Welcome WALL-E!
The voice of John Ratzenberger has featured in every Pixar movie from Finding Nemo to Ratatouille. With WALL•E about to be released and work underway on Toy Story 3, the actor lets us into some animated movie secrets…
NG Kids: Spill the beans, John! What characters have you worked on for Pixar?
John Ratzenberger: I've been in all of the Pixar films so I've been everything from Mustafa in Ratatouille to PT Flea in A Bug's Life. Who else have I played? I was Hamm in the Toy Story films and I was a school of moonfish in Finding Nemo.
NGK: What's been your favourite Pixar role?
JR: Oh, that's easy. I really like PT Flea from A Bug's Life. He's great because his fuse was so short for nonsensical things. He's a funny character to watch.
NGK: What happensin WALL•E?
JR: WALL•E is set in the future, when humans have all left Earth to live in a huge spaceship. WALL•E is the name of the last robot left on the planet. He's trying to clean up the world. I play a guy called John. It isn't too difficult for me to play seeing as that's the name on my driving licence!
NGK: Is it hard to work in a recording booth?
JR: No, it's fun. The beauty of Pixar is you say the lines in the script but you're also given the freedom to make up lines. If there's something rattling around in your head, you can say it. Those lines often end up getting used, too
NGK: Are you working on Toy Story 3?
JR: I am – and it's great. It's like going back into a sand-box with some old friends. You get to play again with people you like.
JR: I don't know if I can say. It's a good story because the boy, Andy, is growing up. He's going to college, so the film is going to be very interesting. You think, "How are they going to outdo Toy Story and Toy Story 2?" But again, they've done it. You're going to love the new movie.
NGK: Is it easier to play the same character for the third time?
JR: No, it's not. You have to remember what you did the first time you recorded the voice, which is pretty difficult. I listen to the original voice of Hamm a lot to get me back into character.
NGK: So it's a tough job in the recording booth?
JR: Definitely. Well, you have to get the voice right. I own the rights to a series of children stories that I was recording the other day. I had to keep playing back the characters I'd recorded the day before in order to create the same accents and voices. Just one day later, I'd forgotten some of them!
NGK: If you could provide the voice to a new animated character – what would you choose?
JR: I'd be the janitor of a small town school because that was my first hero as a kid. Why? Because he was always whistling, he always had something nice to say and he could fix stuff. I'd love to play that role. It's perfect for me.
Catch WALL•E in cinemas around the UK from 18 July – and don’t forget check out the latest issue of NG KIDS magazine for an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the film…
PHOTOS: © Disney/Pixar. Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage
WORDS: ADAM TANSWELL