Michael Cimino and Liza Koshy Interview: ‘Hamster & Gretel,’ Voice Work, and Tiny Rodents

Hamster & Gretel voice cast members Michael Cimino (Love, Victor) and Liza Koshy (Liza on Demand) teamed up to discuss Disney Channel’s animated series during roundtable interviews at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. The show hosted its first panel at this year’s Con ahead of its August 12, 2022 premiere, discussing everything from the series’ inspiration to superheroes to, of course, hamsters.

Hamster & Gretel follows the adventures of Kevin (voiced by Michael Cimino), his younger sister Gretel (voiced by Meli Povenmire), and Gretel’s hamster named Hamster (voiced by Beck Bennett) after an encounter with aliens gives Gretel and her hamster superpowers. Liza Koshy voices Veronica Hill, a news reporter who investigates the strange happenings in their town.

Michael Cimino and Liza Koshy Interview:

Can you describe your characters?

Michael Cimino: “I’m playing Kevin in Hamster & Gretel which is basically like he wanted to be a superhero really bad but now he’s basically just driving his sister around and trying to make sure that she’s okay throughout all her superhero adventures.”

Liza Koshy: “I play Veronica Hill, she’s a reporter so method acting over here. Veronica Hill reports on a crime and if there’s not a problem at hand, she will cause a problem herself. She has a lot of love problems specifically in her life…sorry for the spoilers. But, yeah, Veronica Hill is always on the scene ready to cause a scene if needs to. Yeah, she reports all the things that Hamster and Gretel go through and Kevin, sometimes Kevin.”

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, Kevin is there sometimes.”

When you were preparing for the show and they told you that you were going to lose your superpowers to a hamster, how did that go?

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, I feel like the show is more than about being a superhero, it’s about the family dynamic. It’s about that. When I first got the show and I spoke to Dan [Povenmire], that was the thing that he really wanted to ring true about this whole story. I feel like that’s been the constant for me, to make sure it feels like a brother/sister duo, and it’s supposed to help young kids bond. That’s like the whole point. To me, that’s the thing that’s been a constant for me.”

Gretel, Hamster, Kevin, and Veronica Hill in ‘Hamster & Gretel’ (Disney)

How did this project come to you? Were you fans of Dan Povenmire or Phineas and Ferb?

Liza Koshy: (Breaks out into singing the Phineas and Ferb theme song) I like love Phineas and Ferb. I live for it. That is like my childhood so yes, the answer is yes. Massively inspired by it as a kid. Made my summers feel so much longer because of his work.

But yeah, it was kind of a blur a bit of a blackout. It was during the pandemic that it all happened. So, we all recorded individually and now we get to meet in person.”

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, this is the first time we all are meeting each other; it’s so crazy. For me it just kind of like came out of nowhere. I never knew who Dan was but I knew his work, obviously, right? And so, like then it was like, ‘Hey, Dan wants to work with you.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’

It was so cool to be part of it to this capacity. It’s been amazing.”

Does Dan’s vast experience voicing characters, including Dr. Doofenshmirtz, help you when you’re doing your recordings?

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, 100%. I feel like Dan is actually really good at communicating what kind of emotion he wants from you. He will make it very specific. He knows how to communicate in such a nice way. I feel like I’ve learned so much from working with him, to be honest. I’m still so new to voice-over work.”

Liza Koshy: “It doesn’t seem like that at all. You seem like a vet in this world. His voice is so buttery smooth. Kevin is so fun to listen to. Spoiler…episode one is really good. (Talking to Michael) I know you haven’t seen the episode.”

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, I haven’t seen any of the episodes.”

Liza Koshy: “And he sings in it, too. He wrote a song. (Talking to Michael) I’ll be your hype man this whole time. I got you.”

Michael Cimino: (Laughing) “I’m blushing right now.”

Liza Koshy: “But Dr. Doofenshmirtz that was an iconic piece of culture for the longest time. ‘Squirrels in My Pants,’ all the Phineas and Ferb theme songs, like that whole album – I think you’re going to get a lot of the same iconic bops in Hamster & Gretel too.

