In part two of the three-part, overly belated series to wrap up interview blogs from Salt Lake Comic Con 2015, I had the awesome opportunity to spend three minutes (yes, just three since the people in front of me took like 10 minutes each) with the voices behind the Animaniacs at the SLCC15 press conference in September. Not only are Rob Paulsen (Yakko), Jess Harnell (Wakko) and Tress MacNeille (Dot) supremely talented, they're also supremely nice, and I was thrilled to be able to get any time with them at all, to be honest, as these voice actors - and Harnell, in particular - have become a must-see (must-hear?) attraction at the past few Salt Lake Comic Con events. This was a cool interview for me, considering the fact that the Warner Brothers (and sister) taught me all I ever needed to know about U.S. capitals, presidents and all the words in the English language. (In retrospect, I'm not sure I truly realized in my young age how amazingly brilliant those songs were!)
In order to replicate the most authentic experience possible, instead of summarizing our conversation, journalism style, I've decided to transcribe it all and just post it like it happened. Enjoy!
--
SotT: Well, first of all,
welcome back to you two [Jess Harnell and Rob Paulsen]…
Jess: “Thank you, pal. It’s good to be back.”
Rob: “Thank you. It’s good to be here.”
SotT: So, I was just
wondering if you guys could talk about the last convention that you did here –
I was working with the [Salt Lake Comic Con] staff at the time… I don’t know if
anybody expected your panel to be as successful and popular as it was…
Rob: “Oh my [goodness]!”
Jess: “Was that crazy?”
SotT: It was crazy!
Rob: “It freaked us out!”
Tress MacNeille: “The panel, or the…?”
Jess and Rob: “The movie read.”
Jess: “Oh, Tress wasn’t there. It was a rock concert.” [See this full panel here!]
SotT: Yeah, it was amazing!
Tress: “Now, who was in that one?”
Jess: “Me, Rob and Jim [Cummings]. That was it.”
Rob: “Yeah, it was just Jimmy Cummings, Jess and me.”
Tress: “Just the three? Well, that’s all you need, really.”
SotT: It was crazy! And, you
know, immediately, I went back to the site office and they were saying, “We
have to get these guys back and we have to bring more of them.”
Jess: “Right! We got Tress MacNeille and Dee Bradley Baker,
so I think we traded up.”
SotT: Yeah! So we’re excited
to have you guys back. [To Tress] Is this your first time in Salt Lake City or
have you been here before?
Tress: “Rob, Jess and I came here many years ago to the
Warner Brothers tour, when we were touring the country… That was quite a few
years ago. Yeah.”
SotT: Ok. Well, welcome
back.
Tress: “Thank you. It’s beautiful here!”
Jess: “Love it.”
Tress: “I [had] friends who live in Park City, for a while.
They’ve since moved … but I’m a little familiar with the state.”
Rob: “It is a really beautiful city.”
Jess: “Yeah, it’s beautiful.”
Rob: “…but everybody here connected with the convention –
and I’m repeating myself – but everybody is just ‘top shelf.’ The whole
organization is run so beautifully…”
Jess: “Yeah, it’s run beautifully.”
Rob: “…and we do a lot of these things – and I know, having [gotten
to know] these organizers – the minutia and the logistics of running something
like this…
Jess: “Oh my gosh.”
Rob: “…is freaking insane! So, to have it run so smoothly,
where people show up, they meet you at the airport…”
Tress: “Yeah, I can’t even imagine the logistics!”
Rob: “…you walk out a door and two feet… there’s a car and
you go and you’re checked in and your room is great and you show up… I mean, it’s
fantastic. And the fans are out of their minds with excitement! Such a joy to
be here!”
SotT: Well, we love you
guys!
Rob: “Thank you! It shows!”
Jess: “We love you right back.”
Rob: “Right back at you!”
SotT: Thank you. One final
question: if there was one character that you have not voiced yet that you
would like to – like a dream character…
Rob: “Perry the Platypus! [Looks over at Dee Bradley Baker,
who is sitting at the next table] Oh wait… [Rob and Tress laugh]”
SotT: Oh wait, hang on… he’s
here! [Laughs]
Tress [in Irish accent]: “He’s sitting right there!”
Jess [in Irish accent]: “He’s right there.”
SotT: [To Dee] You better
watch out for your job now! [All laugh]
Rob: “He wouldn’t have to worry.”
Tress: “You mean one that already exists or one that we
would like to do?”
SotT: Either one. Either
one. Just any character out there.
Tress: “Whose job do I want to steal?”
Rob: “You know, I got two call-backs for Fry on ‘Futurama’…”
Jess: “Oh yeah?”
Rob: “…which Billy West did, and they absolutely made the
right choice. And, also, I got a call-back for Klaus the Fish on ‘American Dad’…”
Jess: “Didya?”
Rob: “…and Dee Bradley Baker is the voice of Klaus the Fish.”
Jess: “Once again!”
SotT: He got that one, too?!
Rob: “And, again, they made the right choice!”
Jess: “I could answer briefly by saying that I would love to
at some point play either Batman or Superman, ‘cause how cool would that be?
And I’d also really love to do Winnie-the-Pooh because my dear friend Jim
Cummings, he does Winnie-the-Pooh and, like, girls lose their minds and I call
him ‘Pooh Hefner’ when he does that, so I’d like to do Winnie-the-Pooh.”
SotT: How about you, Tress?
Tress: “You know what? I do all the girls’ voices, so…”
Jess: “She does! That’s true! All of them.”
Tress: “So you know, I can’t really, you know…”
Jess: “She’s covering all the bases.”
Tress: "I'm good."
--
Here is the nearly two-hour script read put on by SLCC15's incredible assortment of voice actors, which I missed because I was doing the LOST panel at the time. Enjoy it in its entirety below:
For more information about Salt Lake Comic Con or to purchase tickets to an upcoming event, visit saltlakecomiccon.com.
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