ROB PAULSEN on
'TINKER BELL AND THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE'

Interview by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for RadioFree.com
August 28, 2010

In the CG animated adventure Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Disney's iconic sprite and her friends venture out from Pixie Hollow to the mainland to work their magic on nature. But when Tinker Bell's irrepressible curiosity gets the best of her, she inadvertently reveals herself to the human world and subsequently befriends a lonely little girl with a vivid imagination named Lizzy. Trapped in Lizzy's room due to a sudden rainstorm that prevents her from flying, Tinker Bell teaches her new companion all there is to know about fairies. Meanwhile, Tink's friends, believing she is in imminent danger, band together to mount a daring rescue mission, using their skills and ingenuity to evade all manner of pitfalls along the way.

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is the third feature film in the Disney Fairies line. Mae Whitman returns as the voice of the titular fairy, while Kristin Chenoweth, Lucy Liu, Raven-Symone, Pamela Adlon, Jeff Bennett, Rob Paulsen, and Jesse McCartney reprise their roles as Tink's friends. Michael Sheen joins the cast as Lizzy's logical, science-minded father who, despite being initially critical of his daughter's fanciful daydreams, learns to appreciate her unique outlook on life.

While covering the outdoor world premiere of Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, we had the opportunity to speak to veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen, who plays the part of Tink's fellow tinker fairy, Bobble. His extensive resume includes literally hundreds of roles, not the least of which are Raphael from the original '80s incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Yakko from the Emmy-winning toon Animaniacs. In this exclusive interview, Rob talks about lending his voice talents to the world of Disney, and even takes us on a brief walk down memory lane with a catchy riff from our childhood.

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue makes its Disney Blu-ray/DVD debut on September 21!

RadioFree.com: On a project like Tinker Bell, do the Powers That Be request a specific voice from you, or do you simply throw out an array of options and let them pick?

ROB: In this one, honestly, they came to me and said that there was an actor they were considering for this character who was Scottish, who was from Scotland, and they wanted me to do a scratch vocal with a Scottish accent. And much to my delight, they decided that they liked what I did, you know, better than the other gentleman. And I live here [in Southern California], and I don't necessarily have to be stuck with a Scottish voice. [laughs] The same thing happened to Jeff Bennett who plays my partner Clank in these movies. And he does a spectacular British accent. And of course, they were able to get three or four different characters. So I think one thing they finally decided was, "Look, we don't always have to have celebrity talent who are just stuck with one voice." And so they hired voice actors...

[laughs] Wow, imagine that!

Imagine that!



I've got to assume that one of the great benefits of being a voiceover actor is that kids grow up hearing you, and just adore you and your characters...

That's really true. And in my case, it's especially true because, you know, I'm getting up there--I've been doing this for 25 years. I was Raphael on Ninja Turtles for nine years, and then I was Pinky on Pinky and the Brain, and then I was Yakko on Animaniacs, and then I was the Mask on The Mask, and then I was Carl on Jimmy Neutron. And I did a show called Biker Mice from Mars, Fairly OddParents on Nickelodeon, and now I'm doing the Tinker Bell movies. So I have a lot of people who come up and they'll be sort of 30, 35 years old, and they'll say, "My God, I gotta tell you, I loved Ninja Turtles, and Raphael was my favorite turtle" and "I loved Pinky and the Brain, and now my kids and I are watching Jimmy Neutron, and now we find out that you're doing Tinker Bell and we love Clank and Bobble." So I'm very fortunate to have done this a long time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has gone through so many incarnations, and there was a recent movie in which the new turtles met the classic turtles of the '80s. Did you get to reprise the role of Raph?

I did not. I think they used non-union actors, and I'm very much involved with the [unions], so I can't do non-union work...It's a double-edged sword, [but] the unions have been really great to me, and I would never stab my fellow union actors in the back like that.

The one thing I remember the most from Animaniacs was their fantastic, educational songs...

[slips effortlessly into Yakko's voice and starts singing] "Oh yeah, you mean like, 'United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru...' Yep!"

Those songs were so helpful in actually memorizing the nations of the world, and the U.S. Presidents...

Well, and they're brilliant songs. I mean, the same gentleman, Randy Rogel, who wrote [sings as Yakko] "Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana..." He wrote the song about the states and the capitals...

And I see you still remember them perfectly...!

I know the whole thing. I've done it so many times...Really, it's not hyperbole to call that stuff genius. It's incredible.

When you're performing, is it harder to sing with a character's voice than it is with your own?

That's a great question. Sometimes it is. And sometimes I'll get hired to replace actors just to sing, because they'll hire an actor whose voice they like, but they can't necessarily sing in the voice, so they'll hire me to come in and sing for them. But it depends on the voice placement. For me, having started out primarily as a singer, it's not that difficult. But it can be, depending on how taxing it is on your voice.

Thank you very much for your time!

Not at all...It's a pleasure meeting you. Take care.