Daniel Ross (Donald Duck)

Hey, I'm Daniel Ross and I'm here with Jim Cummings on the tuned In podcast.

If you're a fan of everything we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and join the tuned In family today at patreon dot com slash Jim Cummings Podcast. Do it now? How you doing out there? It's me Tigger, I am Duc Wayne Duck. It's me Bunker's Deep Bobcat. All right, y'all? Did it

Welcome back, everybody to another episode of Tuned In with Jim Cummings. I'm producer Chris sitting here with the legend himself. How are you doing today, sir?

So far, so good. Everybody's happy, daddy's rich, mama's good looking, all that good stuff. You know.

Absolutely, we're sitting here in good old Missouri.

Yes we are.

Yes, we've been out here for a little bit, and I heard a rumor on the internet, so you have to verify if this is true or not. But you came up with the voice of dark wing duck here in Missouri? Is that true?

It is true? It is true, and there are actual many native ducks here for inspiration.

Yeah, was that actually part of your inspiration?

But don't But it sounds good, doesn't it, So we're sticking with it.

It does so it's not bad. Well, hey, we got a really good episode coming up for you today. We're sitting down with Daniel Ross. We know you're going to really like this conversation, but first we have a couple announcements to make. If you didn't see last week our conversation with Townsend Coleman, I mean I had a great time. How about yourself, Jim, Oh.

Yeah, yeah, he's old, but in mine from a long time.

Yeah.

He's great, great.

Guy and you may know him as the voice of.

Uh, well, let's see of the Ninja turtles. How about that? And he is also Waldo from Where's Waldo? You would have never expected that one? And uh you know what, can I tell you? He gets around and if you sound suspiciously like the tick as well. It's because he is so uh, you know, turtles ticks. He's he's got going making his way through the teas.

And I found it fascinating that he said that. At conventions people are always so shocked to find out that he's the tick. And I'm like, what, Yeah, what an iconic role, iconic voice. I mean, yeah, he's such a sweet guys.

Yeah, and he's got those great you know those those antler what antenna You gotta love those. I always got to kick out of those. I don't know why.

Yeah, that was that was a really fun time. So if you haven't seen that episode from last week, go check that out. We got Daniel Ross coming up for you today. But before that, just a couple more announcements. Listen, guys, if you like this kind of content and you want to see more, please leave a like and subscribe, because it's tell's the YouTube algorithm that you like this content. It'll recommend it more. It'll recommend older episodes, newer episodes,

Just thank you very much.

Really fun stuff over there. So go check us out on Patreon as well. If you want some merchandise and you didn't have a chance to win the contest or you're not at the right tier on Patreon, good news. Jim Cummings Closet on Shopify has merchandise that you can buy, Dark Wing Duck shirts, win of the Pooh shirts, all that good stuff. So check us out there.

As well, and stay dangerous.

And last, but not least, Jim, you have some conventions coming up, don't you.

Yes, we have to let you folks know. How about Birmingham, Alabama v XV and it's called the Iron City Comic Con that's coming up May thirty first, June first, So be there May thirty first, June first. But wait, there's more. The River Walk in a ma con in San Antonio, Texas. Beautiful place to go anyway, So come on down, and it's going to be perfect. It's in May, May seventeenth, eighteenth.

Something I almost forgot. Jim, you just had a brand new movie come out.

You know. It just so happens that if you're anywhere on Earth and there is a movie theater near you, why don't you take the family, and I mean the family and everybody, Grandma and Grandpa, the whole gang and go see King of Kings. King of Kings. It is truly the greatest story ever told. And if you're not familiar with it, I don't know what in it you're from, but you're gonna really like this one. The cast is amazing. I literally won't get into it because it's just like

Great movie.

Yeah, let us know what you think.

Yeah, all right. Well, with all that said, here comes the conversation with Daniel Ross. We hope you enjoy it. We know you'll enjoy it. For now, I'm producer Chris. We'll see you in the next one.

Wow.

All right, welcome back everybody to another episode of Tuned In with Jim Cummings. Before we get started, I just want to give a big shout out to all of our Patreon subscribers. We had a good time the other day doing our monthly giveaways. Thank you so much. And if you don't know about Patreon, you can find bonus content on Patreon, extended interviews, even Patreon exclusive episodes. So go check us out on Patreon, and to you guys here on YouTube, be sure to like and subscribe. We've

Thank you for having me.

I'm on down I.

See see.

That's gotta be such a hard voice to do, like, is there any like pain or.

Oh I mean exos of course, no, it is. It is taxing. Uh, it's not using my normal vocal.

It's not quote unquote a voice per se, is it exactly? It's amazing.

It's a it's a it's a people trick. Yeahs as it always was for me growing up. Moved to Hollywood and did something with it.

That's right. Yeah, but me too, did you when you were a kid and you know, the teacher called on you to say, you know, because I'm terrible at it, you would have actually sounded like you said something, yes, you do that.

Like I did, And I got into all kinds of trouble with you too.

Yeah.

Yeah, I was very naughty as a child. I did lots of prank phone calls and yeah yeah, yeah, I made a menace of myself before I even knew that voice acting was a thing. So yeah, but Donald Duck has always had a special place in my life in my heart. I often tell the story about Mama Duck, who you met many years ago, and she taught me when I was three years old how to do the voice, and so that was cool. That was our love language.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, No matter.

What was going on in the world, we would quack at each other and it was just something very special. And so friends family would always.

Say, hey, do the voice.

Do the voice, and so I would do it, and I just I loved seeing people light up and smile because there was a there's a connection when you do a character. It's not just hey, I'm doing something silly. There's a connection inside of all of us that I always found to be really special. And that's something you've connected with for many generations, including my own. So yeah, very happy to have played the duck for some time.

I want to. Yeah. And you know, and it's great because you can see people I've said it before, you know, somebody standing there, they're forty years old, thirty years old, and you know, you do Pooh, you do Donald, and all of a sudden they're five. Yeah, and it's really cool. It's it's really really nice.

It's something and their kids get it too.

All they do.

Although you have to be careful because sometimes I'll do the Donald voice to somebody too young and they don't understand, and so I'll say and.

They go.

Yeah. I always say now close your eyes, yeah, and they can hear it first and then they understand.

Yeah, but I've got that with Taz good you got you can't you can't do it with.

The you know, well, Taz is a favorite. And you and I actually worked on a game called Multiverses where you were Taz and I played Gizmo Stripe, the Brain, Gremlin from Gremlins.

Too, and Uncle Shagworth. They had a bunch of characters shag Worthy.

That's right, Uncle Shagworthy, Actual Service.

Shag Yes, you gotta watch out. You got to got to pick your audience on that one.

That's very true.

A very obscure spooy dooo character who was from like I think one episode in the seventies, and Casey Kasem did the voice and he sounded just like Shaggy, so we had to do a new version, and coming up with that voice was just so much fun. In the script, they kept using the word like just like Shaggy would like this, like that, like Scoob. So I'm like, like Uncle shag Worthy, actual Service, like you Gremlin's better not be off to my jewels, And it was just it just came out of jewels.

Yeah.

Yeah, and even we even did I think for the Brain gremlin. He tries to communicate with Taz in one line, and so he does a maybe you understand this old chap and blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, as long as you ended up. Yeah, you gotta do that, and you gotta get that bottom tongue going because that's where the resonance comes from.

My God, like the tas mating and punctuation.

Ah. Taz does not do books on tape, so.

