Alicyn's Wonderland

This week Inside Alicyn’s Wonderland, we jump back into the wonderful world of voice acting together with Disney legend Bill Farmer. He is best known for being the current voice of Goofy since 1987. In addition to this, Bill is also known as the voice of Pluto, Horace Horsecollar, Practical Pig, and Sleepy. His credits read like a list of every Disney show you’ve ever seen before.

Join us as we take a trip down memory lane, where Bill tells us about his early days in the industry and shares how doing stand-up comedy helped his training for voiceover. We also talk about how the Disney Plus show, It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer, came to be. This episode with this Disney Legend is brimming with wonderful anecdotes that’s sure to delight, inspire, and entertain you! 

Timestamps:

[14:08] Bill’s journey from Texan comedy clubs to California

[16:02] Becoming Goofy 

[27:34] The Goof Troop 

[29:16] Bill weighs in on the pros and cons of recording at home 

[32:30] Bill’s favorite character to voice 

[35:05] Bill talks about fellow Disney Legend Russi Taylor 

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

This week Inside Alicyn’s Wonderland, we jump into the wonderful world of voice acting together with Kimberly Brooks! Kimberly is best known for her iconic roles on hit shows and games including DC Superhero Girls, Steven Universe, Voltron, Scooby Doo, and Mass Effects! Join us as we talk about her extensive career as one of the most sought after talents  in the voice-over, film, video games, and theater industry. 

Join us as we talk about a myriad of things, starting with her many iconic roles. We also touch upon Kimberly’s personal history where she recalls her initial exposure to theater and acting through her school’s “really good drama program”. Kimberly and I also get into what we love most about being part of conventions and personal appearances. She also shares what it’s like to be a student of Mary Kay Bergman!

Timestamps:

[4:11]It’s more heart-wrenching when mom isn’t there

[6:45]Where Kimberly got her acting exposure

[10:29]What Kimberly loves the most about conventions

[15:01]Kimberly and The GoGos 

[21:24]Which character does Kimberly relate to the most

[35:38] What a year 2020 has been

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

In this edition of Inside Alicyn’s Wonderland, we get together with one of the most prolific and versatile voice actors and content creators in the game today - Jon Bailey AKA the one and only Epic Voice Guy! Jon definitely lives up to his moniker, narrating over 3,000 various materials including trailers, ads, promos, video games, animation, ADR soundalikes, sizzle reels, and digital media. Some of his most notable roles to date include Transformers: Combiner Wars, XCOM, Dishonored 2, Halo Wars 2, Graveyard Carz, Clone Wars & the Emmy-nominated Honest Trailers. 

Join us as we talk about Jon’s inspiring life story and why Ryan Reynolds likes him ‘for some reason’. The Epic Voice Guy also shares a load of epic stories, starting from his days of flipping burgers to creating YouTube content where he started off doing impressions of movie trailer voices before finding his own. He also shares how he blew Steve Blum’s mind with his Transformers soundalikes and its awesome aftermath and some more electrifying anecdotes. Finally, we also get a chance to talk about his work with the Autism Society of America and why he considers his work to be a serious blessing as a parent of a child with autism. 

Timestamps:

[3:02] Working with Ryan Reynolds 

[6:39] From flipping burgers, manning a forklift, and dropping out of college to creating YouTube content

[17:20] Jon becomes Internet Optimus Prime

[22:55] Blowing Steve Blum’s mind with soundalikes 

[28:18] Jon’s dream roles

[37:08] Jon talks about balancing work and parenting a child with autism

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

This week Inside Alicyn’s Wonderland, we jump into the wonderful world of voice acting together with Melissa Hutchinson, voice actress extraordinaire and overall awesome person! Melissa is best known for her role as Clementine in the episodic adventure video game The Walking Dead and its sequels. She has lent her voice to a slew of video game characters including League of Legends’ Ashe, Isa in Minecraft: Story Mode, to name a few. Plus, Melissa and I actually got the amazing opportunity to work together in the show called Space Racers!

Join us as Melissa and I sit down to talk about a range of topics that range from how she keeps in touch with her fans now that conventions and large gatherings remain off the table; how she split her life between Bay Area and Los Angeles; and most importantly, we talk about her famous Walking Dead character Clementine. Melissa also shares how the final day of working on The Walking Dead was like. 

Timestamps:

[4:50] The pandemic-proof way to stay in touch with fans

[12:35] Splitting time between Bay Area and Los Angeles 

[14:28] Melissa does impromptu Clementine

[15:36] Why it’s amazing to get to grow with a character

[17:02] Melissa’s last day as Clementine

[26:44] How Melissa ended up having a voice acting career

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

She proudly produced Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen at the World Famous Improv. As an Animation Agent, Pat reps some of the best talents in the industry, including Kari Wahlgren, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Tatasciore, Pamela Adlon, and Gregg Berger. Notably, she earned the title of Vice President of New Business thanks to her innovative thinking about bringing VO talent live to the public!

Join us as we chat about a myriad of things, starting from her early years in the industry where she initially started off as a voice-over agent, then as an on-camera agent before ultimately she took over Don Pitts Voices at KSA then became a part of CESD. She also talks about what separates her clients from the rest. Plus she also imparts upon novice voiceover actors or those planning to be voiceover actors valuable advice that can definitely help propel you forward in your journey in the voiceover animation industry. 

