Hello friends! You know the routine by now lol. I was out in Los Angeles a few weeks back chatting and hanging out at the Disney lot talking with actors from different tv shows, touring tv sets, going to movie premieres and more. The Good Dinosaur is in theaters now and I do recommend you take your kiddos to see it. While out in sunny California, I got a chance to chat with a few voices from the cute film. Kid Actors Jack Bright, Marcus Scribner and Raymond Ochoa shared with us how they felt about getting their roles, dealing with fame, favorite scenes and so much more! Check it out inside….
Actors Jack Bright, Marcus Scribner and Raymond Ochoa
What did they do when they found out they got the gig?
Marcus shared, “Well when I found out, I was at home so I guess I just went into my room and like started jumping on the bed, like I’m gonna be in a Disney Pixar movie, y’all. But I was just really excited. It was mind-blowing for me ‘cause I booked the movie off of just like some recording that I did in my closet on my phone because I couldn’t make it to the recording studio. So, to book a Pixar movie like that, I was just, I don’t know, my mind was blown, it was crazy.”
Raymond added “Okay, so is your question called before or after the screaming? So yeah, after I started screaming and I was over with that, first off, I was at the Pixar facility when I was told ‘cause I had three callbacks up there before I was told that I got the role. I got, got a little yelly and stuff, that was my first reaction. And then I was actually with my mom and then I did a performance with my brothers down where it was, near it, so my brothers were in the car and they already knew, ‘cause they called.”
“I found out in the car right after, so I came out and my brother’s like oh, congratulations. I was like wait, what, what happened? They’re like, oh you got it. I was like wait, what? Why didn’t you guys tell me? Like you guys are the worst, like come on, mom. But yeah, I literally started screaming and actually we went out to celebrate because, you know, it was probably, probably one of my most, uh, favorite jobs I’ve ever gotten in my entire career.”
Jack’s story was a little different, sharing “I didn’t start off in the movie. It was my brother, he started off in the movie ‘cause he was in Toy Story 3, and I was like oh, that’s, that’s good for him. He was in the movie and he started off, he did like maybe a year of work and he got his voice changed and it got really, really deep and I’m not sure what happened but they called me in and I did a couple of recordings and they said that they’re gonna do it 50/50 with my brother. And they used me a lot more and they put it to 90/10 so when I figured that out, I got really happy, like my brother was just sitting there, like man. I felt bad but yeah.”
How did they prepare for their roles?
Raymond shared with us how he prepared to voice the main character of Arlo, telling us how he did a lot of research, “I did a lot of research on the Apatosaurus, you know? First off, I had no idea what he looked like, so that was one of them. After I looked it up, I kind of saw, you know, the long neck and he was kind of kind-looking and sweet in the front of it. But, you know, also it’s a Pixar movie so it has to be kid-friendly obviously, so it was pretty difficult to make him sound that way. I think Pete trusted my voice and making it sound good, so I hope it worked.”
Marcus, voice of Arlo’s brother Buck chimed in, “It definitely worked. I mean, 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. 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 just 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, voice of Spot added, “Playing Spot, it 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 you like being so annoying, making all those noises get you to be in a movie? It’s very fun. You make like growling, yelling…very fun.”
Favorite scenes in the movie?
Jack, answered “my favorite part is when Arlo is trying to get the berries from the tree and he falls and then he looks behind him and Spot walks – I’m not sure if it connects but when Arlo is walking down below, and then he looks up and Spot is on top of the big mountain, he looks down at him after he was telling him – that’s one of my favorite scenes.”
Raymond shared, “particularly, I like the scene where me and Spot were kind of in that sand and we start sharing our family. And that actually was really touching to me because it was actually really difficult to film that scene because I know Pete, he’s such an amazing director, he knows what he wants. He has his own vision so I think that was the scene that took probably the longest to film. That was probably the longest because, you know, he knew that that was gonna be really impactful to the crowd and to the audience.”
“So just by saying that one line, it was just literally naming names but just filming that was so amazing because once I did complete it, it was such a relief and it was like wow, I finally got what Pete wanted, and it was amazing. So that’s probably my favorite scene filming.”
Marcus said that his favorite scene was “where I get to scare Arlo. I mean, that scene took a while to film because my voice is very weird right now, so laughing is a little difficult. And so it was like [LAUGHED] and no sound really came out, so that scene took a little bit to film.”
“But to actually see it on the big screen was really nice and I was like oh wow, I actually sound like I’m laughing. But Raymond was definitely right, working with Peter is what really got me to that place because he really gives you the direction that he wants you to go in, and you just act it out for him and it translated well on to the big screen.”
How are they dealing with stardom?
Raymond said, “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. I have such amazing parents that help me, you know, 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.”
Quick selfie with Marcus, so cute!
Group Shot
The Good Dinosaur is in theaters NOW!
Photos by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Love the selfie!! Great interview! 🙂
thanks Amanda!