Well he should, he really should, and they should be very durable.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. You know, Taz, what was that?

You're gonna break me, man, I'm just like, wow, okay, it's incredible.

Imagine Taz is like one of those people announcing the train stops. You know, the voices that you hear on the train. Oh right, yeah, well stop.

Yeah. Mel Blank did do that as one of his characters. Yeah, on the train. Whenever they were on a train. The next step and Manga and I don't recall, and he was, I don't know, just some train guy whatever they were called the conductor conductor. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, yeah, he was everybody they used.

They used Seth Rogan up in Vancouver on the skytrain for a little bit because he's a he's a Vancouver right.

Oh really yeah, and so they used his voice.

I can't even imagine. That's funny. Yeah, well he might be doing something with the dark wing, right we maybe who knows? Who knows, said Jim knowingly. Okay, now we're going to change the subject. And then we said that for project you and I worked on was you were Donald and I was I was Peaked, And that was Chippendale's Nutty Tails. Nutty Tails. Yeah, that was one of them.

Although that actually that came after Roads to Racers. It was one of those little inter interstitials they did short episodes. But I will never forget. After I was cast in this role, my life completely changed. It was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to me. And it came at a time again with that connection with my mom where she had just gone through about a breast cancer. She was in remission and both our lives had been turned upside down, and so that news changed everything.

But for Roads to Racers.

The day you and she met and you and I met, we were at a party at Debbie dry Berry's Chuol friend and she was throwing me a birthday party. I was very happy, and I went up to her and I said, hey, Debbie.

You know Jim is here.

Can I can I tell him we're working on the same show.

And She's like, of.

Course, go talk to him.

And I'm like, oh my god, this guy is my childhood, as you often here from everyone, and so I build up the courage and I walk up to you with all the confidence of a snail and I said, hey, Jim, we're we're.

Working on the same show together. And You're like, oh, that's great. What are we working on? Yeah?

And I said Mickey and the Road Strace And she said what are you doing? And I said, Donald, And you looked at me with this curious look, and you said, that's the best I've heard since Clarence Ducky Nash Congrats kid, Yeah, you said, give me some.

More I understood what you said.

Well you broke into some Pete and uh, I'll lutch you do that, But you basically said old quackers.

Yeah, oh yeah. I used to go, yeah, I've kind of ruined the canon Disney cannon. I call him Mickey the Mouse, and now I see it in print from other completely other things, and don't and and good old quackers, yeah quackers duck over there? What the hell did you say? You know, like you know, and that's well, that was what you say.

What do you say?

Yeah?

And so yeah, we had that little exchange as you as Pete and me as Donald, and I said, thanks man, it's so great to meet you. And I proceeded to walk to my car and shut myself in and wept like a man. Oh because that was just that was so incredibly special to me.

Oh that's great. Well, thank you for that, thank you, thank you for that.

Wait, something you just said made me think was that was that a trope for Donald Duck Originally that you couldn't he was unintelligible.

I don't know, but.

Like Kenny south Park trope that they were going for.

It was that it was quite that.

I don't think it initially started that way. I know from my research and connection with the character that Walt wanted someone who could do the things that Mickey couldn't in certain ways. And when Clarence Ducky Nash came up with that voice, uh, it took on a life of its own. And so I think as time progressed from the wise Little Hen in nineteen thirty four, it became a thing like we don't understand what he's saying, but.

We love it.

Yeah.

Yeah, So I think that's really what stuff I've gotten that into, know, at least one show, because you know, this is back a long time ago. But and Pete and Donald were doing something and then and he goes and the line, yeah, but the line was, hey, we got to get out of here. And so I said to him, Hey.

I have no idea what d hill you just said, but we've got to get out of here.

Yeah, come on, you know it works. Yeah, that's exactly how it works. So, yeah, that's not bad.

Buckle speech you got there, sir. It's like it's like you're a voice actor or something.

Oh yeah, there you go.

Well that's the technical term buckle speech, which is a there's a pocket of air in your cheek that makes the sound. Yeah, and then you use the front parts to enunciate and the back parts for consonants. So even saying the word donald duck requires all three with that K at the end.

There you go.

Yeah, I just learned something.

What what's it called buckle speech?

Buckle speech? Yeah, wow, that's really interesting. That's fascinating.

That's interesting whole thing.

Yeah.

I guess they can't call it donald duck talk. There has to be a technical term. Yeah, donald tickus uh duham duckamus.

What other voice? What other voice would use that speech?

So obviously there's been other quack quackers out there, like Yacky Doodle, yeah, little quacker, the one, the super cute little ducky.

Yeah, that was what was his name, Little Quackery. He was a cute one. Yeah. I liked him. I did too.

I got to play his younger cousin in an episode of Tom and Jared, and.

He was an egg because he could have only been so much younger.

Well, he didn't have the affectation, he wasn't using the buckle speech, and I'm.

Like, waste an opportunity here, But I was just happy to be in the room. Yeah, yeah, me too, I'm always happy to be in that room.

Now.

I always thought I never intended to come to LA and play this character. I never even thought it would be in the cards because those roles, as you know, are like Supreme Court nominations.

You're in for life.

And so I was thinking of other ways that I could use the voice, and I'm like, I could bark like a pug. Okay, cool, maybe I'll have you never know someday, you know, whatever else might pop up.

Yeah, well, I invented my little and it's either a dolphin or a squirrel. Yeah, you know so. And I don't even know what that is. It's just something I used to annoy my parents with. That's the whole point.

Yeah, if you're not annoying your parents, what are you doing with this talent?

Yeah? What are you doing with this talent? Yeah?

My dad always wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. He was a doctor. He was a dentist and so very very left brain and he didn't understand all of this, but he supported me. Anytime I had to play in school, he would always show up. Oh yeah, he'd say, you know, well, you got to think about what you're going to be doing later in life. You got to think seriously about it.

And I'm like, I'm going to be an actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had the same thing, and my dad would say, yeah, but it's fine, But what are you going to do for a living? What are you gonna do for the living? No, I'm gonna do that, okay, but how are you going to pay the bills with that? Ye? Okay, Well put it this way. Why starve doing that? Don't you want to have something to fall back and I and I get that, I get that thinking, you know, being a

It was your dad around to see your success.

Oh yeah, yeah, he was. He was, God bless him. And it was interesting because Chuck McCann, the great, late great Chuck mccannon, Hi guy, you know, he's a character actor, great guy, and he and I worked together dozens and dozens of times. And my dad, you know, I flew him my mom and I think, who else? My aunt? And then you know, they're all no longer with us. But it was so nice and and my dad said, wait, who's this guy? Who's this character again? And I said,

Yeah?

That was great validation. Sure, Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah. If you're a fan of everything we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and join the tuned In family today at patreon dot com slash Jim Cummings Podcast Do it Now.

I'm a very sentimental guy, So I love these shows, these these new ones.

Oh yeah, me too, me too.

It just it means so much to me, because this career and this work that we do.

Means so much. Yeah, to so many people. It does gets them through a lot of tough times. And I always cherish those stories, and you know, and I've got stories on your knees, you know, but especially from Pooh, He's like everybody's security blanket. Yes, you can wrap up and you don't want to wrap up and pooh. Anyway, you get the idea, get you guys, get the idea, right, Okay, all right, I'll shut up. Okay, don't you shut up? Say something interesting? Interesting? That was it.

I was going to break into some Winny the pooh.

It's not as good as that guy.

