leave. So I would be backstage like waiting for my moment. But then you've got all these people in your head. The director wants you to do this, the producers are standing there asking you to do something else. The writers sometimes come up and they have a different opinion, and they're all telling you different things right before you have to go in and do your moment.
And you're your guest starts, so you want to do a good job. You know, you want to like nail it, and you have no power.
You're a guest. You can't like, excuse me, I need clarity on my character or.
What I like it, Like, what's my motivation here?
And I think because I was young and insecure, I had a lot of struggle in that. I'm sure other actors don't. Like maybe other actors that are more secure in their being just go, oh, be quiet, I'm gonna go do my thing. But that's not where I was at. So I loved it, but it was really stressful. Point being that when voiceover really started taking over. I was like, Okay, let's do that.
Yeah and it uh. I mean, it seems like you're ramped up pretty fast. How did you In nineteen eighty nine, you scored the role of Sandy Cheeks, the iconic Sandy Sandra Cheeks on Spendral SquarePants. How did that happen? How did you get that role?
Like?
What was the process of bringing you into that show?
All right? So as you were talking about the universe, because I truly that's how I speak about our world, right is the universe. Everything in my life has been random, every single thing, and SpongeBob was one of them. Because I had been auditioning and getting called back and doing well in the community, but not really booking that big thing that's going to give you, like consistency of income.
When I met the casting director named Donna Grillo on a sidewalk in Lespheelz when I was with my friend Quentin Flynn, who's a big voiceover guy, wonderful talented, like incredibly beautiful man, and she said, you have an interesting sound. Are you an actress? And I was like, yes, everybody in LA is an actor. She said, long story short, we have a little conversation, and she said she'd call
me in on something she was working on. And I didn't believe her because a lot of people talk a lot of whatever and it never comes to anything and soiling and it was SpongeBob. She called me in on SpongeBob.
Wow. So okay, So when you like, when you come in to do that, do they I'm so curious how much of the character they had kind of figured out at that point, Like did they tell did they tell you, like, oh, she's a squirrel from Texas? We want that accident?
Yeah, right, you get you get like it's a one sheet, So you get a one page piece of paper and it has usually a drawing of the character or picture of the character or whatever the artist sees in their mind, and then a little paragraph of dialogue and then like points about her. Yes, she's a squirrel, she's from Texas, she's a scientist, she knows karate, And they give you like all those pieces and then you use your imagination to come up with what you think that would sound like.
I love it and developing the sound of Sandy is just such a great voice. I love the character so much and like you can't help but smile when you listen to Sandy Cheeks, where did you draw from in your own life to get like the accent is so good too. I mean, I thought you were from Houston, honestly, like funny, So how did you develop that character? Well?
I thought about I thought about what she looked like first, because she's got book teeth, and so you got to have the teeth. And then I thought about what people from the South had like that that thing that sounded smart. I don't know how else to explain it, like trying to find like an example of something like and I thought of Holly Hunter.
Wow, And so yeah, she was the inspiration.
Hi, Holly.
That's fascinating.
But also it's interesting in that different actors work differently, Right. There are voice actors out there who have all these characters within them that they apply to a role, right that they have characters that they've been playing with at home that they just can't wait till the right role comes along that they can put it in, right. Yeah, And I'm the opposite Mine comes from. It has to be something in the script has to work for me interesting, or I've got nothing like.
Yeah, wow.
You can't just come up with a voice. They don't. It doesn't work that way for me.
I mean that's so pure. I think like that. It feels like this like inspiration and the character itself kind of speaking to you and like helping you come over the way that I love it.
Yeah, And I've had a lot of auditions where I have to be like, hey, guys, I got nothing. I got nothing, this one I don't have. I'm so sorry. I can't just make something up. There's nothing for you.
What were the early days of making SpongeBob, Like like the first season, you know, it kind of like recording those first few episodes, like did you have you? Did you have any idea of that people were gonna love it as much as they did? I mean, were you having a lot of fun?
