I attended a press event for Disney. All expenses paid, however all statements are my own.
You’ve read my review of The Good Dinosaur and our interview with the Director and Producer, today I’m sharing the voices of The Good Dinosaur with you! We had a fabulous time getting to know these young men, heard such heartfelt answers about being a part of The Good Dinosaur.
At the table from left to right Marcus Scribner (from black-ish) voice of Buck, Raymond Ochoa is the voice of Arlo and Jack Bright is the voice of Spot
Getting Into Character
One of the first questions for the boys was how did they each get into character:
Raymond answered first: “Mine was research. I did a lot of research on the Apatosaurus. First off, I had no idea what he looked like. I looked it up and saw the long neck and that he was kind of kind-looking and sweet. Since it is a Pixar movie I knew it had to be kid-friendly obviously, so it was, it was pretty difficult to make him sound that way. I think Pete trusted my voice and making it sound that I was good, so I hope it worked.”
Marcus added, “It definitely worked. I saw the movie and Raymond’s voice definitely fit the Apatosaurus. I agree with Raymond. It was definitely research because like he said I had no clue what an Apatosaurus was. What I saw in The Good Dinosaur was like, oh that’s a Brontosaurus and then I was like oh, nope, it’s called an Apatosaurus. So I did research and, and definitely getting into character really helped because, because Buck is really gruff and he’s really tough of a character. He’s very rambunctious, so to play a character like that I really had to just like let all my emotions through and just like really give it my all and play it towards the mic. Doing voiceover is very different from live-action so I was really able to release the character within.”
Jack said, “Playing Spot, was very fun. You would get to make all his noises, you go all-out, you just make noise. Like going around the house annoying my brother, they’re like, oh how did being so annoying, making all those noises get you to be in a movie? It’s very fun. You make like growling, yelling, it was a lot of fun.”
Raymond also added what were were all thinking, “I think Jack had the toughest character to do. He doesn’t have to talk. You know, it’s all, you have to bring out emotion just within these howls and growls, all these things, but I think you did an amazing job, amazing.”
Photo Credit: PixarWikia.com
On Working during the Voice Sessions
Doing voice over work isn’t a typical day on set, Raymond explains the process he went through to us. “Well it was about a year I had been working on this movie, the past year, but, you know, many people have many different answers for this one. People say, like I know fellow actors in the movie, they were like, I did a day and it was over. For me, they would call me back, you know, I would do, I would do the entire script, then go back home. And they would fly me back up to Pixar, and it was literally just like that. And it was about a six-hour session every time. I literally, every minute I was there I enjoyed it so much, ‘cause literally just people that I was working with, like the director Pete, he is so amazing and he’s so helpful to you by, you know, providing you what needs like to help you and, you know, what the scenario was around you, so, you know, I didn’t have anyone to play with. But, you know, it felt like I was acting with Jack and I was, acting with Marcus because he did all those characters. It was just, I want to thank Pete because he is such an amazing director.”
Marcus added his experience: “I did close to the amount of time that Raymond did. I was there for about a day. Wow a whole day. And yeah, I agree with Raymond. Working with Peter Sohn was amazing because he really brings the characters to life, and he lets you know, um, how he wants the character to be portrayed and it really allowed me to to get into the character that was Buck, because he’s definitely different from the character that I play on television, so getting into a new character was, was a fun experience and Peter has a lot to do with it.”
So much praise for the Director Pete Sohn. It was
On Being in the Entertainment Industry
Raymond is no stranger to the entertainment industry as he and his brothers are in a band called Ochoa Boys. “Well let’s just say it’s the good part of being in the industry. It’s defiantly a plus. I have three older brothers and they’re all in the entertainment business. Me and my brothers are also actually in a music group together. I’ve been in this business for a pretty long time now so I kind of grew up knowing nothing but being in the entertainment business. But being grounded, I have such amazing parents that help me, stay grounded. And I have amazing brothers that kind of guide me throughout my life and, you know, help me whenever I need it. It’s just so amazing. And that’s how I really handle it because, you know, family is my main key. That helps me, you know, stay with everything. I’m not sure, I’m not really — right now my main focus is not really on the entire girls’ thing but it’s mainly on my career and, you know, being successful at a young age so that’s my main focus.” We all agreed that it was a great answer.
Actor and Character Shared Traits
One of the questions that I always love hearing is how an actor compares to the character they just portrayed. The boys gave awesome answers.
Raymond answered, “Well, you know, Arlo, I think one of his biggest things and one of his biggest goals is to make his parents proud, his main one is, is his papa. He really looks up to his papa and I think that’s one of my biggest characteristics. I try to be the best son as I can to my parents ‘cause I do respect them a lot, so to be a great son to them, that’s all I really want in life, ‘cause they do so much for me so I just want to pay them back for all they do. Arlo is so helpful. I want to be as helpful as he is to the family. I don’t really have a lot of chores in my life so I want to do — I want to start being like him ‘cause, you know, he does have to take care of the farm. He has to replace his papa as not being there, and that’s, you know, that’s really difficult for him. So I just want to, I do, I really don’t have a lot of chores because I do have three older brothers that can help me out with that whole scenario. But I’m gonna try and be more helpful around the house just like Arlo is on his farm.” We all got a chuckle at him wanting more chores and he laughs with us and says, “My dad is right there. He’s listening to me. He’s hearing everything.”
Jack Bright the youngest actor had this to say about how he fares to Spot. “I’m imagining he’s like, he’s wild, he’s not really scared of anything.”
Photo Credit: Disney Pixar
Raymond adds “Well Spot is very vicious and he’s very mean and that’s what Arlo sees in the beginning. He’s really not like that later on in the film. Arlo does. That’s why they become friends. He really sees the kind in him. And I literally just met Jack like last night. That’s literally when I met him. But just by seeing him, and I drove him to this place, just by seeing him, I see how kind he is, how much of an amazing like soul he is, and he’s a great son. He was talking to his mom and I was like wow, you know, he’s so kind. I think that’s where I see the resemblance between him and Spot. And not just from another person’s perspective but, you know, you are a pretty cool guy.”
Jack thanked Raymond. It was a sweet moment. I have to say Raymond was “spot” on in his comments. Being around the boys for a little bit at the interview and at the premiere it was wonderful to see how much family is important to the boys. They all celebrated together. It was really sweet.
Marcus spoke about being like his character Buck, “I really aspire to be like Buck, my character, who’s really self-confident and he’s a real leader. I hope that I have those traits and hopefully I’ll develop them in the future. Buck is really cool character and it was really cool to get to play him, he’s very different from my personality in real life.” We asked if his siblings felt the wrath of Buck, “I have a younger sister so, kind of I guess. I don’t torture her as much as Buck does, but she can get on my nerves.”
(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
The young men chosen for these roles could not have been better fits. Not only did their personalities come thru in the movie but in person. Wishing them only the best in their future endeavors!
Our picture with The Voices of The Good Dinosaur
Photo Credit: Momstart.com
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Question:
What amazing young men right? What would you ask them?
Cheers!
Candy