Though.

When I do it, people say, oh, you're doing penny Wise from from here right?

Oh, Georgie, we will float?

Oh god, the hairstep away. That sounded a little like aunt Bee. Oh Andy, Oh say Andy, and see there's aunt Bee. Ain't me aunt be? Yes? Oh god, I'll have to add that into the repertoire.

You started your acting career on camera, correct, Yes, yes, So that was your first passion was on camera. I'm going to be I'm going to be that lead man, I'm going to be the star.

It was in the direction that I wanted to be. I started in theater.

You know.

High school was my first real.

Introduction and actually no, I would say getting in front of my family and making a fool of myself when I was a kid, that was my first introduction to Ooh, I like the attention I'm getting. And so, you know, in high school, obviously I did theater. I studied Shakespeare, I won some awards. I performed at the Folger in Washington.

D C.

In Elizabethan clothing.

I think I did it was Shylock's monologue from the Merchant of Venice. Oh wow, Prick used to lead, Yeah yeah, And that was and I won an award for that, and so it was the first time I went, well, maybe this is something I should lean into. And so acting and the performer arts really became a solace for me in a time that was very tumultuous. When I grew up, my family kind of split and I ended up homeless for a very brief time, and when I would go to school, that was my escape and I

So theater.

I studied it in college, musical theater. Then I dropped out of college and started into TV and film, and I was an extra on a bunch of things, a stand in. I got my SAG card working on a movie called Latter forty nine as Walking Phoenix's stand in. It was a firefighter movie, and that was just that was incredible. I was working full days at Target in the day and then at night I would head out to Baltimore and I'd film overnight then latherinse, repeat for a month. And that got me into the guild.

Oh that's cool, and you're on the wire too, correct.

I was on the wire. Yeah.

I worked on that a bunch of times and nothing of significance, but yeah, just being on set and taking it all in for sure, because at that point in my career, I'm sure you remember this, there's a point where you're like, it's that magical beyond that you don't know about, but you get to touch it, and once you do, you get to peel back the curtain and see what's on the other side.

Yeah, that was the wire for me.

And so, yeah, I worked on the wire Chris Rock's movie Head of State, or I met Bernie Mack.

Ahead of tell us a story about Bernie mac Man. Love Bernie Mack so much, you.

Know America, you know, I used to love him.

Oh my god, his show was so funny show. He was just such a funny guy.

Yeah, oh my god. Gone, he was amazing, no kidding, Yeah, I mean I almost cried when the guy left us. Yeah he was, he was on it, but you yeah, kids, he was.

He was incredibly He was very personable. I was just an extra for this movie. I wasn't doing anything of major significance. Later I did some minor stunt work that ended up getting cut, of course, But yeah, I got to work with him, and I was standing like I think I was sitting right behind him in a crowd scene and in between takes, he was doing his thing. But he was very down to earth and while he was turning on Bernie Mack to a ten in his performances, what he told us is that he always wanted to

Oh and so yeah, Chris Rock was great.

I did this one scene where the villain of the movie he runs into me and I flail papers and it got cut. But Chris Rock was going person to person and he's like, nice job, you did great. And he comes to me and he goes ah and it keeps walking and I'm like, oh, goodie, I've been acknowledged.

Yeah yeah, yeah, he gave you.

Yeah.

It was like, that's good. That's gotta be good. Thank you. So it's gotta be good. We'll have another please.

I loved that movie growing up, and it's so crazy to think, like that wasn't even that long ago, and it was such a crazy concept to have a black president that they made a whole comedy movie about it. It was like, this is never gonna happen.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is never gonna happen famous last words.

Yeah.

Yeah, great movie though. I love that movie.

Yeah.

So I was doing that around the area and just kind of floating to production to production, and then my buddy and I I was working at Black Blockbuster at the time, was back in Maryland.

That's where I grew up.

I was born in DC and lived in Maryland and so, yeah, at the time, I was a store manager at Blockbuster.

I think you had some history. I was a video depot guy.

Okay, yeah, so you guys were competitions.

Yeah, yeah, coast to coast. That's wild.

I mean I was working at Target and then I bumped over to Blockbuster. I loved it. I got to work with movies and talk movies all day. Blockbuster didn't do so well in the long term. But I was walking around with my buddy Justin who we had done some independent films together, and we became fast friends. And we're walking around one day and we're like, what movie isn't here? We should we should make our own movie. What an amazing idea. So we're walking around and we're like,

And so we did.

We coupled together cast and crew, and we maxed out credit cards and it was so low fi, but we did it and we accomplished it, and we looked at each other and we said we should we should do it another, we should keep going. So we made Ninjas Versus vampires, and vampires.

Commercially don't get along with anyone. No, no, they don't.

They always have to fight somebody God. So the zombies didn't farewell, and then the Vampires. That became our most commercially successful feature. We got it distributed worldwide, and I think in twenty ten it was the most illegally downloaded movie on the web, which, yeah, great, we didn't make any money off of it, but great for saying that.

Nice trivia exactly.

And so we followed up with Ninjas Versus Monsters and we and we left it there. We're like, we made a trilogy that was fun. And so I kind of became a big fish in a little pond, and I was working on different productions as a producer. But my aim was I want to be in it. I want to be in it if I'm going to produce it. So that's kind of what I was doing. And then after a series of events, I was either going to file paperwork to run for state Congress in Maryland because I wanted to.

Bring obviously a career choice. Yeah, one of those things. What the hell.

Well, there was a huge independent film community, including the folks who made The Blair Witch project in Sanchez and so many incredibly talented people who would work out of Baltimore in DC, and they were taking the tax credits away, and I'm like, well, maybe that's something I could help with.

Oh yeah.

It was the most life changing and incredible experience I've ever had. Quite frankly, I think the right choice. Yeah, yeah, I have no doubt about that.

I think you're pretty safe, pretty solid ground there legged the Leprechaun. You know, can you tell everybody who that is? Because I think there's a cereal and surreal cereal.

Yes, yes, there's a cereal with lots of marshmallowy goodness, lots of artificial colors and sweet and delicious. And when I was a child, I would pick out all the marshmallows and I'd mush them into a ball and I would eat the ball, and then it looked like I murdered a unicorn because the colors were just imprinted on my hands.

Yes, And were they in fact magically delicious.

They wereically magically delicious.

They're magically delicious. See that's where.

Yeah, that commercial was everywhere, those commercials, they were everywhere, everywhere.

And so the day I started to book some work when I moved to LA and everything was kind of going up acording to plan. I was working at Target overnight, managing all the trucks coming in and the freight going out.

All the drugs coming in.

Yes, all of those the trucks, the trucks struckly the money at the end that was my drug.

And so I could feed myself.

But there was a point where I started to book enough work and I'm like, I think it's time to let go of working the nine to five and health insurance and a steady paycheck. And so the day that I said goodbye and I drove off the parking lot at eight am, exhausted from work, my agent called and said, you booked lucky.

Oh, there you go, And I.

Pulled over my car and I went, I booked Lucky.

Yes, I got lucky. You got lucky when you got lucky.

Lucky exactly, and so that moment was not lost on me to say, you made this choice, you listened to your gut, and you're being rewarded for that.

And I say instincts are the best stinks. Ye, and they smell so good. It's got to be the way to go. I had lots of beans the day before.

But yeah, So with Lucky, there's been several Lucky the leprechauns over his I want to say sixty years and he's been.

