I always wanted to do an animated movie. I find it to be incredibly liberating as a way of telling a story.
The very first movie that I ever saw in a theater was 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.'
I was in the 'Alvin and the Chipmunk' movie, which was a real bucket list item.
I'm not sure if it's fair to call it a 'fairy tale,' but I really loved 'Mulan,' the Disney film. It was my favorite. I guess it's not really a fairy tale, but you do get Eddie Murphy as a dragon.
The first film I remember seeing was Bambi. It has stayed with me because it was so sad.
I always loved Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast'. I always thought I looked like her, so I dressed like her for every Halloween.
Probably more than any other movie we've made here at Pixar, 'Up' was the one we were the most nervous about.
I loved 'The Secret of NIMH.' When that came out, it felt like, 'Wow, this is something really, really new.' It looked like a Disney film, but it felt very cutting edge to me. To a twelve-year-old kid, it seemed very inspiring.
The whole thing that drew me to doing an animated film is that you're freed from the physical limitations of your physical body. All of a sudden, you get to be something that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a 6'4", lumbering dude, and that is really exciting.
'Finding Dory' just stole my heart. Little Dory was the most adorable thing in the entire world, and Ellen DeGeneres killed the game. I liked the flashbacks to the past - it gave you a bit more perspective and appreciation for certain characters.
Bambi, to a kid, was scary.
A live action movie is work, and an animated movie is you showing up in your pajamas once every three months, or in my case, just a splash of baby powder. It's not any kind of heavy lifting.
Not a lot of people get to say, 'I'm a cartoon character.'
When you do a voice in an animated film, you don't see the finished product at all. You're not animating. You're not doing the voice on the finished product. You're doing the voice long before.
I think that the first film I saw in the theater was 'The AristoCats.' I was like, 'Oh my God, this is brilliant!' That's when I knew I wanted to work in cinema. I was four or five.
I think the best movie ever made was 'Dumbo.'
'When Marnie Was There' was the first animated film I've ever done.
What about Mickey Mouse? Disney tried very hard to make him a star. But Mickey Mouse is more of a symbol than a real character.
I think the first time I watched 'Aladdin' was when I was still in Egypt, because I was born in Cairo.
Ice Cube went straight outta Compton to hearing, 'Are we there yet?' Eddie Murphy blew up striding across the stage in a red leather ensemble that would have made Elvis Presley chuckle, yet is probably best known to anyone born in the 21st century as the overly chatty donkey from 'Shrek.'
'Bambi' is an amazing film, and when you watch it today, it's just as beautiful. It's timeless. It's just as beautiful today as it was back then.
We kind of have some ideas for sequels. The movie [Sausage Party] ends in a way that implies a next chapter.
I got a phone call from George Miller [the director] asking me to play this role. We sat down and he showed me on his computer a documentary-type montage sequence of real penguins swimming, in an Esther Williams synchronized sort of way, and doing things I have never seen them do. Then he explained his vision of the film, asked me to read the script and to voice the character. I was cast a little bit later, and he let me do the singing as well!
It's a part of most actors to want to be in an animated feature; to extend the legacy of your career.
Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] finally convinced a company to finance the film [ Sausage Party] and Sony to distribute it.
