Dan Povenmire has had a long career in animation having worked on shows such as The simpsons, Rocko’s modern life, Sponge Bob SquarePantsand family guy. He also co-created the influential Phineas and Ferb. In a few weeks he has a new series, Hamster and Gretelhappening that takes place in the same universe.
Povenmire’s latest project is a superhero comedy that follows the titular duo with Gretel’s older brother serving as their chaperone. The cast and creatives attended San Diego Comic-Con 2022 to promote the series. Ahead of their panel, we spoke with Povenmire (Creator/Executive Producer), Joanna Hausmann (Co-Producer/Editor), Michael Cimino (Kevin), Liza Koshy (Veronica Hill), Alyson Stoner (Lauren/The Destroyer), Meli Povenmire (Gretel ), Caroline Ravassa (Caroline – mom) and Brock Powell (Lyle/FistPuncher).
Listen to the latest episode of the AIPT Television podcast!
Origins and premise
Hamster and Gretel started with Dan doodling a hamster in a superhero cape flying over the city. He thought it was something fun to build and then introduced brother and sister where the brother is left out to get superpowers. He wanted to explore this dynamic and use it as a starting point.
Additionally, the elder Povenmire wanted to bring a more relevant superhero to his universe who also shares Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law, and play with it, but focus on the sibling relationship. Hausmann described the series even further. It’s “a superhero comedy that, at the end of the day, is a heartfelt family show.” It’s the story of a brother and sister trying to save the world and finish their homework on time.
A family matter
Meli was not always meant to be part of Hamster and Gretel. Her dad was developing it during the pandemic and since he didn’t have access to his regular voice actors, he let his daughter do the temporary lines during the storyboard as they live in the same house. At each casting, Meli continued to voice the role of Gretel even as other voice actors were replaced.
It ended up fitting because she has her father’s type of humor and can instill it into the lines, and her lower voice made the character feel more real. Sometimes Meli doesn’t feel like it’s work because it’s a more chilled and relaxed environment with Dan. They are able to record at home and the duo like to have a little fun while working.
Likewise, Hausmann incorporated several family members into the series. As Ravassa shared, her character, Carolina, “is based on Joanna’s mother who is awesome. She has a really deep voice…and has a slight Latino accent but it’s not too heavy. She’s really smart . Very funny.” In order to prepare for the auditions, she listened to videos of Hausmann’s mom online for hours in order to understand her cadence and how loud she was. Another family connection is that Carolina is named after the producer’s sister.
Life Influencing Art
Kevin and Gretel’s inspiration is actually Dan and his own younger sister. Like the animated characters, he had to serve as a driver and take her to all of her activities. Also, the Povenmires are a multicultural family like the protagonists with a Venezuelan mother. Hausmann also brought her own experiences as a Venezuelan. Additionally, Koshy plays Veronica Hill, a journalist, and the actress drew inspiration from her previous career as an internet personality doing interviews for the role.
The villains
All superhero stories need a great villain and in the case of Hamster and Gretel, there are two: the twins the Destructress and the FistPuncher. If you listen to the voices, you can pick up a valley girl/guy vibe. Stoner talked about their half of the evil duo. “I tend to want my ideas to go exactly my way. I’m very self-righteous, quite attitudinal, very fierce. As an actor, this is my first time playing the villain in an animated series. I’ve often been the voice of reason, the moral compass, a sincere and supportive friend, and now I feel like we’re wreaking havoc!
Powell’s FistPuncher whines and gets a country club aura about them. They also shared their theory on how the characters can be the MCU’s next Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Hamster and Gretel “exist with Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law. Phineas and Ferb met the Marvel characters. So conceptually, I would say, at least adjacent, there’s a Marvel Universe multiverse that we also inhabit. Powell voices another villain on the show named Big Baby.
to be left out
It can be hard to lose superpowers, but Kevin pulls it off. Cimino discussed the Hamster and Gretel premise and character. “This whole power dynamic is also interesting. I feel like Dan is so smart in overturning this dynamic, stereotypical boys are stronger than girls. His sister is so much stronger than him and far more skilled and suited to handle everything.
He continued, “I love that Dan is changing this archaic narrative and turning it around. It’s such a smart way of thinking. Now Kevin is just the guy in the chair or the guy in the van really. He’s just there to support his little sister as much as he can. Obviously, he really wanted to be a superhero, but he didn’t.
Hamster and Gretel airs August 12, 2022 on Disney Channel.
Become a patron today to get exclusive perks, like access to our exclusive Discord community and monthly comic club, ad-free browsing on aiptcomics.com, physical paperback mailed to you every month, and more !