Around kind of yeah, I realized that now long Holy Covin.

Yeah, I believe it's been about sixty years or just under, like fifty eight, fifty nine, maybe sixty.

He invented cereal. Yeah, well, he's been around for long enough.

And so when I had my turn as Lucky, they asked me to emulate a voice match Doug Prize, who was I think one of the longest running ones. The first one was Arthur Anderson and there were a few more, and then Doug Preze had the longest run and he had such a soft voice. He was a very soft voice, and that's what they wanted. So I was there to emulate Doug Preeze, and because it was a commercial agency. You know, the voice transfers from person to person. There's

Yeah. Yeah, besides, I wouldn't have gotten Lucky Charms exactly. Sorry, but I just yeah, shredded wheat. Never mind, that's all you get. Okay, you get shredded wheat. What was your favorite What was your favorite cereal growing up? Now that we're talking about it, It was Lucky.

Charming, it was, and I never and I was never allowed to have it unless I go visit my grandpa.

Sugar, You're gonna be bouncing off the walls.

Well, my father was a dentist, okay, diabetic. Sorry dad, I'm spilling all the details. But uh yeah, so in our household, that was that was a faux pap. And so when I would visit my grandparents, they'd say, you get whatever you want. I'd say, I'm getting this.

I was. I was a Sugar Pops guy and Coco Crispies, yes, because then you had a bowl full of chocolate milk. Yeah, at the end of it, after you got all the cocoa crispies.

See, and I love the marshmallows. So for me it was count chalky yeah, see chocolate.

I was raisin brand, you know what I was too.

I loved the juicy little Raisins double scoop raisin bran.

Yeah, crusted to me, possibly as best as it was delicious whatever.

It was.

Weird reaction to sweets, Like when things are too sweet, it's like it's almost like a spiciness for like other people, you know, it's like it's too sugary, too sugary. I like the yeah, the raisins or the ones you get with like the almonds and the granola all in it. Oh yeah, I love those ones. And they always market it as you know, like the fit Cereal. I'm like, this just tastes delicious.

Yeah.

Well, as a kid, you weren't going to choose those like I want the one with the cartoon character.

And oh I really did, I really did what I want. I really did go for the raisin bran like that.

Was era of marketing.

In articular, were the toys. Remember they had toys in the boxes. They used to have the toy at the bottom and Cereal box. Absolutely there were some Cereals I would buy just for the toy. Yeah, I just want this toy.

And sometimes they weren't even good.

I know, you get like ooh, a sticker or like an octopus that'll climb down the wall slowly or.

Something like that. That used to piss me off about Cracker check. First they took away the peanuts, big mistake. What and then that instead of getting a toy in it, you'd get a sticker with a star on. Yeah, yeh, yeah, okay, you ate the whole thing. You get a star.

Remember, I got a? I got a. They had a demo CD of Spiro the video game in one of the Cereal boxes, Like a full on, like fifteen minute video game for your computer was in the serial box. And I just think that's so crazy to think about these stays, you know, like they were just handing that out DVDs.

Oh yeah, and like you get an episode of something right on DVD. But I'm of the generation. I still remember when McDonald's had in the newspaper they had this thing where you play a record and if if it goes through the entire song where they read off the menu, then you win a million dollars. Really, and so everybody was buying up papers trying to get that. So incentivizing you to buy something was a part and parcel to

Yeah. Well, they used to say that cartoons were filler for selling whatever it is they were selling. They were they had to. They couldn't just put on commercials, so they threw a cartoon, a little slice of a cartoon in here to shut the kid up and make them pretend like they're not really there to buy cereal, all the while, you know, infesting your little wee little brains. I know, I never recovered.

We were just talking about this topic. Not too long ago, we went to Disney World. Jim had the opening of the new Splash Mountain. They remodeled it. They remodeled it to be you know, Tiana's by you whatever, you ye, Princess and the Frog, and we were talking about, you know, we had the little Disney tour guy that Jim always gets, you know, because he's a legend. And I'm looking around the park and I mean, disney World is so much

On a magic key that. Spend a billion dollars on a magic key pass. Yeah.

Honestly, my first experience with Disney World was only a couple of years ago. It was after my mom had passed. She loved the movie Avatar, and we always said, someday we're going to get to go to Disney World and we'll go ride the ride together. And that never happened, but I went and did it for her, for us, and so I went with a good thread.

Damn cool.

Yeah, just for the record, you get a chance do it the second time. I'm going to talk in this conversation that I wept at the end of that. It was so beautiful and obviously the experience was very personal. But my love for Disney was Disneyland. I mean, that was Walt's vision in his creation, his first one, and so I like to just go and sit on the bench and take it in and people watch me too, you know, as a small cog in the machine. To just be there and to take it in is really

Yeah, you need to five billion dollars, need a go cart to get around, you know, it's not at least and use a helicopter in some of the places.

Yeah, well we would use what it was the mini vans, the mini themed vans.

That they have running around those Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

I love going to the parks. Yeah yeah, me too.

And Princess and the frog. That's incredible.

Yeah, yeah, that's it's a really, really fantastic ride. And I hope it doesn't break down anymore. We we we were on the inaugural ride. We're all sitting there and it's the whole cast and we're having a great time. You were there, you know your moment. We're all uh sitting around from deep beep. Oh no. And we're sitting there.

And they have all the media. They have all the media doing the press and everything. Yeah.

Yeah, and there's tons of media. There's tons of picture take people taking your pictures, and and Keith David sitting nigger. Okay, well I'm about to get up out of here. It's about ninety five degrees and it was in Florida, and uh little damp, yeah, little damp, you know, and a Nika Noni Rose, she's trying to be close. She goes, well, this is really I gotta see. Oh yea, I have to we have to get me out here. I gotta I gotta go, and yeah, it look great, it's gonna

Damn?

Yeah? What did you do? Yeah? So uh yeah yeah. If you're a fan of everything we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon for bonus ex exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and join the tuned In family today at patreon dot com slash Jim Cummings Podcast Do it Now.

You know my one of the last Disney movies that was too d animated, Princess and the Frog that was in my Blockbuster store. It was in my Blockbuster store and I kept recommending it to people and it sat on the shelf.

Which broke my heart.

It was so good.

So I was so glad to see them actually acknowledging it.

They're going back to two D. I hope didn't we read that somewhere. I think I saw something similar. I hope it. I hope it stinks.

Yeah.

I love three D. I love CG. But it's no longer a novelty. It's it's the status quo.

And just leave it for video games, like video games are great storytellers.

Here TD video games too, for sure, Oh absolut, yeah, oh yeah.

We were just Colleen O'Shaughnessy. We were talking about the south Park game yesterday just does a voice voices in there, and that was one of my favorite video games ever. It feels like you're in south Park. It feels like you're actually a character in south Park, and it's all two D. You know, it's just like the show. Its great, it's phenomenal.

And then you got stuff like Cuphead. Yeah, parkens back to like the Fleischer animation days.

I love the way that looks. So was it something in the Cuphead? What was the other one? What's the whole name? Or is it just Cuphead? Okay, I remember that, but I remember looking at that going, oh, this is like right up my alley. It's got that look. It's got kind of like vaguely nineteen twenty nineteen.

But even the voice, in the feel of the audio itself that tinmy, you know, nature of the microphones.

I just love it, really doos and I love that.

I love it when you can say, oh, we're not going to do what everybody else is doing, let's do something different.

Yeah.

