sjbvan
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2005
- Messages
- 31
I remember Theresa asking about this last week and then saw this article this morning.
From Story Artist to Super-Sidekick ... Mark Walton Rocks as Rhino!
Mushu, Sebastian, and Zazu the high-profile actors behind these tiny but mighty Disney Characters prove it's not the size of the sidekick but the wit in their wisecracks that wins audiences over. So when Walt Disney Animation Studios' story artist Mark Walton was selected as the official voice of Rhino in Disney's "Bolt," the unlikely celebrity couldn't believe his luck. The result? A lovable, scene-stealing, fully awesome ham-star was born.
In theaters November 21, "Bolt" delivers an action-packed, cross-country adventure with a Hollywood super dog who's determined to return home after being shipped to New York City. When the perplexed pup realizes his superpowers aren't the real deal, he enlists a street-smart cat named Mittens and Rhino, a TV-obsessed hamster, to guide him along his journey.
Mark explains Rhino's name. "Nathan Greno, head of story development, had a cat called Rhino and thought it would be funny to ... give a big, crazy, oversized name to this tiny hamster who believes he's truly more amazing than a hamster generally can be."
How did this behind-the-scenes talent make the leap from drawing board to big screen? According to Mark, artists are often asked to lend their voices for "scratch" (placeholder) recordings so the production team has something to work with during the early stages of story and character development. "Acting is part of the storyboarding process since you're 'performing' through the characters you draw, their facial expressions, and the way you craft dialogue. If you can get inside the character's head, then you'll be more honest and real on the storyboards," he adds.
Mark describes the first scratch recording session. "It was pretty intimidating standing in a room with a microphone in your face and a whole team of people behind the glass staring at you. I thought I'm wasting their time ... I've got to get it right ... I did the wrong accent ... was I jingling the keys in my pocket? I froze up and made lots of mistakes. Luckily they kept asking me to do scratch and after a while I became comfortable."
Directors Byron Howard and Chris Miller took their time casting a "real actor" to voice the hamster. Meanwhile Mark continued to provide Rhino's dialogue. "Rhino's a very broad, comedic character ... it was pretty easy to make him likable. He had a lot of great lines so I'm lucky to have been a part of that. It was lots of fun. And if that's as far as it went, well, that would have been fine," Mark says.
Then, as Disney magic goes, the unexpected happened. Mark was asked to re-record one of the first lines he'd read. The directors wanted more enthusiasm in his delivery, so he read the line again this time with a twist that left the stand-in speechless. "Bolt's amazing! He can smash bridges, shoot lasers through helicopters, and destroy entire laboratories ... and I'm the voice of Rhino." For a moment he was stunned. Mark admits, "My brain pretty much shut down, I wasn't capable of much. I started jumping, yelling, hugging random people, and screaming like a little kid. Everyone was cheering. Up to this point, I had tried very hard not to get my hopes up because it just seemed way too good to be true to play a character in a Disney film especially a great character like Rhino. So when they told me, it was like winning the lottery ... I really wasn't prepared to deal with it. It was amazing."
Despite having no professional acting experience, Mark provides the perfect amount of madness to this geeky, furry fan who doesn't let the reality that he's a hamster get in the way of his chance to be a superhero with Bolt. "I thought they'd want me to do a squeaky, cute little hamster voice, but they just wanted me to be myself as much as possible which made it easier to focus on the acting. There were a few times when Rhino's running around in his hamsterball, pushing something heavy, or becoming so excited that I found myself getting worked up and sweaty trying to recreate those actions believably. Rhino is Bolt's unabashed fan, sidekick, confidante, and helper ... he's powered by sheer enthusiasm and unbridled hope that gets him through a lot of situations. It never occurs to him that Bolt really isn't a superhero or that what he does is impossible. Rhino's so crazy about Bolt and the show that he starts imagining that he himself can do amazing things too. That's what I tried to convey."
Mark laughs when asked about his favorite part of the film. "Probably any scene that features me is pretty cool ... I must admit I do think I have most of the best lines. I like when the pigeons try to figure out who Bolt is and when Rhino helps Bolt break Mittens out of the animal shelter. There's such great animation and dialogue and the characters are nicely designed. The end of the film is surprisingly moving too ... I hope audiences walk away knowing that pets, dogs in particular, are trusting and love unconditionally. They believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself."
Does Mark Walton eat danger for breakfast like his pint-sized persona? "Absolutely! Well, no, I live a pretty danger-free life. I just get to pretend I'm dangerous on the job ... and that's a lot easier than if I actually had to do everything Rhino does in the movie. It's a pretty sweet deal it's the most fun job I've ever had!" "Bolt" audiences will soon discover Mark's fun translates into a whole lot of hamster on screen!
