The Big Interview: Her.ie Meets the Stars of Disney’s New Animated Television Show

Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja is a brand new animated Disney show guaranteed to keep both you and your little ones entertained.

It is about a high-school student who is also a ninja and has to protect his school from his arch enemy The Sorcerer. As well as that, Randy also has the usual teenage trials and tribulations to deal with.

To find out more about the programme we spoke to the two leads, Ben Schwartz and Andrew Caldwell, who play best friends Randy and Howard…

So guys, what attracted you to Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja?

Ben: The first thing I saw was the script and it was different than any other animated show I had ever seen.

Andrew: I had done a Disney pilot with the creators a year before and I really had such a great time working with them. They were brilliant and are such amazing writers so I saw the script and I loved it. I was so excited about working with these guys again. Little did I know, they had written the thing for me. I wish they’d told me that at the start as I wouldn’t have been so stressed. It really is so funny and so good.

B: There’s also a big thing for Andrew and I, just working on something that has the word Disney in that font is pretty special. To be involved in a show that’s literally animated down the block in Ireland, produced in the UK and acted and written in LA. I mean we’re in a show that three countries are involved in making. It was a pretty easy choice to say yes.

You say it’s different to other animated shows. How do you mean?

B: Well there are action shows, and there are comedic shows. This has a comedic taste that will appeal to both adults and children and it also has action that will appeal to both adults and children. It combines it in a way that I’ve never seen before.

A: The show has so much heart too. It’s really about heart and friendship. There is a ninja who saves the world but you have these two friends navigating their way through high school and dealing with every day high-school problems. It’s about two guys who are there for each other whether it’s running away from monsters or whatever. That’s the heart of the show.

Randy and Howard's friendship is key to the story.

With friendship being so important, we take it you two are pretty close then?

B: Well we had never met before we started this but since it, we’ve become friends. This trip especially. You know we’ve had to travel the world together so we’ve been forced to be friends. [Laughs].

A: Yea, we’ve been forced, kicking and screaming! [Laughs].

B: But seriously, the small exchanges we have in the show are very quick. When we record we actually know what the other is going to do which is great.

A: I think we have such a high level of respect for one another as comedians that when we work together, we can hear how each other would deliver it and we can set each other up easily when it comes to jokes then.

And is it fun recording the show?

A: When we are in the room together, it really is a special day.

B: And testament to the guys who created the show. They are always on the other side and it’s so fun to play with them and work with them.

A: They have fun doing it and we have fun doing it. The best part about it is creatively you have this project where three countries have come together to make the best possible programme they can and love what they’re doing. For Ben and I to be the voices of these characters and knowing that people are as passionate about it as we are, makes our jobs so much more exciting.

B: In live action a lot of the onus is on the actors but in this we get to add so much. But a lot of it is done by the animators. We say a word and they choose what we look like. They make the right choices every time. Animated shows are hard work. We’ve been doing this for a year and that’s just the voices. These guys have been working for a year, working every hour of every day to get it animated. We are humbled by that.

As well as high school, Randy also has to fight evil creatures.

Had you both always wanted to do an animated show?

B: Growing up I watched everything and The Simpsons were very influential for me in terms of my writing style so yes.

A: Mine was the Disney Saturday morning cartoons like Recess and Pepper Ann. To be doing a cartoon, knowing that growing up a cartoon inspired me so much, the hope is that there are kids somewhere who will be entertained by it. It’s about giving the gift back. That’s what this show is.

How does the preparation differ from say, doing live action projects?

B: When you’re in the room, that’s when all the work is done. We really go for it when we’re recording. You know if I’m kicking onscreen, I’m kicking.  And if he’s jumping, he’s jumping in the room. We give our all in that room. We come out sweating.

A: And as the show has evolved, the characters have really taken on our mannerisms and what we do in the room. There’s a lot of Ben and Andrew in Randy and Howard.

Last but not least, can you describe the show in three words?

B: We actually haven’t been asked this before! Alright... comedy, action, heart.

A: Okay… um… bromance, comradery, friendship.

B: Wait, how about November 15th 2012?

Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja kicks off on November 15th on Disney XD at 5pm.©Disney