Post by Prettywitchiusaka on Jan 6, 2009 13:30:56 GMT
This past Sundat night I didn't have much to do, so I decided to finally e-mail Mr. Warburton about some questions I had regarding the show. The following consists of two revsions, my actually e-mail sent to Mr. Warburton, and then his reply back. Enjoy!
My Initial E-mail
Hello Mr. Warburton. While I will not adress myself by my actual name, I will allow you to call me by my online/pen name, Prettywitchiusaka. I'm a huge fan of your show Kids Next Door, it's probably one of the best cartoon shows Cartoon Network has ever aired, and is in my opinion one of the most unique, interesting, and memorable cartoons to have ever been broadcast. I'm sure you still get tons of questions from fans everyday even after the show has ended, and I figured that if you do then I'd like to ask you some questions I've had saved up in my head for quite awhile. So without further ado, here we go.
1. One of the things I loved that you and other writers did was naming characters in KND after the people who provide their voices (examples would be Cree Lincoln being named after Cree Summer, and Rachel/ Numbuh 362 being named after Rachel MacFarlene). Is this done as a tribute to the actor, or is this done because sometimes you're stumped for a name for the character?
2. Although he didn't appear much in the show, Patton/ Numbuh 60 became one of my favorite characters as the series progressed( this probably came as a result of me incorperating him and expanding his character in my own fanfiction). Did you guys not know what to do with Patton, or were you saving him for something big (particuraly with a certain female Supreme Leader) that never materialized?
3. I once read on Wikipedia that the wonderful Tom Kenny was originally to voice Nigel/ Numbuh 1. Is this true, or does someone on Wikipedia not like Ben Diskin?
4. ZERO is without question one of the finest episodes Kids Next Door has to offer its viewers. How did the story for ZERO come about? And in coming up with the story, how did Grandfather's arrogant yet cocky character come about?
5. I know the P. in Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. stands for Pennywhistle, but what does the T. in Rachel T. McKenzie stand for?
6. I was wondering if you have any behind the scenes material of the actors recording their lines or character model sheets( particurally from CARAMEL and ZERO( if so, PLEASE no citizombie ones!)?
Well, that was all I wanted to ask you about. I sure hope I haven't annoyed you with my rambling, and I can't wait for your reply. I might not get a reply right away or in the next few days, but I'm sure I'll get a reply back from you soon enough. I also wish you good luck on your new show with Disney, as well as your new children's book due out in April.
Signed,
Prettywitchiusaka
P.S. I remember you mentioning that Pinnochio is a favorite movie of yours in an interview you once did, so I figured I should inform you that the platinum release of the film will be out in March of this year.
Mr. Warburton's Reply
heya alex (aka prettywitchiusaka)!
thanks for the kind words about KND! and yeah... we still get a fair amount of questions from all the global operatives out there... but i had to give up answering them after the show ended.
it was takin' way too much time and i got all kinds of new stuff i gotta keep busy on!
but every once and a while i find a spare moment to shout back-- and it looks like you're the lucky winner this time around!
so let's get to some question answering. i'm a bit rusty but let's see what happens, shall we?
Q: One of the things I loved that you and other writers did was naming characters in KND after the people who provide their voices (examples would be Cree Lincoln being named after Cree Summer, and Rachel/ Numbuh 362 being named after Rachel MacFarlene). Is this done as a tribute to the actor, or is this done because sometimes you're stumped for a name for the character?
A: well, in the case of numbuh five's sister-- cree summer just seemed like she WAS numbuh five's sister. she's such a cool woman and has great attitude so i thought it'd be great to name cree after her. i wasn't sure how she'd take it, so during a recording session i gingerly brought it up and asked her permission. and she screamed so loud (in a good way) that i knew she was cool with it.
kinda the same thing in 362's case... rachel just is 362 so it just made sense.
Q: Although he didn't appear much in the show, Patton/ Numbuh 60 became one of my favorite characters as the series progressed( this probably came as a result of me incorperating him and expanding his character in my own fanfiction). Did you guys not know what to do with Patton, or were you saving him for something big (particuraly with a certain female Supreme Leader) that never materialized?