I had no idea. I was so focused on my enthusiasm for being employed and being awestruck at the talent around me because most people on the show had like a huge wealth of credits and like they were incredibly well known already in the industry well way right, So I'm this room full of like phenomenal people and I'm like, whoaw. But it was really fun because right from the get go, we just jelled really well, we just all got It's like when you meet friends at school or something like,
it just felt good. It just kind of worked.
That's awesome. I love to hear that. That makes me so happy. I was. I mean, it would also be fun if you're like, oh, Tom Kenny is the worst guy in the business. I hate him. I can't stand in the side of him.
You don't know what No, honestly, you know what it is. It's like it's like your family, right, you love your family. Yes, you have those moments of like, ugh, uncle Joe, like we don't know him, right. So our cast after all this time is like that. We're like total family, all the love, but we definitely all have our quirks.
Too, of course.
Yeah, I mean, I mean you're in your fifteenth season, twenty five years of Spongebow. That's incredible. How and I'm curious how the experience for you has changed over those years, like and like has the character Sandy changed for you? Like have you like discovered different parts about her that you've brought to the role, Like how does that work?
I think I think initially it would be interesting to see what the writers thought. But initially it felt like Sandy was there a lot to do exposition, Yes, she was there, like to connect the scene to that scene like that seemed to be her Like all she did was you know yeah. Like And as the years have gone on, she's gotten more life. Like you've just you've found out more about her and what she's and that
helps me find out more about her. I mean, I'm still learning a lot about her now, which is kind of crazy. Like when we did the movie, I was like, Oh, I didn't know that.
Oh that's that.
You know, it's fun because I'm discovering at the same time you guys.
Are That's that's so cool. I love that. That's that's a really fun detail. Do you ever slip into the Sandy voice like in your real life?
I have been told by my children that I get really mad sometimes she comes out interesting. Dang, yeah, I don't know. I think it just happens.
Oh my god, this is such a blasting. Carolyn Lawrence is with us. It's the ICEMOL pop culture podcast. She's Sandy cheeks. Everybody all SquarePants. But here's the thing. We have so much more to get into, we have so much more fun to have. And here's the deal. Carolyn and I are gonna sit here absolutely silent for a few minutes, and everyone out there is gonna listen to a bunch of commercials. That's the deal. Okay, We'll be right back. It's the Ice Mellow Pop Culture Podcast. My
name is Easton Allen. I'm sitting here with Carolyn Lawrence, the voice of Sandy Cheeks on SpongeBob SquarePants. We're having a lot of fun here on dry land. We're an auditor of the sea. We're on dry land, and I mean, one of the most iconic characteroon characters of all time. I've been saying that this whole interview, And Okay, Carolyn, I want you to resist any urge of modesty here, Okay, Like I'm gonna ask you a question and I don't
want you to be modest at all. Am I right in thinking and knowing that you are ever version of Sandy Cheeks out there, like like you're in every video game or in every movie? Is there? Like there's no other Sandy Cheeks voice? Am I right?
There's no other Sandy Cheeks voice that I know of. No, unless they did some weird I don't know, did they have somebody like have to throw in a word here or there. If I wasn't available, I don't know. I think it's all been me.
That is. I was looking at your your credits list, and because like sometimes you know, I mean, you're you're a huge star, and so like sometimes like they'll have like yeah, I mean, you know, like Tom Hanks is famous for like I think his brother does all the woody stuff like in like the theme parks or whatever. So I was like, oh, on like the video games, I bet it's somebody else. No, no, no, it's you, like you are Sandy.
That's incredible to the extent that I would don't tell the network. I would. I would work for free to do something to make sure that I was still her.
I love that. I love that is and I think so special to the character and to uh and for the audience, you know, like like kids that loved the show are gonna every time they see Sandy, like they'll know it's the same voice. And it's like Sandy is a real character, breathing, breathing, living character. It's incredible.
Yeah.
I did have a funny moment Easan when they did the Broadway musical, and I was like, this is so insane. I was like wait a minute, why didn't I get to audition for her? Like oh, and then I'm like, oh Carolyn who, No, you're not Broadway.
Hey you can dance, you can do it.
But I've been in the background. I don't know.
Yeah, oh my god. So last year you guys did something incredible. I don't think it's ever been done before, the Super Bowl, the Live Super Bowl. I was watching some clips from that this morning. Uh like, so were you were just in character? What improving for like five hours or something? Is that right?
Okay? So it's so funny too in our industry how things are explained to you and then how they turn out to be. So I had never done it's called motion capture. I had never done that before, where they put you in the suit and you have all the sensors and they digitize to you. That was new to me and something I've always wanted to do, so I was super excited about it. But then they were like, yeah, you're gonna be improving the whole game, and I was
like okay. But then because of because of technology and timing and space and all these other things that came into play. Doug Lawrence, who plays Plankton, mister Lawrence and I wound up in a trailer in the parking lot doing our part, and Tom and Hill were in the stadium doing their part, and so they, I mean, they got all the pressure they had, like they were on
in a big way the whole time. But mister Lawrence and I were in the control trailers, so like we could see and here if a director was going to throw to us, that means like we have a moment, right Carolyn, do something or not. So we were just like we just spent all those hours in a anticipatory state. Am I needed? Am I needed? Am I gonna what a? And we did pre record. They did pre record some stuff just in case they needed to lay something in or something went kafluey or we recorded some things a
couple of days before. But that was crazy fun.
It's so cool. And if anyone listening doesn't know what we're talking about. The super Bowl last year, the Chiefs and the forty nine ers on CBS, they did like an alternate you know, SpongeBob super Bowl, where like SpongeBob and Patrick were doing commentary and Sandy was doing sideline and report the filming or the shots from it. Are so funny because it's like it's done at the appropriate angle, like it's like the cameras like down on the ground.
Yes, it was wild and those guys, oh my gosh, that got The people on that team were just so amazing. And it was really fun too, because it goes to show the love for our franchise in that all the people backstage that we're working with us and all the sports commentators and like everybody was so geeked out to be doing it. It was really fun.
I love it. It's so incredible. So, I mean that's that's definitely an anomaly for what you typically do. But I'm curious, like, oh no, every SpongeBob I'm putting on the motion capture suit.
We did do it again though. We did it again for the Kid's Choice Awards.
That's right, that's right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I mean you'll probably be doing this every year now for something, because.
I would hope so I'll get better at it.
Yeah, keep that mocap suit at the drug cleaners. Uh. When you when you do a typical episode of SpongeBob, like a typical recording, I'm curious how that works, Like, what's that process?
Like so initially, for all the way up until COVID, we all record together like a play. We're all in the booth together and set up at Mike's and we have what's called baffles in between us so the sound doesn't travel. And Tom was always in a little booth within the booth, so he was isolated so he could improv as much as he wanted and not have to worry about stepping on any of our lines or any of us having like crosstalk or anything.
Gotcha, had to be careful.
But so the all those years we did it that way, and then when COVID happened, you know, it all fell apart and we were recording from our homes and that was a whole new experience, like we're not sound to engineers. Yeah, suddenly we're in our homes and the studio sent us like a mic and a and a laptop and we're like, okay now, but you know, we never missed an air date. Wow,
it happens full time. And now it's kind of a hybrid, like words together as much as we possibly can be, but we also know if somebody needs to travel or Clancey's off doing you know, his big, big movie star things that uh that we can still work remotely, but together we can see people like the Brady Bunch, we see people you know on the screen.
I was gonna ask if it's like, if it's like you do to resume, so you're still like interacting with each.
Other whenever possible. We still all want to see each other.
I love it, and I think that's why the performance is like so fun and it feels like friends hanging out because you hear sometimes like people just record their lines separately, like alone, they just read the sides and then wait.
But then there's no magic.
Yeah, exactly, And you can hear that.
Right because if so nobody has an idea and they and they want to change something to be you know, even more humorous, then we can pick it up like everybody can play together.
Yes, yeah, So.
