From The Hundred Acre Wood to a galaxy far, far away, voice acting royalty Jim Cummings brings his incredible talent to Supanova Comic Con & Gaming this October-November.
Jim Cummings is rightfully known as the ‘voice of your childhood’, with more than 400 credited roles spanning 40-plus years, including beloved and timeless characters such as Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Taz The Tasmanian Devil, Darkwing Duck, and Hondo Ohnaka from ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’.
Through his voice acting, Jim has been ingratiated into the lives of countless young and young-at-heart fans who grew up hearing his voice on their favourite cartoons. With such a following, it’s little wonder that Jim enjoys pop culture conventions like Supanova so much. “Really, it’s the people,” Jim says.
“It’s interesting because when you touch someone’s life when they’re four, five, six, ten or forty years old, and it becomes meaningful to them, it’s like a beautiful glimpse into their life and they’ve let you in. They’ve let down their guard,” he laughs.
“Oftentimes a mum will come up and she will have her daughter and her grandson with them, and they’ll just break into tears because that’s three generations that I’ve made happy or, [in Pooh voice] invited into The Hundred Acre Wood, with Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger. [switches to Tigger] So, it’s a wonderful thing to be bouncing around with all those people.”
Among the hundreds of characters Jim has given life through voice, there are a select few that remain favourites for both him and the fans that come to see him at conventions. “To a great extent it’s Pooh and Tigger, and Darkwing Duck is very big,” he says.
“And my guy Hondo Ohnaka from ‘Star Wars’. [In Hondo voice] Hondo, he is an amazing guy, just ask him. [Normal voice] And Ray from ‘The Princess And The Frog’, they’re probably my five biggest. People get a kick out of Ray, the firefly,” he chuckles.
As for his own personal favourite? Let’s just say, he’s a daring duck of mystery and champion of right who swoops out of the shadows. And he’s rumoured to be getting a reboot on Disney+.
“I really like Hondo Ohnaka from ‘Star Wars’ and Ray from ‘The Princess And The Frog’, they’re very near and dear to my heart. And Pooh and Tigger are in their own category, but again I have to go back to Darkwing Duck and apparently, we’re going to be working on some new ones, so stay tuned.”
Jim’s highly animated career began in 1984 when the godfather of voice actors Mel Blanc heard Jim’s demo tape and remarked: “tell the kid he’s got it.” Surely, taking on the role of a cherished character – like Winnie-the-Pooh for example – comes with a heady responsibility to honour and respect its established legacy, as well as the fans.
“Very much so. I don’t take myself seriously, but I take my work seriously,” Jim affirms. “You want it to be consistent. Like I said before, I’ll have three generations of people standing in front of me and they all are extremely familiar with all of the hundreds of cartoons and different characters that I’ve done, and consistency is the key.
“I did a convention recently when I think there might have been four or five Sonic The Hedgehog [voice actors], and that would have to be confusing as a fan. Like Tigger says: [sings in Tigger voice] I’m the only one!”
Supanova Comic Con & Gaming is on at Adelaide Showground 31 October-2 November, and Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 7-9 November.