A: it's not that we didn't know what to do with numbuh 60... it's that we just never got around to telling his story. in hindsight, i really wish we HAD given him some bigger stuff to do... but i feel that way about a LOT of characters.
Q: I once read on Wikipedia that the wonderful Tom Kenny was originally to voice Nigel/ Numbuh 1. Is this true, or does someone on Wikipedia not like Ben Diskin?
A: nope, it's true. and here's another fun fact. there was actually someone else who we cast before TK. i can't remember his name, but he was pretty young. he did a great audition, but when we recorded the pilot, he didn't work out. so we went to tom kenny. and while tom kenny is one of the awesomest voice actors i know... he sounded too old. so we cast about for a third time and still weren't getting anyone we loved. the english accent thing was really hard to get right. it was either too real or too corny. ben was already on board for numbuh two and wanted to give numbuh one a shot. we didn't think he'd be able to, but he blew us away. and i can't tell you enough what an amazing job he did with both nigel and hoagie. great actor.
Q: ZERO is without question one of the finest episodes Kids Next Door has to offer its viewers. How did the story for ZERO come about?
A: our own numbuh 440 (alison wilgus, who started out as an intern and worked her way up to writer as well as blog mistress) pitched us an idea that nigel's dad was once the greatest KND operative ever. i pooped my pants when i heard that but knew it was bigger than just an episode. and mo and i always wanted to know who was more eviler than father. so when cartoon network asked us to do a movie... we knew what we had to do.
Q: And in coming up with the story, how did Grandfather's arrogant yet cocky character come about?
A: numbuh 9, numbuh 9, numbuh 9's (mo willems) script, numbuh d20's (guy moore) storyboard, and the awesome voice actor.
Q: I know the P. in Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. stands for Pennywhistle, but what does the T. in Rachel T. McKenzie stand for?
A: i assume that if she wanted us to know she'd tell us herself.
Q: I was wondering if you have any behind the scenes material of the actors recording their lines or character model sheets( particurally from CARAMEL and ZERO( if so, PLEASE no citizombie ones!)?
A: i think all that stuff is in a crate next to the ark of the covenant in that warehouse in indiana jones.
so there ya go!
thanks for writing and if ya wanna hear what i'm up to these days, just check the blog!
take care!
My Initial E-mail
Hello Mr. Warburton. While I will not adress myself by my actual name, I will allow you to call me by my online/pen name, Prettywitchiusaka. I'm a huge fan of your show Kids Next Door, it's probably one of the best cartoon shows Cartoon Network has ever aired, and is in my opinion one of the most unique, interesting, and memorable cartoons to have ever been broadcast. I'm sure you still get tons of questions from fans everyday even after the show has ended, and I figured that if you do then I'd like to ask you some questions I've had saved up in my head for quite awhile. So without further ado, here we go.
1. One of the things I loved that you and other writers did was naming characters in KND after the people who provide their voices (examples would be Cree Lincoln being named after Cree Summer, and Rachel/ Numbuh 362 being named after Rachel MacFarlene). Is this done as a tribute to the actor, or is this done because sometimes you're stumped for a name for the character?
2. Although he didn't appear much in the show, Patton/ Numbuh 60 became one of my favorite characters as the series progressed( this probably came as a result of me incorperating him and expanding his character in my own fanfiction). Did you guys not know what to do with Patton, or were you saving him for something big (particuraly with a certain female Supreme Leader) that never materialized?
3. I once read on Wikipedia that the wonderful Tom Kenny was originally to voice Nigel/ Numbuh 1. Is this true, or does someone on Wikipedia not like Ben Diskin?
4. ZERO is without question one of the finest episodes Kids Next Door has to offer its viewers. How did the story for ZERO come about? And in coming up with the story, how did Grandfather's arrogant yet cocky character come about?
5. I know the P. in Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. stands for Pennywhistle, but what does the T. in Rachel T. McKenzie stand for?
6. I was wondering if you have any behind the scenes material of the actors recording their lines or character model sheets( particurally from CARAMEL and ZERO( if so, PLEASE no citizombie ones!)?
Well, that was all I wanted to ask you about. I sure hope I haven't annoyed you with my rambling, and I can't wait for your reply. I might not get a reply right away or in the next few days, but I'm sure I'll get a reply back from you soon enough. I also wish you good luck on your new show with Disney, as well as your new children's book due out in April.