But your character in Princess and the Frog remind me of his name again.

Oh Ray Ray, that's right.

I was so tickled when I saw your name in the credits because I went, wait a minute.

That was Jim.

Oh yeah, yeah, that was Jim.

There's a reason I was like that, and it's because, Jim, you were the first voice actor that I recognized as a voice across different shows when I was a kid.

Oh yeah, I was.

Disney Afternoon, Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers, Tail Spin, and so I remember listening you know, dark Wing Duck. That voice sounds really familiar. I can't put my finger on it. Then I hear Don Carnage. That sounds really familiar. Monterey Jack. There's a through line here. And then I go to look at the credits and I see your name, and I went, wow.

Yeah, I've had a couple of people tell me that, actually.

That one person is doing all these different voices. That was the first time I recognized that, as just a regular person enjoying cartoons doing silly voices, there's one person. Then I went back and went, oh and mel blank did all the voices on you know, let me tune, and this, here's Rob Paulson, and here's you know, Jim and so many others. And that was like a light

Yeah, it's good stuff you used to do. Stuff you used to get me kicked out of class. Mmm, that's what I always say.

You want me both man?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so much for that. Yeah, it's better outside in the hall.

How do you? Obviously you know your Instagram better than anybody. And I think the biggest departure from your typical voices that I hear you do are things like Winnie the Pooh. It's just it's so fundamentally different from everything.

Oh yeah, well good, yeah, well that's the idea.

And then obviously you do movie trailers and and you know you sing gosh. When I found out you were doubling Scar in The Lion King and in Pokahon.

Tiles, Hercules, Anastasia. Yeah, my wall up there? Okay, who else is anyway?

Yeah?

Was Hunchback in there too.

I was. I did like two or three characters in it, singing great Tony j.

Yeah, so what an amazing voice him and Paul Freeze, those voices.

I just remember, do you sing?

I can.

I don't get to do it very often, but I do. I just released a song on my socials. There's a musical, an animated musical that's in development, and they had a villain song, and so I was like, let me take a shot at it, and so I did.

I love villains. There's so much fun.

I did a cover of Toxic Love from fern Gully with hexas Tim Curry's Toxic Love. Toxic Love. That's where he's singing, Uh, slime beneath me, slime up ooh you love my.

Talksic glove. Yeah that was a little too good. You're Tim Curry. Tim.

I was just doing it out of appreciation. But yeah, I love to sing.

I love to sing. It's so much fun.

Yeah, And we did some singing as Donald, which was difficult.

That was tough.

Folding notes and I discovered I could add some vibrato to Donald, and I'm like, oh, let's use this.

Wow, that sounds like a challenge.

Yeah, I can't even that's it. That sounds good. Were you here?

Your here?

Very good? Thank you, fantastic one. My God. Are the things that we do for for love and art? That's really what it boils down to.

Yeah.

I love what I do.

You love what you do, and I want to keep doing it for the rest of my life in any way that I can. And if it means I sing, great, if it means I do my own voice or I put on a voice, Yeah, you just did that one.

I just did. Do you still go for on camera stuff?

You know, I really spent the past decade focusing entirely on voiceover. I believed that if I was to be successful, I needed to put everything that I had into it, every ounce of my creative being and my time. And that was a worth worthwhile gamble. And so now I'm at a point where I'd like to branch back out.

I do miss the medium.

But I was doing a movie two years ago called Stinky Summer, and it's like Stinky Stinky Summer, and I play a bad guy similar to the Bad Guys and Home Alone Okay, so the movie is like Home Alone but at summer camp. Yeah yeah, and so the kids set traps for me and beat me up and it.

Was just so much fun, lovable OAF exactly yeah, you got it, gets arrested at the end. Amazing.

They do the classic tarring and feathering like parent trap.

Well, they didn't quite have the budget I think for that, but similar similar I got. I got covered in glitter and ivy.

That's the modern tar and feathering, glitter and butter.

I got hit in the face at one point, which was which allowed me to use one of my random people tricks. I can do this thing with my eye where I can just kind of keep this, you know, around for a while.

And look around the room.

So I was able to use that for the movie, and it was fun.

Rusy, Rusy, God rest her soul. She Rusy Taylor, the great mini mouse friend forever and ever. She used to be able to look right at you and I guess I'll do it to this camera. She'd look right at you and here her eyes were going like this, and when I would go like this, when I would go like that, then this I would Then she would do wall eyes. Then she would look. Then then she would scare herself and it was it was the damnedest thing. And I got a headache every time she did it.

Right on.

The tip of his you know, and she and she couldn't get it. She couldn't get it. We all had. She We sat there for like fifteen minutes and she could right on the you know. And and I said, should we just leave, let's let's all bej War was there and I go, you know, we're gonna leave. It was a group session. Yeah, there was a bunch of people there. We're gonna leave, and you kiss him right on the tip of his little I don't know where

Well, you know, look, that's the privilege and luxury of knowing the people behind the scenes. You know, sometimes off camera, off the record. Uh, you know, we mass some things that are funny in person, but we would not share off Broadway exactly. Now, Russie, she gave me quite a gift. The last time I saw her, we were recording Mickey Mouse Mixed Up Adventures and I had met her. Kelly Ward introduced me to her after a session and I

Oh yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a walker at the time. And she was very sweet, but very very short with me, and you know, she went about her day. I was just excited to be in the room and you know, sucking some of the energy like this.

Yes, you're amazing.

And she warmed up to me over time and we would have conversation. But there was one time she poked her head out of the booth and she goes.

Oh, Daniel, do the voice, honey.

I said, well, one voice, what are you talking about. She goes, oh, you know, do the voice, and I said darn, and she broke out into Huey, Dewey and Louie those voices. And we had a whole conversation as Uncle Donald and the nephews. And to me, that was just I was in heaven. I was in heaven and it was the last time I saw her. It was the last time I saw her. I will never forget that.

Yeah, yeaheart, Yeah, no kidding. Well, her and Wayne, I remember the two of them when they got married. They did it on the down low because they didn't want And I was thinking, why I would let who cares? Mickey and Minnie got married. Yeah, okay, that's come on, But you mean they really are married. They finally got married. He finally made it an honest woman of her what you know, Donald and days you're still dead. Yeah, that's that's my Mickey Mouse. Second. Wow, that's wow. You too. Yeah,

Oh no, wow, that's pretty good. That's pretty good.

See, everybody can do me.

Christopher Walkins at home going wow, you know I can't do Mickey.

Yeah.

Did you do a lot of impressions growing up?

Oh?

Yeah, that was That was the main thing. That was how I knew the voice acting would eventually be what I would get into because I would impersonate the Looney Tunes.

Character or your parents or that.

Just get out of school today and so we can't come in and they're like, we know it's you. Yeah, yeah, stop it, you got to be here.

Okay. Well, see I was popular with kids because you know, I would uh, you know, we'd skips go occasionally. And then my buddy Carlos Rosario, he said, you know, you have to call the school now and and be my dad. And I said, so I have to be your dad? And I go, yeah, what is his name? And he said, oh, by the way, you know we're from Ecuador, and I said the equator, no, no, no, So I had to sound Carlos can be coming into school today, you know so, and I thought I'm gonna save under that, and then

I mean usually we find something that we're comfortable. I keep up with the mic. We can come up with something we're comfortable with and then Mesh and Marsh and put them together. And yeah, a lot of the times it's people we know in real life.

