He’s all he’s quacked up to be Huey
ACTOR and director Danny Pudi voices Huey in the latest episodes of the ever-popular kids cartoon, DuckTales. Huey is the practical and responsible oldest triplet by three seconds and the quickthinking pragmatist of the family.
Pudi, who has done shows like Indiana Jones and Community, says doing this cartoon is really special for him and his kids.
“I watched the show as a child myself and being able to share that experience with my kids is really special. My kids are 6 years old right now, and we’re watching DuckTales together and it is one of the first things that my kids can watch and finally respect me. It’s appropriate for my children. It’s really fun to be able to share that with them,” said Pudi.
Upon getting the role for Huey, Pudi said he would practise in his head and out aloud in character.
“I’ll walk around the house practising and talking/ harmonising to myself and the kids will ask: ‘Dad, are you working right now?’ and then I’ll tell them yes, so they’ll let me talk to myself more as Huey. “They’ll hear me mumbling my lines by the sink and they’ll know that Dad’s working right now,” he said.
For Pudi, doing voiceover work is more conducive to his current lifestyle as it gives him the freedom to drop off his kids, not worry about what he looks like, roll into a voiceover and channel all his pentup aggression, rage and stress and just scream for an hour.
“It’s very therapeutic! It’s really great because it’s super fun and just pure joy. The scripts are awesome; I love the cast, but really it’s just a chance to be a kid again and relive some of that fun and have that nostalgia.
“It’s also the most challenging voiceover role that I’ve gotten,” he said.
In terms of managing his voice over the course of a session, he said he wasn’t used to fluctuating it and pitching it higher.
“As I’m playing a kid, or a duck – a duck child maybe? – it requires a lot of screaming, yelling and shock that I have to create without acting and just using my voice.
“A lot of the time they’ll say: ‘Danny, we can hear your keys in your pocket’ or ‘Danny we can hear your jumping’ and I have to make the sound of jumping and landing without jumping and landing. That can be challenging and I’m learning how to do that just with my voice, and its been a lot of fun,” said Pudi.
Pudi carries forward the spirit of the original series into the new one.
“Francisco Angones and Matt Youngberg have written and created the spirit for this show, and I love the animation. The animation is the original Carl Barks animation and I think it’s such a cool contrast to the modern comedic feel and tone.
“They’ve done a great job appreciating the feel of the show of family and adventure, but also making it feel fresh and modern. The original spirit of adventure is there, as well as so many original characters, it is such a treat. It’s great to see all these characters coming back to life again, and it’s just awesome to be a part of it,” he said.
Aside from DuckTales, Pudi just finished a movie called The Tiger Hunter and a pilot for YouTube Red called High and Tight which will be released later this year. Milton’s Secret 07:45 Pokemon Vi: Jirachi Wish
Once Upon a Time Ellen’s Game of Games Arrow The Flash Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Enter The Warrior’s Gate Speechless The Middle American Housewife 18:00 American Idols 20:00 Riverdale 21:00 THE BELKO EXPERIMENT: Action. In a twisted social experiment, 80 Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company’s intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed. Starring John Gallagher Jr, Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona (2016). 22:45 Gomorrah 23:45 Barry 18:00 The Wedding Bashers Specials 19:00 Carte Blanche 20:05 The Dark Tower 21:45 Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 22:25 The Most Beautiful Day 00:30 Riverdale 01:25 Gomorrah 02:20 Vice 03:00 American Idols 05:15 Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter