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Big Spoon EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong — Powerpuff Girl, mermaid, potty mouth

You’re probably more familiar with Tara Strong than you realize.

Her first starring role was voicing Hello Kitty on the 1985 cartoon series “Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater,” and went on to voice some of the most popular cartoon characters in the past two decades, including: Bubbles on “The Powerpuff Girls,” Timmy on “The Fairly OddParents,” Dil Pickles on “Rugrats” Ariel’s daughter Melody in “The Little Mermaid: Return to the Sea” and Princess Clara and Toot on “Drawn Together.”

I spoke to Tara last week about the death of “Drawn Together,” the rebirth of “The Powerpuff Girls” and the one thing she considered to be too offensive to joke about on TV. I’ve got a little welcome message from Tara below, followed by a link to the text of the full interview.

A message from Tara Strong

Big Spoon: Disney released a 5-minute preview of the new “Little Mermaid” movie, but it was completely ridiculous, so we have no idea what the real story is. Can you clear that up?

Tara Strong: I’m actually not really allowed. I don’t want to get in trouble with Disney. [Laughs] They’re pretty tight-lipped about the story. All I can say is that it’s a prequel, so it’s before the first one. … So, yeah, I don’t think there’s anything else I’m allowed to say.

Big Spoon: Can you tell us if there are any original songs?

Tara Strong: Yes, there are original songs.

Big Spoon: Do you sing in any of them?

Tara Strong: No. Since it’s before the first movie, Melody’s not even in it.

Big Spoon: But you voice one of Ariel’s sisters, right?

Tara Strong: Two of them, actually.

Big Spoon: Which ones?

Tara Strong: Um… Gosh, I was just there. The names are so confusing. I think it’s Attina and Andreena. There are so many sisters and their names are so similar that it even gets confusing for everyone. I actually had to go back to to the studio at one point to fix some lines that were animated to the wrong character.

Big Spoon: Most of the TV shows and movies you’ve done have been completely new, original concepts. What was it like joining the “Little Mermaid” franchise back in 2000?

Tara Strong: I don’t know what little girl didn’t want to be the little mermaid. I used to run around my room singing “Part of Your World.” When I booked the job I was so excited. When I worked in Toronto I did a lot of movies with some pretty big celebrities, but when I met Jodi Benson [the voice of Ariel] I burst into tears. She was like, “Oh my God, are you OK?” And I was like, “I’ve just loved you for so long.” It was really surreal. I definitely feel honored to be part of the franchise.

– Bad news for “Drawn Together” fans –

Big Spoon: OK, so moving onto one of my other favorites — “Drawn Together.” Do you know if it’s been officially canceled or not?

Tara Strong: Yes, it’s definitely canceled.

Big Spoon: That’s the worst news ever.

Tara Strong: Oh yeah, I love that show. I wish we could do more. I love, love, love that show.

Big Spoon: So you enjoyed your three-year run. What about all the singing on the show?

Tara Strong: I loved it! I wish there was more singing. I love doing it, especially when I was singing all pretty about dirty stuff, it was funny.

Big Spoon: What was it like to suddenly slip into an adult role after being so clean in the past?

Tara Strong: For me it was fun because it was just such a departure from what I was used to doing. When you’re doing “Rugrats” and some of the other shows geared toward young children, you’re keeping it pretty clean. So to get in the booth and be allowed to say “f*ck” and “sh*t” is pretty fun.

Big Spoon: “Drawn Together” is easily one of the most offensive shows … ever. But was there anything you found to be too offensive?

Tara Strong: The only time I ever had an issue was when there were a couple of jokes related to Anne Frank. The producers of the show are Jewish, everyone around me was Jewish, I’m Jewish. The Jewish jokes were funny, but there were a few that I found too offensive and I wouldn’t say them. The beauty of “Drawn Together” is that it’s funny and it attacks every single culture and nobody’s safe. They don’t insult a race just for the sake of insulting them. But the Anne Frank jokes were more for effect, rather than how funny the jokes actually were.

Big Spoon: Yeah, they wouldn’t have you saying stuff like that on “The Powerpuff Girls.”

Tara Strong: Oh, that’s actually funny because we did a lot of bad stuff on “The Powerpuff Girls” that, of course, never made it onto the show. They have so much dirty stuff saved that we’ve said, and I keep telling them they should sell it. We said some funny, funny stuff on that show.

– “The Powerpuff Girls” live to fight another day –

Big Spoon: Well since you had such a good time with it, is there any chance the Japanese version will get translated and brought over?

Tara Strong: Craig McKracken [the original creator of "The Powerpuff Girls"] just spoke to me about doing a few episodes, so that’s definitely a possibility. And we’re also doing a TV movie. I don’t know anything about it. I just know that it’s happening.

Big Spoon: That’s pretty sweet. So does that mean you’d also come back to make new episodes after?

Tara Strong: If the fans stood up and really demanded it, then yeah I think it could happen.

Big Spoon: I could see that happening. … After coming up with all these voices, do you ever find it hard to think of new ones?

Tara Strong: Not usually. The process is pretty organic, depending on how the character is drawn or written. I don’t seem to run out of ideas. The only time it’s challenging is when a show isn’t really well written or flushed out, when they’re not really sure what they want yet.

Big Spoon: All right, so besides “The Little Mermaid” and “The Powerpuff Girls,” what other projects are you excited about?

Tara Strong: I love, love, love “Chowder.” It’s a completely different kind of show. It’s basically an animated cooking show that’s really character-driven. The animation is completely different than anything else and the music is really psychadelic. The colors are fabulous and I play an old Jewish lady which is nothing like anything I’ve done. To be honest with you, it’s one of the few shows I’ve done where I watch it and actually laugh out loud. New ones are on Fridays on Cartoon Network.

Big Spoon: Nice. Anything else?

Tara Strong: I’ve got “Transformers,” which is pretty cool. … And we’re doing a whole new season of “The Fairly OddParents.”

Big Spoon: Wow, so you’ve got a bunch of animation stuff going on. Any interest in doing more on-camera performances?

Tara Strong: Creatively I’d love to do both, but unfortunately I don’t have the time. On-camera work is really time consuming, between makeup and hair and lighting. And it just doesn’t fit into my schedule. I love it all — TV, stage, animation — and I’m really lucky that I get to do one of them.

(Click here to check out more Big Spoon exclusive interviews)

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