It’s a family show but also there are so many funny adult jokes that sneak in that kids will get years from now. It’s so brilliantly written. It’s so funny and witty and strong, and it just reflects family and friendship and those dynamics. I don’t relate to it – my sisters weren’t as nice to me as Kevin is to Gretel – but it’s cool. It’s a fun family show. You’re going to enjoy it.”

What song do you sing in the show?

Michael Cimino: “I’ve always had a passion for music so it’s cool to be able to combine two things that I really enjoy together because I’ve never had the chance to do that before this job. I always told Dan, ‘Dan, we got to write a song for the show together. We have to write a song for the show together.’

We wound up writing a song and he actually got COVID when we wrote the song. He didn’t even know! I didn’t wind up getting COVID. We were in his little office that he always records things in for like two, three hours and I left and never got it. I got so lucky. But yeah, it’s crazy how we were able to combine multiple things together. It was cool.”

Liza Koshy: “So the song wasn’t originally in the show? You manifested it?”

Michael Cimino: “Yeah, yeah. It’s crazy.”

Liza Koshy: “I’m asking for a song next season. Yep, I’m going to sing. […] My song would be called ‘One Mic Two Voices Reporting and Singing’ so I’m going to plant that for next season for sure.”

Michael Cimino: (Looks up the title of his song on his phone) “I got it. It’s called ‘I Could Be Bad.’ I didn’t know what the final title was, but it’s called ‘I Could be Bad.’”

Liza, how did you get to see an episode when Michael hasn’t?

Liza Koshy: “I threatened Dan and I got what I wanted, which is exactly how I’m going to approach the song next season. No, I saw an episode because I begged for it. It’s so brilliantly put together. It’s so nostalgic for me too because it’s very Phineas and Ferb-like but it’s not. It’s completely different but they’re in the same universe. So, we’re living in Dan’s world. Danverse – I don’t know. It’s a working title.”

Michael Cimino: “So, there’s one episode that takes place in Vegas and I’m from Vegas so that was one episode where I was like, ’Dan, you’ve got to show me.’ And it was before they had all the animation done so he was just showing me all the storyboards for that one. That was really cool.

But other than that, no, I haven’t really seen any of the episodes or anything. I’m really excited to go and watch it. I really want to see it with my nephew. He’s like four years old; that’s going to be so cool.”

Kevin, Hamster, and Gretel in ‘Hamster & Gretel’ (Disney)

You just wrapped the final season of Love, Victor. Was there overlap with this? Were you doing this at night while you were doing Love, Victor during the day?

Michael Cimino: “Oh, yeah. So, it was like on my days off of Love, Victor I’d go into the studio. Sometimes I’d go in on the weekend and just record some stuff. That’s kind of how it’s been for the whole thing. Dan is so amazing. He always makes it work. So, we always figure out times and we go and do it. It’s been awesome.”

What is your character’s relationship as a reporter with the superhero duo?

Liza Koshy: “I feel like she comes from the lens of herself. She always puts herself into her work. Whether or not she wants to be in journalism or she’s like, ‘I refuse to do the weather. I went to school for this.’ She owns where she’s at. She also projects onto the news a little bit coming from her own perspective. Like, she did date some of the villains that she’s reporting on. So, she’s a little messy queen, but we love it.”

She just likes a bad boy. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Liza Koshy: “She loves a bad boy, but she’s trying to break out of that pattern. But she’s reporting on it so that her audience can hold her accountable.”

Michael Cimino: “Do you like bad boys in real life?”

Liza Koshy: “Yes.”

Knowing Dan’s work and his sense of humor, what’s the most shocking line to come your way?

Michael Cimino: “There’s a sequence that we just recently recorded where it’s just like an overly drawn-out pie gag – that’s literally all it is. He’s like, ‘All right, I’m just going to play it, and then you just do a whole bunch of weird noises.’ That’s so fun because you’re screaming and yelling, so that’s probably my favorite.”

