There are already numerous entries in the burgeoning Croods franchise. Since the first film was released in 2013, there has already been a television series adaptation called Dawn of the Croods. Last year saw the official sequel to the film, The Croods: A New age, release, though that wasn't the end of the road for the stone-age family.
A new television series titled The Croods: Family Tree is the newest property on the block and explores the members of the Croods family even further. The series launched on Peacock and Hulu this week from Dreamworks, and to help promote the launch of the episodes we spoke exclusively with the voice behind the mother of the pack - Ugga.
Voice actress Amy Landecker portrays Ugga in the new series, taking over for one of her favorite actresses, Catherine Keener. We asked Amy a lot of points regarding the new film and she told us a lot about the differences between voice-over and live-action while also digging into what makes this new series so great and special for her.
Well, it's fascinating because it happened right when everything shut down. So it was very soon after, everyone was sent home. I was in the middle of shooting Your Honor in New Orleans, and all on-camera work was shut down, and we were all in quarantine. And I got this call that they were going to be making an animated television version of The Croods movies, which I love. And they were looking to see if I'd be interested in playing Ugga, which of course, I jumped at the chance. And we were going to be recording in our home, basically, for a good six months.
So we were all in our closets - some people had home studios. Still, I think most of us were in our closets with our microphone and our computer and doing like a conference Zoom type call with each other, reading these scripts and doing these episodes. Then we would record ourselves and each take under a separate file and then send it all off to some magician at Dreamworks who would then compile it all and make it all sound like it was recorded in the same place on the same microphone. And I was blown away that it worked. I mean, we didn't have to re-record when things started to open up. They used the audio from the things we had done at home. So that was a new and fun experience, and very unusual.
I think what's great about voiceover work is that it's a very mobile medium now, thanks to modern technology. It's been something where I might be in another city doing an on-camera job, but I can continue to do the voiceover work as long as there is a studio and an ISDM line. I feel like voice actors are probably the best prepared. You hear a lot of stories about on-camera actors having to do self-takes, and it's overwhelming. And I feel like voiceover actors who have been running around with mobile mics and auditioning and doing records in different studios were probably a little less afraid about what this new age of technology is bringing everybody. It's a much more mobile remote world, so it served me during this entire time, I would say.
I feel like I'm good at sort of voice doubling certain sounds. I have to say that Catherine, who is one of my favorite actresses alive, has a very interesting quality vocally that I didn't feel like I could mimic like I couldn't voice double her, which sometimes people can do well. So I just decided that I would bring my own voice, my own instincts. But I certainly watched those movies and tried to keep the attitude of her Ugga, if that makes sense, but I didn't try to mirror or mimic, which I have in other voiceover jobs, like her actual vocal patterns or the sound of her voice, because I didn't think that I could do it justice. So I just kind of was like, alright, this is just going to be me, and hopefully the fans will feel like her quality is the same because she did such a wonderful job laying down this character. I also think the great thing about a TV series is we have a lot of time to get to know these people more and spend more time with them, so I'm sure my Ugga has evolved, too, I hope, with more episodes that we've done, so that I am making them more my own and because she's becoming more clear. She has a lot more facets, we get more time to learn about these characters, and I think that's what's great about a TV show.
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I would do it forever and ever and ever. I love Ugga; she's super funny, she's super physical. The show itself, I think the quality of the writing and the comedy and the interpersonal relationships is outstandingly done, so I would be more than happy to do her for as long as they would let me, for sure. I've done some other stuff with Dreamworks, but it's the first time I've been a series regular on a Dreamworks show, which is definitely a bucket list item for anyone who likes doing animation and voiceover, so it's definitely special. I've been on their campus and I've done a lot of little guest stars on other things, little recurring roles, but I never had gotten to be a part of an ensemble and had such a big part to play in every episode. So, that's been a real thrill. They know what they're doing over there. (Laughs)
We did record some stuff together for a while, it was really fun and I really felt like I got to know everybody, which I don't normally get to do in a voiceover cast because normally you do record alone in a studio. So because we were on Zoom and at home we did a lot together that we normally wouldn't get to have and I had so much fun. It's really an extraordinary group of voice talents. They're funny and they sound so perfect in these characters, they just stepped into it seamlessly, so it was a lot of fun.
I feel like voice work is a lot less harrowing than on camera. You never know what's going to get edited in post with the stories, and there are a lot of high expectations and a lot more pressure. I feel like voiceover is just this very fluid kind of funny world. I've been in the voiceover world now for almost 25 years from when I started in Chicago. And I just find it to be a more welcoming calm, so in that way, more rewarding. I think creatively on camera can be incredibly rewarding but those moments are very hard-fought. I feel like voiceover has a lot more ease and flow to it. So when I'm in a voiceover studio I'm probably the happiest I ever am as an actor is when I'm in the studio. Because I don't feel the pressure of how do I look or is there an executive there judging it. You know, we've got time and money, the sun's going down. It's a much more relaxed and creatively calm space for me to perform, so it's always really fun and I'm never really in a bad mood, whereas on a set, I could be.
I just think that it is a real celebration of finding common ground in that classic like odd-couple kind of world, or you know, The Flinstones and some of the great family comedies over the last twenty years where you have very different people who find ways to be friends and to grow together and laugh together through a lot of challenges and disagreements. And I just feel like this world right now needs to be reminded, we all need to remind ourselves that we can disagree but we can also find ways to connect and enjoy each other. And I think the show is a great vehicle for that message which is sorely needed at the moment.
What do you guys think of Landecker's comments? If you haven't seen The Croods: Family Tree yet, be sure to check out the trailer and synopsis below and share your thoughts in the usual spot!
The Croods: Family Tree continues the ever-evolving story of the Croods and the Bettermans as they learn to live together on the most idyllic farm in prehistory. The journey from sparring rivals to unlikely friends is fraught with hilarious misadventures as the two families slowly overcome their differences to turn a tree house divided into a tree home united.
The Croods: Family Tree is now streaming on Peacock and Hulu.