Handycat

We recorded the Handycat track last Wednesday, and I had the pleasure of directing the incomparable Rob Paulsen and legendary June Foray! The record went smooth and fast � the kind of session everyone likes! There were a lot of laughs, and hopefully Handycat�s funny screaming jags didn�t tax Rob�s voice too much. You can blame us if Carl from �Jimmy Neutron,� or Gordon from �Catscatch� doesn�t sound the same anymore. (Just kidding, I hope…) Rob�s an exceptional actor and working with him was a pleasure!

Here�s Rob Paulsen, Larry Huber, G. Brian Reynolds, me (Russ Harris) and June Foray.

Early on, Larry Huber our Executive Producer suggested June Foray for the Little Old Lady part in our short. June Foray is, of course, a living legend in our industry. She�s been working since she was 12 and is still going strong. When she agreed to do the part, we were [Read more…]

And another really rough model sheet as we hone in on Handycat. This one is considerably less fussy and more dynamic and seems to fit Drillbit better. Handycat seems more youthful in this one, too. It’s kind of fun posting these works in progress rather than waiting until something’s set in stone. Proof positive that this stuff seldom just emerges fully formed.

Today, Daryl Pyle, who will be animating on the short, came in to spend some time working on models for Drillbit. Daryl has done quite a bit of work for us over the past nearly 10 years and we’re glad to have him back.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time reworking the Handycat model, trying a little of everything and never being quite happy. I had a kind of breakthrough though last Friday when we listened to the voice auditions over the speakerphone, us in Indianapolis and everyone else in Burbank. Hearing those actors read helped me zero in where I think the cat needs to be visually.

We chose Rob Paulsen to be Handycat and are delighted with what he’s bringing to our picture. Rob has done a ton of superb work as can be seen if you take a look at his website at www.robpaulsen.com

We’re looking forward to the recording session which looks to be taking place next week. Meredith Layne, Casting Director par excellence, made this whole process a breeze because she “got” what we were looking for and only brought to the table a short list of people [Read more…]