From Story Artist to Super-Sidekick ... Mark Walton Rocks as Rhino!
Mushu, Sebastian, and Zazu the high-profile actors behind these tiny but mighty Disney Characters prove it's not the size of the sidekick but the wit in their wisecracks that wins audiences over. So when Walt Disney Animation Studios' story artist Mark Walton was selected as the official voice of Rhino in Disney's "Bolt," the unlikely celebrity couldn't believe his luck. The result? A lovable, scene-stealing, fully awesome ham-star was born.
In theaters November 21, "Bolt" delivers an action-packed, cross-country adventure with a Hollywood super dog who's determined to return home after being shipped to New York City. When the perplexed pup realizes his superpowers aren't the real deal, he enlists a street-smart cat named Mittens and Rhino, a TV-obsessed hamster, to guide him along his journey.
Mark explains Rhino's name. "Nathan Greno, head of story development, had a cat called Rhino and thought it would be funny to ... give a big, crazy, oversized name to this tiny hamster who believes he's truly more amazing than a hamster generally can be."
How did this behind-the-scenes talent make the leap from drawing board to big screen? According to Mark, artists are often asked to lend their voices for "scratch" (placeholder) recordings so the production team has something to work with during the early stages of story and character development. "Acting is part of the storyboarding process since you're 'performing' through the characters you draw, their facial expressions, and the way you craft dialogue. If you can get inside the character's head, then you'll be more honest and real on the storyboards," he adds.
Mark describes the first scratch recording session. "It was pretty intimidating standing in a room with a microphone in your face and a whole team of people behind the glass staring at you. I thought I'm wasting their time ... I've got to get it right ... I did the wrong accent ... was I jingling the keys in my pocket? I froze up and made lots of mistakes. Luckily they kept asking me to do scratch and after a while I became comfortable."
Directors Byron Howard and Chris Miller took their time casting a "real actor" to voice the hamster. Meanwhile Mark continued to provide Rhino's dialogue. "Rhino's a very broad, comedic character ... it was pretty easy to make him likable. He had a lot of great lines so I'm lucky to have been a part of that. It was lots of fun. And if that's as far as it went, well, that would have been fine," Mark says.
Then, as Disney magic goes, the unexpected happened. Mark was asked to re-record one of the first lines he'd read. The directors wanted more enthusiasm in his delivery, so he read the line again this time with a twist that left the stand-in speechless. "Bolt's amazing! He can smash bridges, shoot lasers through helicopters, and destroy entire laboratories ... and I'm the voice of Rhino." For a moment he was stunned. Mark admits, "My brain pretty much shut down, I wasn't capable of much. I started jumping, yelling, hugging random people, and screaming like a little kid. Everyone was cheering. Up to this point, I had tried very hard not to get my hopes up because it just seemed way too good to be true to play a character in a Disney film especially a great character like Rhino. So when they told me, it was like winning the lottery ... I really wasn't prepared to deal with it. It was amazing."
Despite having no professional acting experience, Mark provides the perfect amount of madness to this geeky, furry fan who doesn't let the reality that he's a hamster get in the way of his chance to be a superhero with Bolt. "I thought they'd want me to do a squeaky, cute little hamster voice, but they just wanted me to be myself as much as possible which made it easier to focus on the acting. There were a few times when Rhino's running around in his hamsterball, pushing something heavy, or becoming so excited that I found myself getting worked up and sweaty trying to recreate those actions believably. Rhino is Bolt's unabashed fan, sidekick, confidante, and helper ... he's powered by sheer enthusiasm and unbridled hope that gets him through a lot of situations. It never occurs to him that Bolt really isn't a superhero or that what he does is impossible. Rhino's so crazy about Bolt and the show that he starts imagining that he himself can do amazing things too. That's what I tried to convey."
Mark laughs when asked about his favorite part of the film. "Probably any scene that features me is pretty cool ... I must admit I do think I have most of the best lines. I like when the pigeons try to figure out who Bolt is and when Rhino helps Bolt break Mittens out of the animal shelter. There's such great animation and dialogue and the characters are nicely designed. The end of the film is surprisingly moving too ... I hope audiences walk away knowing that pets, dogs in particular, are trusting and love unconditionally. They believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself."
Does Mark Walton eat danger for breakfast like his pint-sized persona? "Absolutely! Well, no, I live a pretty danger-free life. I just get to pretend I'm dangerous on the job ... and that's a lot easier than if I actually had to do everything Rhino does in the movie. It's a pretty sweet deal it's the most fun job I've ever had!" "Bolt" audiences will soon discover Mark's fun translates into a whole lot of hamster on screen!