Oh yeah, yeah yeah. And is that a process for you, Like, yeah, the first thing you do is you look at a picture and then you you try.

To see if there's something similar or I usually go to the script first. I'll avoid the picture to begin with because I want to see what the acting part is going to be. I want to see what I'm pulling out of myself first, and then then in my process I'll augmental incorporate the picture. You know, are they wearing raki or you know, what's going on with them. Do they have really like big cheeks? You know, what am I going to add to that character? Or who do I know who.

Has really big cheeks?

So it's right, you wouldn't know what.

Yeah, that was my cheat. Well you know, and then you know, you don't have to say anything because it sounds that weird sound. And that's all that I would gravitate to when I was a kid.

I just loved the unique voices of the eighties in particular, and even like the McDonald's commercials which Russy worked on as as Birdie.

Yeah, Grimace and Birdie and whoever those other characters.

Yeah, but the Hamburglar and oh.

Yeah, may.

What happens to all those goons?

Well, I voiced Grimace now, which is full circle, and I think there's only been four of us, including Frank Welker.

Wow, good company.

When he when he was doing his turn, I could I could tell it was Frank because we kind of have Barney Rubble kind of thing going on, and and he was. It was just like, oh, that's a voice that I am picking up on. And it's just so strange that my career thus far has been a lot of these legacy characters things that have come before.

Yeah, I love it. Well, that's nothing wrong with that.

Have you seen one of the Grimace like horror memes haunting people?

Oh? Yes, I was, Uh I haven't seen that.

Yeah, so a couple of years ago that.

Movie or something.

It's not a full blown movie, but it's blood. Yeah. I can't wait to hear what that's a forbidden name on this podcast. We're going to bleep that title. Cut that out, Zach, these are your instructions. Get that out of here.

Oh, there were a couple of years ago there was a trend that popped up on social media with the shake. So McDonald's was offering a purple shake to celebrate Grimace's birthday. Harmless, fun, amazing you met like that kind of shake? No, not that kind of shit, the kind that apparently you pour all over yourself, because that's what people ended up doing.

And I'm like, what did I just get canceled? What did I do?

It became a thing where people would drink the shake and then they'd come up with all these creative ways to be dead with the shake port all over themselves and this is real.

It's real, and.

So yeah, and there were some really creative takes. Even some celebrities got in on it, and uh.

It was really funny.

It just it took.

I don't think anybody at the PR firm for McDonald's knew that this was going to happen. Yeah, so then it turned into well, no, we need justice for Grimace because he didn't commit these crimes.

Wow, I missed this whole shebang. It was wild. It was wild, so Jesus.

I was just grateful to be earning a paycheck and playing a character that I adore, and here it took on this whole other life. And I just think it's funny to this day. Tickles me purple.

I thought it was hilarious.

Yes, I.

Just always remember this one video somebody made it. It was like Grimace like out in a field and it was like yeah, edited like the ring and it was like getting closer with every jump cut and just so silly.

The internet culture is so funny to be and.

Yet McDonald's made money hand over fist because people would go in, they'd buy the shake on themselves and leave.

Yeah, speak of this is such a tangent, but I'm sorry, I'm gonna bring it up anyway. Speaking of purple and McDonald's, did you know that like every country and even cities have like different menu options for McDonald's. I was in Bangkok, Thailand, and you know the little apple pies they have. They had I still don't know to this day what it was called, but it was like the same little apple pie. And then they have like this very delicacy that's like

Yeah, Yeah, you got.

That's always one of my things. Whenever whatever country I travel to in the world, I always go to McDonald's. I always get one of their local items, you know, like whatever's specific to that region. Yeah, and I always get a big Mac because I have to see what the difference between every yeah mac is. Now.

Is there a big difference country to country Big Mac?

Yes, because every country has different like laws of what you can put in the food, what you can use as substitutes, blah blah blah. So they actually do taste vastly different, at least in my opinion as a big Mac.

Connoissea different types of sawdust in the.

Yes, yeah, sometimes it's oak tree, sometimes it's pine.

Yeah. See I could see that.

Sometimes delicious lead.

Some paint chips, oh crazy.

But in Japan, the first time I went to Japan, I went to McDonald's and their menu was completely different. Yes, not only are the ingredients sourced so clean in Japan, like every bit of food, even fast food is like gourmet, but they had such unique options for for their items, and I wanted to try them all. I didn't have time or the stomach, but man, it was good.

Do you try. I was just in Tokyo last year and I had to try. I don't know if they had it when you were there, but it was the It was the egg McMuffin, but then they had a grilled mac and cheese patty in it as well, and then there was like a sweet jam spread over it. It was like a brownish jam, I don't know what fruit. And it was like the best big mac, I mean, not big mac, egg McMuffin I've ever had like that

They out America and America fry with that one.

Anything you can deep fry.

I think I had it every morning. I had it the first morning I was in Tokyo, and then I was like, yeah, is better than an egg McMuffin. I don't care what else is on the man and.

Take a six pack of those home with you. If you're a fan of everything we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad free access to the show itself, eyes, drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference so go ahead and join the tuned in family today at patreon dot com, slash Jim Cummings podcast Do It Now.

Well, I mean my first experience was going to the convenience stores.

Have you been to Japan. I'm sure you have never. Oh what an experience.

Everything, all the food is incredible, The people are wonderful. Yeah, you do gang busters out there. But I go into seven eleven to get an egg sandell, you know, and try some of the food. It's all gourmet, some of the best food I'd ever had.

And I'm like, what, oh, yeah, I'm in seven eleven.

Wow, I hate so much at the little seven elevens And they have the they have the vending machines but with hot items, like you can get like a hot tea, a hot coffee out of a vending machine.

You want soup, the.

Little pork the little pork buns. They have the little pork buns right there, and it's like the best pork bun You've ever had. And it's in seven eleven.

Yes, anyway, Yeah, I love those.

At seven eleven.

Yeah, yeah, so good.

That's what it. That's what it's called.

Yeah, see, we got a book it poo pooh and Donald goes to Tokyo.

Yeah, the very first thing I saw when I got off the plane is a big banner and there's Winnie the Pooh, there's Mickey, there's Tigger, and I took a picture.

I was like, Jim, they love got you like a couple.

I got you like a jacket with Winnie the Pooh embroidered on the back out there and like a nice little sweater. Yeah, incredible, loved it out there. Anyway, let's bring it back to it. Have you ever voiced any Disney voices? Have you worked with Disney at all?

Disney? Let me think I need to think about that.

Yeah.

Yeah, I voiced the kid is coming back to me.

Yeah, mostly Donald.

That That was my intro into other than Yeah, other than that, mostly the side characters on the show, because when we go in, we do our main character and then a couple you know, side characters. That's part of the deal. And so it was an opportunity for me to enjoy being a utility player and show myself off

I agree.

Yeah, absolutely, Yeah. Nobody knows better than I. Very grateful, grateful to do, very grateful, Gotta stay grateful, got to stay humble, and I bet they're grateful for you.

Yeah.

Well that goes without saying, oh no, wait, that wasn't very humble, wasn't it. Yeah, Okay, I take that last one back a little bit. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah. Seeing that little Disney logo on the paycheck is so cool.

Huh Yeah, I'm not going to complain.

Yeah, I worked on one TV show for Disney and that was like the coolest thing to me, was like seeing that little Disney logo on the check. This Disney, Yeah I got yeah, so cool.

