Voice of The Good Dinosaur a pro at age 14
Raymond Ochoa is a seasoned pro at 14, with 10 TV roles and 11 movie credits to his name.
His latest gig is providing the voice of Arlo the Apatosaurus in the Disney-Pixar animated movie The Good Dinosaur. And by the way, he’s one of the leads.
“There was definitely pressure, but it’s a good pressure,” says Ochoa, in Toronto to promote the movie. “There was personal pressure and audience expectation pressure because I’ve seen a lot of the Pixar movies and I know how good they are.”
The movie, directed by Peter Sohn, is set in an imaginary prehistoric time in which the young Arlo gets separated from his family after a devastating flood, and then tries to find his way home with a feral cave boy (Jack Bright) he calls Spot. They escape predators and storms in their quest, and become closer in the process.
Finding the correct tone for his Arlo character tended to be a work in progress, but collaborating with the experienced animator Sohn made the challenge less stressful.
“Pete was always there with suggestions and sometimes he would do the other voices in the scenes so I had somebody to play off of,” Ochoa says.
Besides that, the teen actor had to hold back a bit early in the recording sessions, which was difficult “because I am a very outgoing person.”
The fact that the film’s a blend of comedy and drama tested his acting craft, as well. He also had to keep redoing Arlo’s howl for one sequence. “I could not get the howl, but I finally got it right, I guess — I don’t know what the right one was but it’s the one in the movie.”
A native of San Diego, California, Ochoa wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older actor brothers Bobby, Ryan and Ricky.
“I was four and I knew what I wanted to do with my life,” he says.
Almost immediately, Raymond booked commercials, and then a small role in three episodes of TV’s 10 Items or Less and never looked back, mixing TV parts with film jobs and more commercials.
Most recently, he was the voice of Dash Parr in the popular Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure and two other Disney Infinity packages; all popular platform video games based on animations including The Incredibles, the Toy Story franchise and the Cars series.
With Dash Parr on his resume and now Arlo from The Good Dinosaur, Ochoa might be on track to get what he wants next.
“It would be cool to be on a Disney show,” he says.
After his Good Dinosaur publicity tour, he has more immediate plans — lots of rehearsals for The Ochoa Boys showcase Dec. 6 in L.A.
That’s right: Raymond, Bobby, Ryan and Ricky make up a singing-and-dancing pop group. So there’s never a dull moment at the Ochoa family home.
I could not get the howl, but I finally got it right, I guess — I don’t know what the right one was but it’s the one in the movie.