Signed,
Prettywitchiusaka
P.S. I remember you mentioning that Pinnochio is a favorite movie of yours in an interview you once did, so I figured I should inform you that the platinum release of the film will be out in March of this year.
Mr. Warburton's Reply
heya alex (aka prettywitchiusaka)!
thanks for the kind words about KND! and yeah... we still get a fair amount of questions from all the global operatives out there... but i had to give up answering them after the show ended.
it was takin' way too much time and i got all kinds of new stuff i gotta keep busy on!
but every once and a while i find a spare moment to shout back-- and it looks like you're the lucky winner this time around!
so let's get to some question answering. i'm a bit rusty but let's see what happens, shall we?
Q: One of the things I loved that you and other writers did was naming characters in KND after the people who provide their voices (examples would be Cree Lincoln being named after Cree Summer, and Rachel/ Numbuh 362 being named after Rachel MacFarlene). Is this done as a tribute to the actor, or is this done because sometimes you're stumped for a name for the character?
A: well, in the case of numbuh five's sister-- cree summer just seemed like she WAS numbuh five's sister. she's such a cool woman and has great attitude so i thought it'd be great to name cree after her. i wasn't sure how she'd take it, so during a recording session i gingerly brought it up and asked her permission. and she screamed so loud (in a good way) that i knew she was cool with it.
kinda the same thing in 362's case... rachel just is 362 so it just made sense.
Q: Although he didn't appear much in the show, Patton/ Numbuh 60 became one of my favorite characters as the series progressed( this probably came as a result of me incorperating him and expanding his character in my own fanfiction). Did you guys not know what to do with Patton, or were you saving him for something big (particuraly with a certain female Supreme Leader) that never materialized?
A: it's not that we didn't know what to do with numbuh 60... it's that we just never got around to telling his story. in hindsight, i really wish we HAD given him some bigger stuff to do... but i feel that way about a LOT of characters.
Q: I once read on Wikipedia that the wonderful Tom Kenny was originally to voice Nigel/ Numbuh 1. Is this true, or does someone on Wikipedia not like Ben Diskin?
A: nope, it's true. and here's another fun fact. there was actually someone else who we cast before TK. i can't remember his name, but he was pretty young. he did a great audition, but when we recorded the pilot, he didn't work out. so we went to tom kenny. and while tom kenny is one of the awesomest voice actors i know... he sounded too old. so we cast about for a third time and still weren't getting anyone we loved. the english accent thing was really hard to get right. it was either too real or too corny. ben was already on board for numbuh two and wanted to give numbuh one a shot. we didn't think he'd be able to, but he blew us away. and i can't tell you enough what an amazing job he did with both nigel and hoagie. great actor.
Q: ZERO is without question one of the finest episodes Kids Next Door has to offer its viewers. How did the story for ZERO come about?
A: our own numbuh 440 (alison wilgus, who started out as an intern and worked her way up to writer as well as blog mistress) pitched us an idea that nigel's dad was once the greatest KND operative ever. i pooped my pants when i heard that but knew it was bigger than just an episode. and mo and i always wanted to know who was more eviler than father. so when cartoon network asked us to do a movie... we knew what we had to do.
Q: And in coming up with the story, how did Grandfather's arrogant yet cocky character come about?
A: numbuh 9, numbuh 9, numbuh 9's (mo willems) script, numbuh d20's (guy moore) storyboard, and the awesome voice actor.
Q: I know the P. in Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. stands for Pennywhistle, but what does the T. in Rachel T. McKenzie stand for?
A: i assume that if she wanted us to know she'd tell us herself.
Q: I was wondering if you have any behind the scenes material of the actors recording their lines or character model sheets( particurally from CARAMEL and ZERO( if so, PLEASE no citizombie ones!)?
A: i think all that stuff is in a crate next to the ark of the covenant in that warehouse in indiana jones.
so there ya go!
thanks for writing and if ya wanna hear what i'm up to these days, just check the blog!
take care!
I'm glad he's still replying to e-mails from fans. Great questions.
and I really love the pairing 1/362 <3 I'm glad mr warburton still answers questions though 