In those the early pre COVID when you would all be in there in the same room, was there This is probably a very naive question, so forgive me. But in Missus doubt Fire, I think he's like I think
he's a voiceover. Rob Willims is like a voiceover artist, and they're like there's a part in the beginning of the movie where they have like it's like a tweety bird character or something like that, and they have like they're projecting the cartoon on a screen for him, and I remember thinking like, ohka, there's no way he's like sinking the voice his voice to that. But maybe for inspiration or something. Do they ever like show the cartoon in the studios? It just yeah, yeah, what.
They're talking about. They're two different things. Okay. So we do what's called an original record, so we lay down all the sound and then the animators animate to us. Some shows are what's called dubbed. Some shows the animation is done and then the actor does have to match what's called the voice.
Flaps oh man.
So on our show, it's a hybrid. So we record everything they animate to us. But if anything needs to change for a reason the sound wasn't quite what they wanted, or they have to change the line for some reason, then we have to go in and it's called adr we have to replace it to the picture. So we do do both.
Interesting. The cool craft of it is so fascinating to me. So my sister Kimberly is an animator. She works at Pixar, and she's a big fan of yours. I told her I was interviewing you today. She got very excited.
Well, I'm a big fans already.
She's on the other side of the of the process. But she's like, you know, she tries her hand at voice acting too. She's very good at it. But she wanted me to ask, like, what, uh, what do you practices do you do for taking care of your voice? Like a drinking tea? Do you like use a humidifier? Like do you have anything like that you use?
I don't. I'm so like a wing it in life person. I think the biggest thing for me is is making sure you're warmed up, which could be anything. It just could be talking a lot at Starbucks or singing in the car on the way to the record, right, making sure that you're warmed up in some capacity, and never catching a cold.
Oh yeah, so like if you do get if you get a cold, you just have to postpone recording, right, Like you have you ever like tried to just muscle through it or oh yeah, well a.
Lot of times, a lot of times if they have to get something out and they have to get it recorded because the animators have to have it for timing. Yeah, you record anyway, even if you sound terrible, because you can come back and adr it later. Oh right, better to to do that to your own performance than to have someone else lay it in and then you're stuck with their rhythm and there the way they do it. But it is funny because actually we just recorded yesterday.
So it was Tom and mister Lawrence and I is there another person? I think it was just the three of us, and we were talking about how the weather change in LA because it was like ninety degrees and then see we were all like raining, like like you know, everybody, have to take a break, clear your voice.
Come back, do you ever?
Okay? So I imagine fans are constantly asking you, like to do their voicemail or like things like that, or like you coming up to you and be like, hey, can you can you say this to my cousin? What's the thing people ask you to like say the most in the Sandy voice?
You know What's funny? They seem to really mostly like her mad, which is so interesting to me because that's my mom. Despite is her mad? But I don't know, because it's always funny, Like dirty Dan, that's always funny, you know. Now take the name of Dix's. I don't know. Yeah, when she's when she's feisty, people seem to like when she's feisty spirited.
Perhaps feisty Sandy is a lot of fun. I'm one of those people. I enjoyed that so much. For anyone who out there who is looking to get into voice acting, what advice do you have for them?
You know, it's so hard because I was at a drive through not too long ago and the and the guy at the drive through had the most beautiful sound and I was like, dude, and he asked me about that, and honestly, it's so hard now, yeah, because when I started, the industry was completely different and now I really I really don't know. I mean, to me, performing is performing, yeah,
So be a performer. Go be a performer, and all those things you can do in different mediums like a theater actor can certainly still do voice work and a voice work, you know, a voiceover can do live action, and I think it's just working on your craft. I would say, if you love it, a great place to start is just performing like community theater.
I love it. That's fantastic advice and I think that also will you know that'll open your mind to all these different ways of expressing your creativity and things like that. That's well, that is great advice. This is a question I wanted to ask people like you that have had this iconic role. This this like role is so heavy
in people's minds for such a long time. I know it's hard, but like, is there an experience or a memory that stands, like when you look back at all the years of being Sandy Cheeks and like everything you've gotten to do, is there something that kind of rises to the top of like, oh my god, I can't believe that, we can't believe this happened, or like anything like that.
Well, being at the super Bowl was mind blowing. I never thought that. Sure, on a very basic, simple level, it sounds so dorky, but it's true. Like anytime I get a hug from a kid because they love the character so much, that just makes me want to sob profusely. I'm so grateful.
