He has been the voice of Winnie the Pooh and his friend Tigger since almost 25 years now, and veteran voice artist Jim Cummings, 58, says the honey hunt isn’t over yet.
“That’s me. I’m Winnie the Pooh. O ya but don’t forget old Tigger,” he mimics the iconic characters as he speaks to us
over phone from Los Angeles. Excited about the Winnie the Pooh movie release in India, Cummings says he loves India and Indian food. “I’d love to come there. Oh my God, you have such a wonderful country. Bollywood is really big over here. One of my daughters is a gourmet chef and all she cooks is Indian food,” he laughs. Even after voicing over 100 characters in over 350 titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shrek, DuckTales, Aladdin, TaleSpin, The Little
Mermaid and The Simpsons to name a few, Cummings says the journey hasn’t ended. “I never try to take myself too seriously, but I try to take my work seriously. Animated movies last forever. And it’s a great honour,” he says.
Ask him why he’s stuck to animation since so long, and he says it’s because that genre is “forever”. “I’ve been a great fan of Walt Disney. I wish I could have met him … I am doing this for my children... and grandchildren.”
Cummings takes a dig at the current sci-fi trend in Hollywood and says, “There are no giant robots in this movie. No aliens or no zombies. You have to sit through till the very end of the credit because there is a little surprise for everybody. You’d be glad you did!”