'TUFF Puppy' Butch Hartman Interview: 'I Want Charlie Sheen Character'

From Digital Spy:

'TUFF Puppy' Butch Hartman interview: 'I want Charlie Sheen character'

TUFF Puppy is the latest zany Nickelodeon animation that is hoping to match the success and crossover appeal of SpongeBob SquarePants. At the show's helm is animation guru and voiceover star Butch Hartman.

A regular voice guest on Family Guy and a pal of Seth MacFarlane, we caught up with Butch to find out what he was hoping to bring to the world of kids' TV.

Can you tell us a little bit about TUFF Puppy?
"TUFF Puppy came on in the US in October 2010 and it's already the number two cartoon on the whole of cable. It's only behind SpongeBob. It's about a secret agent dog who fights crime for the TUFF agency.

Our lead character Dudley Puppy is voiced by Jerry Trainor from iCarly and his character has the powers of every single dog. But he's a complete moron. Seriously he's a complete moron. Whenever there's a criminal to catch he begins to scratch his ear or whatever it is that dogs begin to do.

"Our main criminal is a rat called Verminious Snaptrap. He's very camp and usually starts by saying something like, 'ooh I want to do something very evil today!' We have some very funny episodes where Snaptrap ends up dating Dudley Puppy's mum. The whole episode is based around the idea that Dudley could have Snaptrap as a dad."

As a voiceover expert, what were your reasons for picking Jerry Trainor to voice Dudley?
"Jerry is very funny. We auditioned literally dozens and dozens of people. I was even going to do the voice at one point. Jerry auditioned for the part and was very, very funny. He was the first person to make us laugh in an audition."

How did you first get into animation?
"I started out being a cartoonist at school, but I went to CalArts to study. I was working on My Little Pony in the '80s, but I got fired because I couldn't draw the ponies well enough. It was a horrible show."

Did you always want to be a cartoonist?
"I grew up wanting to work for Walt Disney Studios, but funnily to this day, I haven't. I always wanted to, but I also wanted to make my own stuff. I didn't want to be the guy working on a show, because then one day you may be out of a job."

You've famously worked on Family Guy. Do you find it hard to resist voicing characters on your own shows?
"I have done some voices for Family Guy. I do sometimes make suggestions and start speaking to the actors in the voices of their characters, which can be unnerving for them I think. I sometimes sneak them in there. I just love the sound of my own voice. But I don't think mine is as funny as other people's. I think a lot of guys think they can do voice acting, but when you hear the pros and they are so great... that's a little intimidating."

Who are your favourite comics?
"Oh boy, the list is so long. I used to love Eddie Murphy. I loved George Carlin, I love Steve Martin. Those are my old school ones. I love Steve Carell. I love Ricky Gervais. I love Extras and the original Office. Will Ferrell as well is absolutely hilarious. The only cartoons I get a big kick out of are SpongeBob and The Simpsons."

Do you ever base characters on people you know or celebrities?
"We're actually thinking about doing a character in TUFF Puppy called Charlie Sheep. You know, 'winning... baaa... winning'. We sometimes base characters on people. The only problem doing something like that is that it can date the show. If we did a Lindsay Lohan character, it would really date the show."

Animation is a lot more high-tech these days. Do you miss the old pad and pencil techniques?
"I thought I would miss it. I had a computer in here for three years, this incredible electronic tablet and I just sat there looking at it. I'd draw and look at it, draw and look at it. People kept saying, 'it will make your life easier'. I kept saying, 'no, I don't want to learn'. But then I was out of town one time for four weeks. I sat and learnt it and now I love it. I can do more on it. I can do vast more amounts of work. I used colour with markers and then you'd run out of ink and you could never get the colour right. The nice thing to know though is that if all the power goes out in the world, I can still pick up a pen and draw if I want to."

TUFF Puppy airs weekdays at 3pm and 5pm on Nickelodeon and Nick.co.uk