I'm a I mean, I'm cheered up listening to that. That's I mean, what a special role to play in. How many generations of kids now have grown up with Sandy and like and also the fact that she's she's a squirrel, but she's still she's a strong woman in science. I think she's such a great role model for kids. And also she's so funny and and just a good friend. I don't know, it's just such a special role to have in entertainment and for children.
Yeah, especially as a woman, it means a lot, and it is. It is shocking to me still, Steve Hillenberg created characters that are so deep on so many levels. And I love that he saw a woman. Well partially it's because his wife is amazing, but that that he would he would create a character as well rounded as her in animation because a lot of times the girls
aren't right. I mean, we have the superhero girls, but I mean generally you know, and uh, And it's it has been an honor to play her, and I think it's especially meaningful that little girls do get to see someone who can do everything. Like you said, she's a loyal friend, she's super smart, she's athletic, she's funny, like she's she's awesome. I wish I was her.
I don't know, just saying this because I'm on the call with you, but like when I first saw SpongeBob, I'm Sandy was the most compelling character to me because I was like, oh my god, Like the other characters are like, you know, it's it's a starfish. It's like it's like things under the like she has a she has a you know, a diving out like she is from dry land and she came down right. But I just thought that. I was like, this is such an interesting character. I want to know more about her. I
don't know. We love Sandy, Sandy is better than SpongeBob, but she'd be called the Sandy Cheeks show someday.
Maybe maybe she'll get a spit off. I don't know.
That was something else is gonna ask, would you if there was like the Sandy Cheeks movie or something like that, would you be interested in doing something like that?
Well?
We did.
We did Saving Bikini Bottom.
That's right, Yes, the posters behind.
You, but but it's Saving Bikini Bottom. The Sandy Cheeks movie. It says it in small print right underneath. It couldn't be called the Sandy Cheeks movie.
Oh it could, it could.
Thank you, But.
Paramount Plus is desperate for content. I could there should be a Sandy Cheeks series right right.
I would love to see something I'd love to see her do something. But more than that, I actually would love something that you know, we have a little Uh. There was an episode where they had the gal Pals what they named the female characters that were all hanging out suddenly and they called us the gal Pals, And then the Galpals were in the new Plankton movie that's also on Netflix. And uh, I would like to see personally women supporting women. I'd like to see a gal
Pals spin off. Yes, yes, as much as I mean it would be amazing to have a Sandy Cheeks one. Obviously for me, it would be more fun to have all the girls.
I love it. Carolyn Lawrence is with us, the voice of Sandy Cheeks. It's the I Smell pop Culture podcast where you're going to take a really quick break and then we'll be right back, So stick around, everybody. It's the Ice Smell Pop Culture Podcast. This is Easton Allen hanging out with Carolyn Lawrence, the voice of Sandy Cheeks on SpongeBob SquarePants, who lives in a pineapple under the sea.
Uh.
So, I was delighted to hear that you're a Gilmore Girls fan. You've watched the show and you have daughters, How what's something you love to do with your daughters? Because you know, Gilmore Girls is so much about the relationship to mothers and daughters. Is there something like special that you guys like to do altogether?
Well, when they were young, younger, I had. I used to have fun family Fridays, which is when we would all pile in the bed and watch movies or TV shows together. I love it so that that was my favorite thing. Now I've got like a teenager and the other one and now it's different, right, she won't pile in and like, But yeah, I think I think family entertainment time was big, like watching things together, playing board games together. But we are we are a TV movie family. That's that's big for us.
Do you have a favorite, like one that's like and then number one or top five spot or something like that.
I think it changed depending on what age everybody was. There was a while where we watched The Book of Life over and over and over and over and my dog just had to bark and interrupt us. So that movie I think is amazing on a million levels. It's beautiful. Oh yeah, it's the storyline is phenomenal. I like the the culture, and I thought I had such great messages in it for kids. So I thought that movie should have done way way way. I thought it was poorly publicized.
But whatever, I completely agree with all my opinions.