Yeah, you know, Walt knew what he was doing. He sure did. Yeah, I mean he's like a true American icon, a pioneer of ever everything. Yeah, I mean, what an empire. And it all started with the mouse that was my bad Waltdasney.

I have no idea what he sounded like.

Yeah, well, I'm about to go visit his childhood home in Marsline. I have a con in Kansas City, so I'm going to take the drive Garceline next week. This next week Planet Comic Con is Worl'll be and so very excited to see that and just take it in and you know, thank the employees, you know, get to know them a little bit, because honestly, one of my favorite things when I go to the parks is getting to know the cast members.

Yeah, because they're you know, I do my.

Thing behind the scenes, we do our thing behind the scenes, but they're doing it every day. They're making those experiences for everybody, and I just think that's so special because you walk away, maybe you have the luxury of one Disney trip in your life and that's it. That those memories are going to stay with you for a lifetime for sure. And so I always handed to cast members and anytime these places I'm just so thankful that they're doing what they're doing and continuing that legacy that.

Well, well me too. Yeah, you know, I this is

It's like the best and the worst day of your life.

Yeah, I.

Can't say.

I know, they just can't say. They can't do a damn thing. And and so uh and I went up and I said, shall we take pictures together? You know, And they're shaking their heads up, they're about to lose their heads and uh and and so we did it, and you know, they're both all doing this, and I go, stop doing that. Looks at the palels of the character.

Yeah.

Yeah. And the people in costume, Oh wait, there are people in costume. They work for Disney what but no magic a lot. I didn't mean it like that, but I yeah, no, no, it's just people in costume anyway. And they they I said, what's so nice to meet you? And they're all doing this this kind of mind bullshit and response, you know, and I go, it's okay. I mean, I know you're in there. It's okay. And the guy goes, anybody goes, we're not allowed to talk. I'm so happy

You don't want poop Pee in himself?

Yeah, yeah, we don't want poop Pee in himself. No one that would that wouldn't. No one would like that pooh Pee is himself. That's ironic. And it was actually I think it was Tigger. But you know, we ended up taking a bunch of pictures together and and it was it was a lot of fun. Yeah.

I brought my Emmy to Disney World, and oh good because I wanted to get some pictures with with the duck with the man cross and so, uh, you know, I brought it out with in costume. Yeah that that guy. I think it was actually Donald, but yeah, we'll go with that. And so uh, I brought that out and we took some pictures and video and Donald kept coming out like probably about three or four times, and excited

Bus and it's nice.

And I don't make myself inconspicuous. I wear a Donald shirt and I tell people, you know, hey, I'm here. If you want to come see me, please come say hi. That's cool, you know, like that's that means the world to me. If I can be there for somebody to do the voice and have that connection. I get it at conventions, but if I'm at the park, what better.

Place to do it?

Yeah? Yeah, for sure, and everybody there's going to love that.

I think I love it the most though. I really do.

Yeah, I do too, especially when you're in queue with somebody and they don't know who you are, but then somebody nudges them and says, hey, you know yeah yeah, and then and then they turn around, go my friend says this, do the voice.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, always.

And then I got yeah, they go no, not that one.

Yeah I thought you did. Goofy Yeah no, no, no, Goofy's my favorite.

Oh well sorry yeah yeah yeah, yeah, I've had I've had that.

Jess Harnell tells a story about that this kid was wearing a wacko Warner T shirt and in line and uh, he was standing that's one of my same He does World Disney somewhere, and his mom can rest her soul. She said, well, you have to tell this little guy. You have you have to tell him. He's right in front of you in line. You're in line. He's in front of you, he's eleven years old, he's wearing your T shirt. You gotta do it. And of course Jess looks like a rock star because he's a rock star.

Enjoy your ride.

I hope you're right the matter hornets. Yeah yeah, has that happened to you? No respect? Uh No, that hasn't happened to me.

Someone walks up to your booth and goes, I don't really think that's you.

Oh yeah, yeah, well yeah, so far, so good. Okay, I think I think their parents have got them indoctrinated. Maybe, you know, I would, I would.

Although every time he and I are generate together, his line is incredibly long, and I just I just look at the people in his line with a with a wistful look.

Yeah you could be over here full of whist come to me. Well where I'm not worried.

About that time with Jim, because we'll take this, we'll take this on the road, you know, and do the do the podcast on the road. And I'm sitting over there at his table one time, and this guy comes up and he's looking at all the pictures and he looks at one and He's like, oh, I didn't know you were fuzzy Lumpkins. I didn't like that guy. And Jim's like, oh, okay, thanks.

Thanks for coming up.

Laughs on out of here, Dan, tell your story walking there, Junior.

You know that's right, that was fuzzy, by the way.

Or do people ever come up to you and they have like a script and they're like, hey, you just like, you know, read this for me, and it's like, no, I'm not gonna read it right now.

Yeah. I get a cameo, like a three page cameo and then say as Pooh, and then say as Tigger, and then say and then I're going down the line and I.

Go, uh no, yeah, there's like four hundred people behind you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, And there there are there are limits to what we can and can't do, you know in those circumstances, because we don't own those characters will and will not talk. We're not doing impressions where we can just kind of do anything. We have to be mindful of our overlords wherever they may be. And that's just kind of the way it is.

Yeah, that's an odd thing. Can you do the can you one of my favorites? Can you do the noise of Winnie the Pooh. And I said, no, I can't do not the noise of winning, the noise of it's just him talking, but you know, do the noise of Winnie the Pooh. And and you know, the mom said, it just meets the boys. Yeah, oh, mother, Yeah you know, yeah, they don't don't bother. Yeah.

No. My favorite is when usually in Transformers, because I voiced Starscream in two thousand and seven, one of my favorite characters and one of my favorite franchise rightly, so, oh my gosh, and and people will walk up and say, you did Starscream, right, and I say, yes, human, I did star Scream and they go, I liked Chris La and then they walk away and I'm.

Like, I did too.

Oh.

At the end of the conversation, why was he the original? Yeah, he was the original. Yeah. I was here with him once a long time ago. He was amazing. Yeah, he really was.

And I've come to the crazy I know his daughter Abby.

Yeah, I had.

An amazing story. Actually, when I first got here, I was at jim I was at Rob Paulson's Talking Tunes, and it was when I were still doing it live, and so everybody was there just royalty across the board, and of course me, I'm.

Like, oh my gosh, look at all these people, so starstruck.

And at the end of it, I'm standing in a semicircle with a bunch of people and I'm telling this story about how I was invited to this little town in Sharon, Pennsylvania to sign some autographs for Transformers.

And in Sharon, Pennsylvania, because Sharon is it was Sharon, Pennsylvania. There you go, and do you really Yeah, it's not far from the extown. Oh my gosh, that's right. How about that?

They had a marching band waiting for me. They had it in the newspaper. I'm like, little old made Okay. Also, we signed the things and I go to this super fan, Mark's house. He had a Transformer's museum in his basement and it was incredible. And we're having dinner with his family and he's bringing some stuff out from me a sign and he brings out the vinyl album from the

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I didn't work on that.

That's this is sacrilege to me. And he said, I've never met anybody who's done the voice of starscreen before, and it would just mean the world to me if you would the character.

Well, I thought.

I thought about it for a minute because I'm like, I'm touching this thing that, to me as a collector, as a Transformers fan, is is just like a holy grail. And so I said, okay, I will sign it for Chris. For Chris, and I signed it and I did a big gulp goop.

I can't believe I.

