Era FM's Haniff Hamzah started out in the world of voice dubbing with small roles in the animated films "Madagascar" and "The Smurfs" at first. Now the radio DJ, 27, was given the opportunity to voice the lead character Dusty in the latest animated film for Walt Disney Pictures, "Planes", in the Malay-dubbed version. "Planes" is directed by Klay Hall with the help of the voice of famous Hollywood celebrities such as Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Teri Hatcher and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and it tells the story of a plane with a dream to compete in the fastest airplane competition. But what was it like to do voice-dubbing? We got to meet Haniff who shared his experience during the process of voice dubbing for "Planes". Hi Haniff! First off, how did you get an offer to voice the main character in the Malay version of the movie "Planes"? Oh God! I was surprised when I was contacted by Disney Hong Kong to be the voiceover actor for the film "Planes". Before this, I only dubbed small characters for the films "The Smurfs" and "Madagascar" for Astro. This time, I personally got the email from Disney who asked if I was interested in accepting the offer. Of course I was interested! Did you still have to first audition for the role after receiving their offer? Although they [Disney] were offering the job, they still wanted me to go through an audition. So first they came here to do an audition video, and then they went back to Hong Kong to obtain approval from Disney there. After two or three days later, Disney contacted me and said that I managed to get the part.
Could you tell us more about the character you voiced in "Planes"? I voice a character of an airplane called Dusty whose ambition is to become a star. Dusty, therefore, intends to join the fastest airplane contest but unfortunately he was not a plane that is built for speed. Some of the other planes opposed his plan but some of them supported him and the film is about Dusty's life as a plane and the competition. What challenges or difficulties that you have faced when doing the voice dub for this? Although it looks easy, in reality it is quite difficult for me to take care of my voice so I don't lose it. As a radio presenter, I have a higher change of straining my voice since I have to talk for four hours on radio, and then do the dubbing session in the studio for about seven hours a day. In the end, I lost my voice the next day! We wish good luck and thank you for taking the time for the interview! You're welcome and see you soon!