Meet the Young Men Behind the Voices of The Good Dinosaur
I’m sure by now many of you have seen The Good Dinosaur in theaters. My family absolutely loved it. During my Disney press trip a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with some of the cast and creators of the movie including three young men, Raymond Ochoa (Arlo), Jack Bright (Spot) and Marcus Scribner (Buck) who voiced characters in the movie.
All three of them are so talented and will have bright futures in the acting world. I was amazed at how professional they were when interviewing them. Their parents accompanied them to their interview which I loved to see. It’s always great to have the support of your parents.
Raymond Ochoa (Arlo), Jack Bright (Spot) and Marcus Scribner (Buck)
Getting into Character
They said they did a lot of research for the movie. Raymond, who voiced Arlo, said he didn’t even know what an Apatosaurus looked like but he seen he was kind-looking and sweet. He knew the movie would be kid-friendly for Pixar and Pete trusted his voice in making it sound like Arlo should.
Marcus, who voiced Buck, said he knew his character needed to be really gruff and tough. Buck is very rambunctious so Marcus had to really let all his emotions through and give it his all towards the mic.
Doing voiceover is very different from live-action so I was really able to release the character within. – Marcus Scribner
Jack, who has the perfect voice for Spot, said it was a lot of fun because he basically got to make noise since his character is a caveman-like kid. He said he would go around the house annoying his brother making all these noises that got to be in the movie… growling and yelling.
Raymond said he thought Jack had the toughest character to do because he doesn’t talk. It’s all you have to bring out emotion just within the howls and growls but he thought Jack did an amazing job, amazing.
Voice Sessions
All movies are different at how long it can take to do voice sessions. Raymond said they would fly him up to Pixar for six-hour sessions. He usually done the entire script. He enjoyed every minute of it because the people they worked with, like the director Pete Sohn, was so amazing.
The director was very helpful providing with scenarios to make the voiceovers easier. They didn’t necessarily have anyone to play with but it still felt like acting because they were still characters even though it was just their voices.
I want to thank Pete because he is such an amazing director. – Raymond Ochoa
Marcus said he got his voiceover done in a day. He said working with Peter Sohn was amazing because he really brought the characters to life and let them know how he wanted the characters to be portrayed.
Working with kids can be especially hard because their voices can start changing as they get older. Raymond said his voice started getting deeper and he was trying to match his voice every time. They would have to play back his original voice so he could hear and match the pitch.
Jack said it was hard to laugh for the voiceover sessions. He said his mom would come in and tickle him to make him laugh. That’s so cute!
Balancing Life
Raymond has three older brothers that are also in the entertainment business. The four brothers are also in a boy band together, The Ochoa Boyz. He grew up with the business and has been acting for several years so it’s really normal for him. His brothers help guide him through life and he said he has amazing parents. Being successful at a young age is Raymond’s main focus right now.
Favorite Scenes
Jack had not yet seen the movie but he said his favorite part is when Arlo is trying to get the berries from the tree, falls and then looks up to find Spot staring down at him on the ridge of the mountain.
Raymond said he really likes the scene where Spot and Arlo are sharing about their families. He said it was really touching to him and a difficult scene to film because Pete had a specific vision for it. It took the longest for them to film but Pete knew that scene would be really impactful to the audience.
Marcus loved the scene where he scares Arlo in the chicken coop. The chickens in the movie are absolutely hilarious! Marcus said his voice is a little weird right now so it was difficult to shoot.
Character Similarities
One of Arlo’s biggest goals is to make his parents proud especially his papa. Arlo really looks up to his papa and Raymond said that’s one of his biggest characteristics. Raymond said he tries to be the best son he can be to his parents because he respects them a lot. He also said he wants to try to be more helpful around the house just like Arlo is on the farm. Such a great characteristic for a young man! My son is very helpful around the house and with chores on the farm. I think it’s so important to build these characteristics in our children. I’m sure Raymond’s dad was really listening when he said that!
Marcus said Jack is very kind with an amazing soul while he was watching him talk to his mom. What a sweet thing to say! Marcus thought that is what made Jack and Spot similar towards the end of the movie.
Buck is very self confident and a real leader. Marcus said he hopes to have those traits or at least develop them in the future. He said him and Buck have very different personalities though.
Future Work
Raymond is currently working on a movie and other projects. Of course, we all know Marcus from ‘black-ish. This is Marcus’ first voiceover movie. Jack currently does not have any future projects but I am sure he will after The Good Dinosaur!
Being a Part of Pixar
I am sure being a part of Pixar is a dream for many actors. Marcus said it is a mind-blowing experience to know be a part of it because he grew up watching movies like Toy Story and The Incredibles. Working on a Disney Pixar movie was a dream come true for Marcus and to be a part of the history now is amazing.
Jack grew up watching Cars and absolutely loves Disney Pixar.
It’s a dream come true to actually be in one of their movies. Instead of watching the movie you can actually interact with the characters which is really nice. – Jack Bright
Raymond’s favorite Pixar movies are Monsters Inc. and The Incredibles. He said it’s just so incredible to be a title character and given the opportunity to be in a Pixar film.
Lessons Learned
The three most important things to take away from The Good Dinosaur, according to Marcus, are self-discovery, family and friendship. Throughout the whole movie Arlo is finding himself and developing a friendship with Spot.
Raymond also said that the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ is very true. Arlo judges Spot to be a mean, evil person but later in the film he realizes just how caring and loving Spot is.
Excitement of Booking a Gig
We asked the three young men what it was like when they learned they had gotten their parts. Marcus said he was home, went to his room and started jumping on his bed saying, “I’m gonna be in a Disney Pixar movie, y’all.” Marcus actually booked the movie off a recording he did in his closet on his phone because he couldn’t make it to the recording studio.
To book a Pixar movie like that, my mind was blown, it was crazy. – Marcus Scribner
Raymond was at Pixar when he heard the news. He was so excited and started screaming. It was one of his most favorite jobs he’s gotten in his entire career.
Jack actually didn’t start off in the movie. His brother, who was in Toy Story 3, actually started off as Spot in the movie. His brother’s voice started changing and got really deep so they called Jack. They decided on doing 50/50 with Jack and his brother until it was finally only Jack. Of course, his brother was pretty bummed.
These three young men were amazing to interview. They are so talented, kind and respectful. Their parents should be very proud of them.
Learn more about The Good Dinosaur:
8 Reasons to Take Your Family to The Good Dinosaur
Interview with the Director & Producer of The Good Dinosaur
HOT Disney Gifts to Give this Holiday Season – including The Good Dinosaur products and Star Wars Disney Infinity 3.0
The Good Dinosaur Red Carpet Premiere Experience
A Heartwarming Story of Father and Son – Sanjay’s Super Team
Be sure to grab more The Good Dinosaur free printables for the kids to enjoy!
Learn more about our The Good Dinosaur press event. Disney/Pixar and MomCo Partner to Celebrate The Good Dinosaur with Giveaways.
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Visit The Good Dinosaur on Tumblr: http://disneypixar.tumblr.com
Follow Disney/Pixar on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyPixar
The Good Dinosaur opens in theaters everywhere on November 25th, 2015!
How sweet! I love that trailer. I want to take my children to see it. It sounds like there are a lot of touching moments in there!
it’s so cool how much animated and voice actors bring of themselves to a role. neat!
It is great to see these young men that did the voices in the movie. They seem very well spoken.
I can’t wait to see the movie and my grandchildren are excited. It was fun to read how these young actors reacted after being told they had their parts.