Christopher Robin - Interview with Jim Cummings (The voice of Winnie The Pooh and Tigger Too)

Voice artist extraordinaire, Jim Cummings

In the new Disney film Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and his pals from the 100 Acre Wood come to life! The film explores the adult life of Christopher Robin (played by Ewan McGregor), as a man who has pretty much forgotten about Winnie-the-Pooh and his other childhood friends in order to balance the demands of his job and his family life.

Robin is soon reminded that all work and no play makes Christopher a dull sad man - and  finds himself back in the Hundred Acre Wood reunited with his old friends, Tigger (Jim Cummings), Eeyore (Brad Garrett), Piglet (Nick Mohammed), Rabbit (Peter Capaldi), Kanga (Sophie Okonedo), Roo (Sara Sheen), Owl (Toby Jones), and, of course, Pooh Bear (also Jim Cummings).

Jim Cummings may not be well known by "face" - but boy do you know his voice! He's  whhas appeared in almost 400 roles. He is known for voicing the title character from Darkwing Duck, Dr. Robotnik from Sonic the Hedgehog, Pete, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Bonkers D. Bobcat and the Tasmanian Devil. He has performed in numerous Disney and DreamWorks animations including Aladdin, The Lion King, Balto, Antz, The Road to El Dorado, Shrek, and The Princess and the Frog. He has also provided voice-over work for video games, such as Icewind Dale, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft: Legion, and Splatterhouse other voice characters voiced as Biker Mice from Mars, Iron Man, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Incredible Hulk, Batman: The Animated Series and Fantastic Four.

Some of Cummings' earliest vocal work was at Disney, where he replaced Hal Smith as the voice of Winnie-the-Pooh in 1988 (Smith had taken over the role from longtime actor Sterling Holloway in 1981). He began voicing Tigger in 1989, taking over for Paul Winchell (though Winchell voiced Tigger four more times, the last time being in February 1999) after Winchell died in 2005. In 1991, he ventured to Warner Bros. Animation and began voicing Tasmanian Devil on the animated series Taz-Mania (he would voice the character on other Warner Brothers shows, such as Animaniacs, and reprise the voice in 2006 in Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas).

When actor Jeremy irons the voice of Scar in The Lion King, developed vocal problems during recording of the song "Be Prepared", Cummings was chosen to replace him for the rest of the song.Cummings would later be hired as the singing double for Russell Means in Pocahontas and Christopher Lloyd in Anastasia.

I had the chance to catch up with legendary voice actor, Jim Cummings, (who has been voicing Winnie the Pooh and Tigger for more than 40 years). He shared his experiences working on the film and  how it wasn’t a “bother” at all bringing our favorite old lovable bear to life.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN OPENS IN THEATRES ON FRIDAY AUGUST 3RD