Hero Heights

Greetings True Believers!

We sure had a busy week at Hero Heights! My cohort Bill Ho and I have been hard at work making sure Hero Heights is the best animated short we can make! Last Thursday I had the pleasure of directing the voice recording session, and it was fantastic! Above is a snapshot of our cast. In the front row from left to right is Bill Ho, Jessica DiCicco (Smart Alec), Karen Malina White (Mindy 500), Annie Mumolo (Strikeout), Hynden Walch (Olympia) and Becky Thyre (Electrisha). And as the entire back row you have myelf Raul Aguirre. One thing that Bill and I noticed is that female voice actresses are very tiny. I mean I’m a big guy as it is, but around our cast I felt like Gandalf among the Hobbits. I’d also like to take this moment to thank our awesome Casting Supervisor Meredith Layne. She did a super job organizing the session and keeping track of the lines! It allowed me to concentrate on directing the actresses and getting the best out of their performances. Bill did a bang up job keeping track of the storyboards, just in case we needed an actress to refer to the art!

Jessica DiCicco was absolutely terrific as Smart Alec! The voice was cute and intense at the same time! She nailed the Elmer Fudd speech impediment we so desired! Some of you may know her as the voice of Maggie on Disney’s TV cartoon Buzz on Maggie.

Annie Mumolo played Strikeout perfectly! She gave us a dopey laid back surfer that sounded like a cross between Jeff Spicoli and Tommy Chong. (as kids of course) It was very genuine sounding not forced at all. Annie is a natural!

Hynden Walch is the voice of Greek Goddess and Warrior Princess Olympia. Hynden offered soothing and regal qualities to our heroine. The role demanded dignity, strength and charisma which Hynden effortlessly gave us! Hynden is most famous for her role as Starfire on Teen Titans.

Karen Malina White is the voice of chubby little super speedster Mindy 500. Karen gave me exactly what I wanted for Mindy 500, a sassy and squeaky little powerhouse! It was great having Karen for Mindy as she was my first choice and we felt lucky to get her. You may know Karen as the voice of Dijonaiise on Disney’s Proud Family.

Becky Thyre is the voice of nerdy Electrisha who has the power to channel electricity. Becky dove right into the role and had us laughing hysterically in the booth! Electrisha has enormous buck teeth and wears orthodontic head gear. She also spits when she talks! At one point Becky was spitting so much we needed to call in for a sponge mop to clean the floor in front of her! Becky was awesome with her inflections and timing giving us a solid performance! You may know Becky Thyre as the voice of Jawless Peggy Weggy from The Oblongs.

I had an awesome time directing this incredibly talented group of young ladies! They all gave me exactly what I wanted and then some! Bill and I are extremely pleased with their performances and hope to work with them again some day!

So the next step is for Bill and myself to take the recordings and pick the best takes for our final voice track. Since we had a few versions of each take, and they are all so good, this is going to be tough!

Excelsior!
Raul and Bill