Liza Koshy: “I’ve gotten lucky. I’ve gotten to voice some other characters, like a Southern woman, recently. […] I am from Texas, so I got to actually own my roots. I’m not always proud of Texas but in this case, I am.”

Can you talk about any of the other characters you voiced?

Liza Koshy: “Yeah, I think it was ‘Distressed Woman.’ Like a damsel in distress, I can do pretty well. Who else was there? There was like another woman screaming about her iPhone. Well, we couldn’t say iPhone but phone. It’s fun. Dan allows for creative collaboration. If you want to bring something to the table, he’s more than open to that. He just lets you play and have fun and go.”

Has there been anything about Hamster & Gretel that surprised you? Did it morph into something you didn’t expect along the way?

Michael Cimino: “For me, I feel like it’s the amount of freedom we have. Dan is not somebody who is married to the words or anything like that. So, it’s like if you’re like, ‘Oh, I have this idea. Are you down to try this,” and he likes it, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I love it. Let’s keep it.’

He’s so collaborative. I feel like that’s what makes the show really good is the collaboration between artists and he’s great about that.”

How early on in the process did you get to see the character design? Did that influence how you voice the character?

Michael Cimino: “I mean, I feel like Kevin is just a normal-looking dude so for me it was like, yeah, I’ll just do my normal voice for the most part.”

Liza Koshy: “I’m glad I didn’t see Veronica because I think she’s significantly cuter than I am so it would have been intimidating had I known what she looked like before I did her voice. No, he just let me have inflection in my voice like crazy because I’m a reporter who takes her job so seriously. I’m just like, ‘Reporting live.’ It’s like sing-songy almost so it’s fun. He encouraged that.”

How long does it take Kevin to get over the fact that he didn’t get superpowers but yet a hamster did?

Michael Cimino: “You know I don’t think he ever gets over it, to be honest with you. It’s like one of those things where he’s always a little salty about it. I think deep down Kevin really still wants to have superpowers and really wants to be a superhero. Also, I feel like that’s why he always wants to be involved in everything because that’s what he wants to do too.”

Have either of you held a hamster in real life?

Liza Koshy: “They have pooped in my hands so many times. Those little dwarf hamsters…they’re so sweet. They’re so small but they get terrified of being in such a large beings’ hands that they just crap in the palm of your hands. So that’s my experience with hamsters.”

Michael Cimino: “I had a hamster. His name was Milo. Hamsters don’t live very long, which is kind of sad. I would just always put my hamster in the hamster ball and let it run around the house. He was great. He’d keep me up at night on his wheel.”

What can you tell us about the villains Gretel and the hamster face?

Michael Cimino: “I’m trying to think spoiler-free. Okay, I would say that every villain is unique and it has a weird, different kind of different power and different kind of storyline. I would say it’s not a formulaic show where every character falls into a certain kind of archetype. Every character is very different, and I feel like that’s really refreshing to see – especially with it being a kids’ show. I feel like sometimes kids’ shows can fall into some formulaic type of thing. This show is so not that.”

Liza Koshy: “Big Baby is the name of a character. Spoiler here it comes. We talked about it earlier and Dan talked about it so I’m like, ‘This is the coupon. It’s okay.’ Big Baby is one of the villains that I dated. Veronica dated, not myself, but I would. Veronica and Big Baby dated so there’s a whole scene between them and like a blast from the past moment. That was actually voiced by Brock (Powell). He did an amazing OG Kool-Aid man also.”

Michael Cimino: “I also just found out he went to the same high school as I did in Vegas. We are both from Vegas. I just found that out. It’s so weird.”

Would you say some of the powers for these villains are maybe a bit different from what we’ve seen before?

Michael Cimino: “So, there are characters that are supposed to be directly the opposite of Hamster and Gretel. They have the same powers but just like different sets of morals, right? But then there’s also a whole bunch of… There’s a lady that can speak to onions. There are a whole bunch of special weird, wacky powers. It’s so funny; it’s so great.”

(Additional reporting by Kevin Finnerty.)