Interview: Susie Essman on Bolt
Disney Animated Film Stars John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Mark Walton
Nov 19, 2008
Susie Essman is best known for playing Susie Greene on the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. But when Disney offered her the role of Mittens – the cynical, streetwise cat in Bolt – she jumped at the chance to voice the role of a Disney animated character.
Suite 101 sat down with Essman for this exclusive interview, where she discussed Mittens, and the trials and triumphs of voicing an animated character.
How did you get involved with Bolt?
“I got a call from my agent, who told me, “There’s a Disney animated movie, and they want you for the voice of the cat, are you interested?’
“’No, I’m not interested,’ are you kidding me? (laughs) It’s always been a fantasy of mine to be in a Disney animated film. And another thought was: ‘A cat? But I’m a dog person!’
"But then I read the script and fell in love with Mittens: she’s this tough, New York City stray. I love that she’s a survivor who lives on her wits. But she goes through major emotional changes. You always want to play a character that grows and changes, that you have an emotional life to play, you know?
“I also knew it was starring John Travolta, so I thought: ‘I get to act with John Travolta!’ Which . . . didn’t happen. (laughs)
"But I met with (co-director) Chris Williams, (producer) Clark Spencer and (storyboard artist) Nathan Greno. They talked me through it, and Chris was so enthusiastic and so focused. He’s one of the best directors I've ever worked with."
How so?
“Just in terms of understanding the character, her emotional life and her changes, and what was needed for the scipt . . . it’s not really that different playing a cat than playing a person. You go through the same changes and (Chris) really got a great performance out of me.
What was the ‘Eureka’ moment for you with this character?
"At the beginning, I really didn’t understand the animation voice thing, because I’m so used to using my facial expressions when I act. I had to figure out how to get all those subtle things to come through my voice.
"There was no ‘Eureka’ moment. Only Thomas Edison had ‘Eureka’ moments. (laughs) But, after a couple of sessions, I started to get the rhythm of it. I knew who (Mittens) was immediately, but it was the idea of having everything come through my voice."
And what was your process of getting it all through your voice?
"I can’t tell you, I don’t know. I was doing it for a while, and thinking, ‘I’m not getting it,’ then all of a sudden it just kinda . . . clicked on the 3rd session."
So, you’re in the voice-over booth on your own . . . did you at least have a picture of the character?
“I did. They sent me a bunch of pictures and drawings. If they had animation, they would show it to me. Usually, they would show me this very primitive form of animation. So I would see this . . . hairless cat speaking my lines, and I didn’t get it.
"But when I finally saw the movie the other night, it was just mind-blowing to see how great it was. There were lines that I had recorded a year ago, that I totally forgot about, and how it all cut together was just beautiful."
Did you miss not having another actor to bounce off of during voice recording?
"Yes, I did miss that. Chris Williams would read all the scenes with me about 3 or 4 times and we would record that, and then I would have to take each line and record it at least 20 times in every possible variation you could imagine, because they need to have so many choices because it has to match what John’s doing and what it’s doing in terms of the story and the animation. It’s an exhausting, exhausting process.
"There were 2 aspects why it was harder, and why it was easier, for me. I think it was harder because I’m used to doing Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is completely improvised. And when you’re improvising, you *really* have to listen to what the other person’s saying and respond.
"At the same time, I’m a standup comic so I’m used to being onstage all by myself, and improvising, and making it fresh every time.
"So the first time I was at the Disney animation studios recording, they took me on a tour of the studios and they showed me the entire process from beginning to end . . . it blew my mind: I didn’t know there were a million people working on this, I didn’t know how tedious and detailed. I mean, it took six months just to do my fur, strand by strand by strand.
"One day, I was in the studio – another time – and they were working on one of my scenes, and they listened to 3 words of mine, over and over and over and over again. It’s just mind-blowing how they do it on the computer, and they draw right on the computer!"
So what’s next for you?
"Well, we start shooting Season 7 of Curb in December, and I have a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie coming out on CBS in January so I’m busy. But, you know what? I’m so touched to be reaching a new audience, to be in a Disney movie, to have such a great, iconic character in Mittens, I’m just loving this.”
There have been a lot of talking animal animated flicks. Why would an audience want to see Bolt?
“Bolt has a heart. Bolt is about friendship and loyalty and adversity. Mittens’ story is about redemption. It happens to be visually, drop-dead gorgeous. Everybody that I know saw it: they were crying, they were laughing . . . it’s got a heart. And it tells a story about home, and family, and the things that are important to all of us."
Bolt opens on Friday.
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