Did that, but I handed it to him. And I'm telling this story outside of talking tunes and this girl across from me is starting to cry and I'm like why, and she.

Said, Chris was my dad. Oh, look at that. Chris was my dad. And so became friends.

We had a group together called the Green Giraffes Go Green Giraffes. We were just voiceover people that would meet every week just to go over copy and we do improv and stuff, and all of us have kind of gone off and done our own things.

But yeah, she was a part of that too.

We need to get Green Girafts back together.

Yes, we do. Yes, we do.

Green Drafts also included Jan Johns, who I think you know. She's done a lot of the Disney stuff. She and I work together in Maryland and now here in La.

Nice, very cool, small world.

It is is, but I wouldn't want to paint it, you know. I take some to that small not that small. Oh man, that's awesome. If you're a fan of everything we do here at tuned In with Jim Cummings, you could support the show on Patreon for bonus exclusive podcasts, as well as early in ad free access to the show itself, prize drawings, and more. You'll feel the difference, so go ahead and join the tuned in family today

Voice swamp, don't we It's voice swamp.

Today's voice swap with none other than you know who, is sponsored by Route sixty six Car Museum in Springfield, Missouri. You gotta love this place. It's got the coolest cars in the world, maybe even Baba b Lema the Batmobile.

That's right, he has the thatmobile that's Batmobile.

And doesn't he have the Ghostbusters car too?

Ghost But yeah, I think the Ghostbuster and the freaking coolest cars you've ever seen from.

Like the thirties and the forties.

Yeah, and you don't know, I never even heard of the manufacturer. Like one was called the Breed of Something, and it was from other countries, and then some were from here, but they were only in business for like from nineteen twenty to nineteen twenty four, and these unbelievable cars. And I think one of them was had wood, wasn't it.

I think like it had like the wood paneling.

Yeah, the wood paneling. Does Jay Leno own all of them? No, No he doesn't, but uh boy, he's yeah, he's got he owns the ones out in Burbank Airport. Yeah.

No.

It was always wild when he would come out for sessions and he partnered Yeah, ridiculously large cars in that tiny thing.

Yeah.

Yeah, you know it's not my favorite car, you know what I mean?

Yeah? Yeah, and it would bring it. And I remember I was helping him get out once and I go okay stop and he go no no, no, I got room. No, no no, no, you don't know because he took out the wood panal. Yes, that's when he took out the wood penel. He did it right in front of me. I go, I told you to stop. He goes, It's just a slide they can put and okay, yeah, well that's what I want.

I was going to say, Man, did you know he's never had an agent in his whole career? What he's never had an agent.

I think that's why he only wears blue jeans, probably blue jean shirts and blue jeans.

But yeah, I did this game show. I was contestant on a game show that he was hosting, and just like in the breaks, it was during COVID, so there was like twelve of us. So we got like actually like interpersonal time with him for like three hours. It was pretty cool and he was like yeah. Somebody asked him, you know, like how did you, you know, break into the industry, and I forget the specifics, but he was like, yeah, I booked this and then I never even bothered getting

Cars?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, his ten percent is his car collection.

Wow, boy, that is insane and to this day, I mean.

To this day. That was only what four or five years ago?

Wow?

Yeah shit.

But anyway, without further ado, shall we get into these voice swaps. I was thinking, since you guys have characters that interact so frequently, maybe we could switch this up a little bit and have like a little conversation, like a little back and forth between Pete and Donald. What do you guys think about that?

Yeah, but the questions who's doing Pete? Yes, Donald and Pete.

Yeah, let's do a little like a conversation rather than a voice swap, like a.

Little here you go.

Yeah, well, you know, quackers, It's like I was saying just the other day, what the heck are you saying?

So what's somethime? Well, that hears it up wrong? So you said, would you be taking book? No? That was that was painful. That was good. And uh so let's see stripes and tasks.

Now, you worked on Gremlins, didn't you?

Uh?

If I remember correctly, you weren't. You weren't in the Gremlin squad.

I remember hearing something about that. Well I should have been.

Yeah, well, Stripe was originally voiced by Frank Welker.

That was a little interesting tie in there.

Yeah, well, Frank's fine, Yeah, he's doing fine. But let's do Grimace and Tiger. H tigger, have you been to McDonald's for a happy meal? Oh?

No, Tiggers have happy meals no matter where they go. They don't even have to go to McDougall's. They are happy, happy, as long as tigers are bouncing. Do you feel me there, buddy boy?

I feel like bouncing for sure. Well, my work here is done by my shake, the camera by my shake, and who else star screaming pood?

Do we star screaming poo star poop? But then we also have to do star scream and one of your Transformer characters.

Better not?

Yeah?

Yeah, I'm trying to think of after burner, after burner, Yeah, after printer would just be and I and I can't remember what he's on.

I think it was just me and he was ready to go, and he's hi, I'm after burner, damn it?

You know off. That's where I'm pissed. Okay, I'm pissed off. Did I just did I just?

I hope?

Not?

No?

Okay, good here, I'll start that one if you want, okay, please? Oh look in autobot that flies my favorite I.

Hope you're talking to me after burner, because I'm my favorite too, So take that suck.

But well, I'm gonna make myself a combiner of my own since U form superion, I'll create Bruetickus and he's gonna kick your butt.

Why do bad guys always laugh? It's in the contract. That's in the contract. You gotta leave him laughing when you leave him, that's right.

And then let's just do a let's just do a star scream and a poo. But just like a quote like the traditional old okay boy swapper.

Do you want to do a dueling poos? Because mine's terrible?

Let's do it. Let's do it.

Okay, Yeah, let's do dueling pool?

Okay, okay, would you like to share pooh?

Would you like to fling pool with me?

Oh? Mother? As long as you don't do it very well?

No, I don't think I do it very well. I just try.

Well, that's true. Thank goodness, I've got some job security over here.

Well, there's always another tiger in the health.

Good night, everybody. We're gonna bouth on the couch. We're gonna spend the rest of the podcast trying to get my buddy out of the shell, trying to get you to step up and keep the viewers engaged.

Well, thank you again so much for being here. That was a really fun conversation. And of course you're welcome back whenever.

Absolutely, I'll be here tomorrow.

No, don't do that.

Sincerely, beyond a pleasure. Thank you for having me, Thank you for watching. And yeah, this guy, this guy's incredible turn to my childhood part of yours. This podcast is amazing.

Keep watching.

Thank you, thank you very much.

I'm solicited completely.

Here's that fine, all right, Well, thank you everybody for watching. This was another episode of Tuned In with Jim Cummings. Don't forget to like and subscribe. We love all of you guys, but we've noticed that's seventy three percent of the people watching right now are not subscribed. So yes, I'm talking to you. Hit that subscribe button and of course, big shout out. That's what I'm saying. I know what he said, and of course a big shout out to

And on Patreon Jim Cummings Closet and he Won't let Me Out.

And on Patreon you can find bonus content, additional interviews, extended interviews, exclusive interviews, all that good stuff. We're giving shout outs to all our donors and I think that just about does it for today. I'm producer Chris Legend Jim Cummings joined by Daniel Ross today. Thank you so much for being here again, and we will see you in the next one.

Great Greg, awesome gang.

It good fun. That was.

Hey, if you'd like to follow me, I'm across social media as actor Daniel Ross. I hope you'll give me a follow. I have lots of fun, do stuff at Disney, make lots of silly voices.

It's a fun ordeal.

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