Face it. There’s just no polite way to say that “We think that you’d make a great skunk.”
Which is why — when the directors of “Over the Hedge” initially approached comedian Wanda Sykes about possibly joining the vocal cast of this new Dreamworks Animation production — they definitely downplayed the whole skunk aspect of the role.
“Yeah, Tim (Johnson) and Karey (Kirkpatrick) were definitely hesitant about using the ‘S’ word,” Sykes laughed. “They told me that the character’s name was Stella and that she was sassy. Only later did they bring up the whole skunk thing.”
Still, once Wanda found out about her character’s true nature, she wasn’t offended. Sykes immediately got where this character was coming from.
“Face it, skunks have been profiled since the beginning of time. Nobody’s ever happy to see a skunk come in the room,” Wanda explained. “Stella’s had to deal with that her entire life. No wonder she’s so crabby.”
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Sykes’ stand-up experience served her well on “Over the Hedge.” Since she was easily able to put new spins on lines and/or ad-lib new dialogue that helped to add a little oomph to Stella’s scenes. Still, Wanda found herself feeling kind of lonely as she worked on this animated feature.
“It’s only you in that booth. You don’t get to work with your co-stars. You just sit there & read your lines and then try to make the directors — who are in another room behind a piece of glass — laugh.”
That said, Sykes must be doing something right. For suddenly an awful lot of voice work is coming her way. It was supposedly Wanda’s work as the voice of the Gladys Murphy puppet on Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” that led to her landing the role as Stella on “Over the Hedge.” And because of the good buzz that her work on “OTH” was generating, Sykes was then recruited to voice the character of Sister Moon in Universal Studios’ recently released video premiere, “The Adventures of Brer Rabbit.” Which led to Wanda being hired as the voice of Bessie the Cow in Paramount Pictures’ new animated feature, “The Barnyard.”
“Yeah, all this stuff — the cartoon work, the acting in live-action movies like “Monster-in-law” — it’s all a bonus,” Sykes continued. “But my real passion is still stand-up.”
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Still, it doesn’t look like Wanda is going to get the chance to indulge her passion anytime soon. For — as soon as she finished up helping out with the promotion of “Over the Hedge” (Look for Sykes to turn up on “The Today Show,” “The Early Show” and “The View” this week talking up her performance as Stella) — she’ll probably be recruited to help out with the promotion of “The Barnyard” (Which is due in theaters on July 28th).
Plus — when you factor in Wanda’s cameo appearances in 20th Century Fox’s “My Super Ex-Girl Friend” (Which hits the multi-plexes on July 21st) and the Weinstein Company’s “Clerks II” (Which also debuts on July 21st) — it looks like Sykes is going to be everywhere this summer. Everywhere but in front of a microphone.
Still, Sykes is hopeful that she’ll be able to get back in the clubs sometime soon. Or — better yet — go out on tour with someone like Chris Rock. Wanda actually won an Emmy back in 1999 for the work that she did on “The Chris Rock Show.” And she thinks that it would be a kick if the two of them could ever get together and do a concert tour.
“Man, wouldn’t that be great?,” Sykes enthused. “Chris & I together, that’d be a killer show.”
Wanda has lots of dreams for the future. Including possibly starring in the life’s story of legendary comedianne Jackie “Moms” Mabley. But — for now — there’s “Over the Hedge.” And Sykes is doing her part to get the word out about this new Dreamworks Animation release.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
“I’m really proud to be a part of this picture,” Wanda concluded. “I think that the finished version of the film turned out really well. I mean, my character is the only thing in this whole movie that stinks. “