Timestamps:

[3:26] How Pat became a VO agent

[6:06] Talent versus attitude

[7:58] Pat’s advice for beginners

[16:39] What happened to the VO industry during the pandemic

[23:09] Pat’s preference for animation demos

[24:53] Listen to this if you want to go further in VO

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

In this week’s episode, we dive into the wonderful world of animation together with Evan Spiradellis, the co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning preschool Netflix series ‘Ask the Storybots’! Evan co-founded JibJab Media Inc together with his brother Gregg in 1999, where they started an internet business sending animated videos over phone lines. Thanks to that, Evan has developed a reputation as a pioneer in digital filmmaking, consistently pushing the bounds of new technologies to create innovative and inspired works.

Tune in as Evan shares how he transitioned from running a successful internet startup to an award-winning children’s television producer. We also touch upon how kindness starts from the top and an embarrassing story of our first time working together! Plus, Evan also talks about how ‘Ask the Storybots’ was born and the processes that go on behind the scenes of this incredible show.

Timestamps:

[1:58] Evan talks about how JibJab Media Inc was born

[10:30] Who does Evan talk to when he writes Ask the Storybots episodes

[11:35] Moving to Netflix

[15:44] What’s the average writing process like?

[19:46] Evan talks about their collaboration with Fisher Price

[30:58] Where does Evan get inspiration from when writing episodes for Ask the Storybots?

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

In this week’s episode, we “literally” go through the looking glass with one of the most prolific animators today! For this episode, I am joined by the one and only Mike Hollingsworth, whose works include the hit Netflix animation series Bojack Horseman, Inside Job, and Tuca & Bertie. He has also directed for a number of other series and does voice work for Bojack.

Join us as Mike and I talk about a host of topics, starting his trajectory from standup comic to animator and pitch room wonder boy to supervising director! Plus, Mike shares the hilarious story of how Hugh Grant negged him at the Critics Choice Awards. Furthermore, Mike also shares some exclusive stories about his animation projects Inside Job and Bojack Horseman. 

Timestamp:

[5:08] Mike talks about Inside Job

[8:40] Mike talks about Bojack Horseman

[10:45] Mike’s pitch room wonder boy days

[21:05] Meeting Hugh Grant in a mismatched suit 

[28:49] How Mike got started in animation

[36:32] Mike’s favorite character to animate

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

Carrie wrote the narrative, dialogue, and content for the story-driven RPGs Pillars of Eternity, which was nominated by the Writer’s Guild of America, including Pillars of Eternity: The White March Part I DLC & The White March Part II DLC. She was also the Narrative Co-Lead for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, which was nominated again by the WGA.

Join us as Carrie and I leap into the rabbit hole and into the world of video games to talk about her story. In this episode, Carrie walks us through her journey as well as how she comes up with the stories, and her experience working on Pillars of Eternity and Outer World. She also shares some valuable advice for anyone looking to join the video game industry as a writer!

Timestamps:

[9:27] Carrie’s advice for young writers

[14:08] Carrie talks about Outer World: Perils of Gorgon

[19:33] How Carrie got through the challenges of being a woman in the video game industry

[26:51] How the pandemic has affected Carrie’s work 

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

We are back in Wonderland! To kick things off, we are revisiting the show’s first ever episode together with someone whose writing has made the early 2000s childhood fun through the shows he’s worked on.  Story Editor & Animation Writer Tom Krajewski has worked on a fair number of classic shows, including Scooby Doo, TMNT, Looney Tunes, Fairly OddParents, and Monsuno.

Join us, as Tom shares his most memorable experiences in his career including the time when he got to write for the biggest celebrities for Warner Bros Looney Tunes! Tom also talks about the challenges he’s had to deal with, writing for shows he used to watched as a child himself. Plus, Tom also imparts some of the things he does to fill his creative cup!

Timestamps:

[3:22] What’s the difference between being a staff writer and a freelance writer

[5:11] What an average day for Tom is like

[9:38] Tom’s career highlights

[14:18] What does Tom do to fill his creative cup?

[16:47] Tom talks about Primer

[31:54] How do you weave in serious social issues in young adult fiction?

Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

The only way to start 2022 is with double delight! To kick off this new year, I get together with two incredible gentlemen who’ve worked on some of the biggest animation projects to ever grace screens over the past years: Mike Hollingsworth and Pete Michaels! Mike Hollingsworth is the supervising director of Bojack Horseman, as well as for the first season of Touka and Birdy, and is currently an executive producer for Netflix animation. Pete Michaels, on the other hand, was the supervising director of Seasons One and Two of Rick and Morty, as well as the supervising director of Family Guy, and was one the directors of the first 10 seasons of The Simpsons!

Join us as Mike and Pete talk about how they found themselves in the animation industry, and how their journey’s been like. Mike and Pete take us for a trip down memory lane, from the point when they began dabbling in cartooning as well as the time when Pete got to meet his hero, Charles Schultz, the iconic creator of Snoopy. Plus, they also share how things are going for them so far! 

Timestamps:

[3:54] When Pete met Charles Schultz for the first time

[14:48] How Pete got to be a part of The Simpsons

[17:40] Drawing for LA Weekly

[21:46] Meeting Mel Lazarus 

[25:38] The challengers Pete and Mike faced when they transitioned into animation

[36:19] Mike and Pete’s career highlights


Follow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:

Instagram: @Alicyn

TikTok: @alicynpackard

YouTube: Alicyn Packard

Twitter: @Alicyn 

Alicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games