What do you do when you meet the man who voiced your childhood? Why, you share a smackerel of honey, of course!
Okay, not really, but you DO talk about all things Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and a few of your other favorite Jim Cummings voices such as Darkwing Duck, Hondo, and Ray from The Princess and the Frog.
I spent a morning in the 100-Acre Wood a.k.a. The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden chatting with the legend—the voice behind Winnie the Pooh (since 1987) and myriad other voices.
Photo credit: TerriAnn van Gosliga / Cookies & Clogs
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Jim was a hoot! From jokes to voices, it was a great chat to get the scoop on all things Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too, and Christopher Robin—out on Blu-Ray/Digital/DVD November 6.
Jim Cummings Interview – The Voice Behind Winnie the Pooh
Talking to Jim Cummings about voicing Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and other characters as wild. It’s like talking to your childhood cartoons in real life. And listening to him mix voices into the conversation on the spot was so much fun.
Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) with his longtime friend Winnie the Pooh in Disney’s CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.
On the new Christopher Robin movie
He talked to us about what it’s like to work on Winnie the Pooh properties every time there’s a new one—because let’s face it—when you’ve been the voice of Winnie the Pooh for 31 years (and Tigger for almost as many), there are a LOT of Winnie the Pooh properties. Regarding Christopher Robin, Jim said he was excited for the idea of a movie about Christopher Robin all grown up working in a world like the rest of us. “It was just so magical. Pooh and the gang went out there and kinda saved him. Kind of returned the favor after all those waterfalls that he saved us from, Jim Cummings said laughing. “So, it’s great.”
Fun Fact: Jim Cummings recorded all the voices he did in Christopher Robin in just one day!
“WINNIE THE POOH”. Jim Cummings. Photo credit: Eric Charbonneau. ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
On his favorite voice to do
Would you be surprised to know that after 31 years of voicing Winnie the Pooh, that’s not even Jim Cummings’ favorite Disney voice to do? He let us in on his little ‘dark” secret. His two favorite voices are Tigger and Darkwing Duck. But he’s fond of them all, including Hondo Ohnaka from “Star Wars Clone Wars” and Ray from Princess and the Frog.
On his favorite Winnie the Pooh quote
Jim Cummings and I share a favorite Winnie the Pooh quotes. “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger relax at the beach in Disney’s CHRISTOPHER ROBIN.
What he loves about being Winnie the Pooh
Jim Cummings shared with us a story about how he chatted with a boy one day who was a non-verbal autistic boy (who had stopped talking years ago) but had this long conversation with him on the phone. Obviously, the boy’s parents and Cummings were all shocked and surprised at the response Cummings was able to elicit of him—but this was just one example of how Cummings has been able to affect and touch children over the years in his roles as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Cummings has had so many experiences like this and he is grateful for the ability to impact children in that way.
Christopher Robin—out on Blu-Ray/Digital/DVD November 6.
Thanks to Walt Disney Studios for bringing me to Los Angeles for an all-expense paid trip. As always, all opinions are my own.
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[…] the scenes to discover how Disney’s beloved characters are brought to life. Did you see our Jim Cummings interview? Disney's Christopher Robin bonus features have even more behind-the-scenes footage of the […]