I'm a big I'm so sappy. I love when Christmas comes. I love when the holiday comes and I can watch all the like great but terrible movies.
Yes, yes, like like anything. I'm all Mark.
Yes, I don't even names of them, like Christmas in Denmark, I don't know, like whatever they are. I love them all.
Yeah, it's all yeah, Christmas and Louisiana, Christmas in Montana. They're all great, and they all the same storyline and they're all fan you know, it's a great time.
Oh my gosh. That's so funny because my youngest, because we watch so much stuff, she starts to know like the A story, the B story. She's nine, but she'll she'll already know, like she'll say, oh, I know what's gonna happen, and she'll like tell me like, well, this character's gonna meet that character, and then that character's gonna fall in love with this character, and then they're gonna have a big problem and then it's all gonna end up great.
I'm like, yeah, that's impressive that she can recognize narrative structure at that level. That's awesome. So if you could visit stars Hallow, Like if you could be transported to the fictional town, I know you could you live in La right, Like you could just go to Bourbank and go to the lot, But if you could go to the fictional version of it in the universe. What is there a place you'd like to go? Is there like a would you like to take go to Luke's Diner?
You want to hang out at Luke's?
Yeah, hang out at Luke's. And I want to observe Kirk, Yes, And I.
Want to be best friends with Lurlai. I mean a lot.
I mean nothing's better than that. What is it about Gilmore Girls that stands out to you? Like, like what what? What connection did you have with that show?
You know? I think, like you said earlier, I really think it's a lot like SpongeBob. I think I connect to it because everybody I think anyway likes that idea of small town, like likes that idea of a community and the connectedness and and like there's something so deeply intriguing about.
That, right, Yeah, absolutely, I think our.
World is a bit fractured and we really miss having those connections. I was a neighbor where we actually all know each other.
That's incredible, that's rare.
And everybody always says to me, what's with your neighborhood. I'm like, I don't know, but it's so good, right, Like I actually know people here, and I know in big cities usually you don't. So I think part of Gilmore Girls is interesting. And I also think Gilmore Girls is so incredibly well written that we can all relate to the various characters because they kind of remind us of people in our own lives.
Yes, absolutely, do you think like that. The thing with Gilmore Girls is they they always saying, like, talk faster. They are the fast talking. It's such a signature of the show, which if Sandy Cheeks had to be in Gilmore Girls, would you be able to do, like to rattle off that dialogue that fast in the voice.
If if we were just talking about like I could read it like I do want a record? Yes, if I was having to film it live New.
Yes, thank you, Oh my god, You're just the absolute best. Carolyn Lawrence. So SpongeBob in its fifteenth season right now, what else can fans look forward to? I mean, like your recording episode you said you recorded yesterday as we as we do this podcast, anything else on the way that fans can look forward to in the world of SpongeBob.
We have a movie coming out at theaters next year. I don't know what it's called. It's secret, but yes, it will be at the theaters next year. We have two video games coming out which are also still under wraps, and I don't have a title for you, but I know they're coming.
You know what.
The crazy thing I would say to fans is much like the Super Bowl situation, things keep coming. Like we keep thinking, okay, so this is our right, this is the pinnacle, this is probably what this looks like. And then there's a new thing. So I know there's new things. I just have no forgure what they'll even be. And I'm excited. It's exciting to see because it seems like we just keep growing. It's really cool.
It's it's true. I mean, the fandom just gets bigger and bigger. You're making new fans, the old ones are sticking around. It's it's really remarkable. Uh and and I mean, my god, the memes. The memes are so great for SpongeBob and they just never ending in always finding new versions. Uh So, there's so much to look forward to. There's so much to look back on. Thank you so much for sharing your voice and bringing this character to life. It's just so special for so many of us out there.
And I just wanted to thank you for your art, like, thank you for making this goodness Easton.
Thank you so much for having me. It's been it's been really fun. I could talk to you forever. We could talk for like five more hours. Y.
Yes, seriously, you're the absolute best. This is the I Small pop culture podcast. Thank you so much, Carolyn, Thank
You, hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com