Another press trip – another interview, but this was like no other I’d participated in before. This interview allowed us to talk to three young, talented, exciting young men. The three young men who, using their immense talents, put voices to the the three young male characters of The Good Dinosaur, Spot, Arlo and Buck.
That’s right; we got to sit down with Jack Bright (Spot), Raymond Ochoa (Arlo), and Marcus Scribner (Buck). It was fun getting to meet young celebrities and I am excited to share it with you.
How did each of you get into character?
Raymond Ochoa (Arlo) – Mine was research. I did a lot of research on the Apatosaurus. First off, I had no idea what he looked like, so that was one of them. After I looked it up, I saw the long neck, and he was kind-looking and sweet in the front of it. But, also it’s a Pixar movie so you know it has to be kid-friendly obviously, so it was pretty difficult to make him sound that way. I think Pete [Sohn] trusted my voice and making it sound that I was good, so I hope it worked.
Marcus Scribner (Buck) – 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 oh, nope, it’s called an Apatosaurus. So, I did research and definitely getting into character really helped because Buck is really gruff and he’s really a tough character. He’s very rambunctious, so to play a character like that I really had to just let all my emotions through and really give it my all and play it towards the mic. And doing voice-over is very different from live-action so I was really able to release the character within.
Jack Bright (Spot) – Playing Spot was just 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 noises – it’s very fun.
How do you balance being celebrities and the girls trying to pick you up, how are you dealing with that?
Raymond – Let’s just say it’s the good part of being in the industry. It’s definitely a plus. So 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 acting 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 help me whenever I need it.
So it’s just so amazing. And that’s how I really handle it because, you know, family is my main key. That helps me stay with everything, you know? Right now my main focus is not really on the entire girls’ thing but it’s mainly on my career and being successful at a young age so that’s my main focus.
What traits do you have in common with your characters, and what traits would you like to incorporate?
Raymond – I think one of Arlo’s biggest things and one of his biggest goals is to make his parents proud. His main one 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 I can to my parents because I do respect them a lot, so to be a great son to them, that’s all I really want in life, because they do so much for me. So, I just want to pay them back for all they do. But what I want to be is I feel like Arlo is so helpful, he is.
So 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 start being like him because he does have to take care of the farm. He has to replace his Papa as not being there, and that’s really difficult for him. So I just want to, 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.
Jack – Spot is like, I haven’t seen it so I’m imagining he’s wild, he’s not really scared of anything so…
Raymond – Spot is very, he’s very vicious and he’s very mean but, that’s what Arlo sees in the beginning. He’s really not like that later on in the film. 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 I see how kind he is, how much of an amazing soul he is, and he’s a great son. He was talking to his mom and I was – wow, he’s so kind.
This part of the interview was very enduring. It was really nice to see this interaction between to boys who had just met one another. Raymond went on to say that he sees this resemblance between Jack and Spot, that Jack is a pretty cool guy.
Marcus – 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, but 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.
How long did you guys work on your voice sessions?
Raymond – It was about a year I had been working on this movie, the past year, but, many people have many different answers for this one. For me, they would call me back – 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. It was about a six-hour session every time.
Every minute I was there I enjoyed it so much, because literally just people that I was working with, like the director Pete, he is so amazing and he’s so helpful to you by providing you what needs to help you and what the scenario was around you, so I didn’t have anyone to play with. But it felt like I was acting with Jack and I was acting with Marcus because he [Pete] did all those characters. I want to thank Pete because he is such an amazing director.
Marcus – I did close to the amount of time that Raymond did. I was there for about a day. [laughter] I agree with Raymond. Working with Peter Sohn was amazing because he really brings the characters to life, and he lets you know how he wants the character to be portrayed and it really allowed me to get into the character that was Buck, because he’s definitely different from the character that I play on television [on black-ish], so getting into a new character was a fun experience and Peter has a lot to do with it.
How does it feel to be a part of Disney Pixar history now?
Marcus – It’s a mind-blowing experience. I grew up watching movies like Toy Story, The Incredibles, all those movies, so working on a Disney Pixar movie is like my dream come true. And for it to be my first voice-over work, it’s really just mind-boggling. I don’t even know what to say. It was just, it’s amazing.
Jack – Like Marcus said, I grew up watching Cars, like all those Disney [films] – I love Disney Pixar. It’s a dream come true to actually be in one of their movies, I never thought I would be in it. Instead of watching the movie you can actually interact with the characters, like you’re them, it’s really nice.
Raymond – Well for me, I have three older brothers and I think my first ever Pixar movie I saw was Monsters Inc. and that’s my personal favorite Pixar movie. And I love, I love, I love Pixar. My other favorite movie in the world is The Incredibles and I love that movie. So, you know, to be a part of them, to be a part of just one and being the title character of one, I’m just so grateful that I was given this opportunity because it’s just so incredible.
It’s just weird to think about later on in the future someone could be asked, what’s your favorite Pixar movie, and they can be like, The Good Dinosaur is mine. And it’s just weird, so to be a part of the history now, it’s amazing and I want to thank everyone that gave me that opportunity.
Did any of you have trouble with your voices through the movie, since it was like a year-long thing for you?
Raymond – To say the least, yeah. You know, there comes a time in a boy’s years where, you know, his voice gets a little deeper than it originally was. That time came [for me] in the middle of the film and literally the couple last times I was coming in, my voice sounded a lot deeper. And it was really funny to me because I was trying to match what was in the original film. So every time I needed them to play back my original voice and then, because I didn’t put any character to my voice. It was my original voice. It just got a little deeper.
I just had to match the pitch of what it was. It was like doing Pitch Perfect in this voice-over, [He Laughs] but I felt like I matched it and I think Pete liked it too so that’s all that mattered.
Marcus – Yeah, I definitely had some troubles with my voice. Like I was saying earlier, trying to laugh was very difficult because laughing on command with like a deeper voice sounds really weird.
It was really cute when Jack said that he hadn’t yet reached this stage in life, but for him laughing was also challenging and he actually had to have his mother come in and tickle him to get him to laugh when needed.
I feel that this was one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve ever been able to be a part of. These young men really are phenomenal and inspirational to talk to. They have done a great job in The Good Dinosaur – if you haven’t seen it yet you NEED to!!
REMEMBER – The Good Dinosaur is now in theaters EVERYWHERE!!!
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Disclosure: I attended this event as part of an all-expense paid press trip for Disney. However, all opinions are completely my own. #GoodDinoEvent
Want to see this movie.Just so like the Disney films!
Cannot wait to see this movie this weekend even though age wise I am far past the age of childrens movies, I feel you are never to old for Disney movies. If none of my grandchildren are available to go with me then I will be going on my own lol. And how interesting to read about your interview with the 3 young men who do the voice overs in the show. What an interesting job that must be.
My kids and I can’t wait to see this movie. Your interview with these young people is wonderful.
Angel
Interesting prospective on voice overs.Didn’t think about how difficult the process is.
This looks like an awesome move! I can’t wait to see it with my grandchildren! The young actors are very intelligent and talented!