Cristina Vee - Miraculous Ladybug, Genshin Impact, Sailor Moon | AW21

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to work your dream job? Do you think it would be as great as you thought? Evidently, it’s even better! Our guest this week has been living her’s since she was 14 years old. Cristina Vee is a VO artist/singer who has been doing big project after big project. Each one is a personal favorite of hers!

Cristina is best known for her roles in hit anime and tv shows like Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Miraculous, and many more. One of her latest projects has placed her in the spotlight of the gaming community, voicing fan favorites Benette and Xingqiu from Genshin Impact. If you want some inspiration to pursue your dreams, maybe you should listen to Cristina’s experiences.

Show Notes:

[3:05] How Cristina’s journey into VO began.

[8:03] Cristina as Marinette from Miraculous.

[14:54] How YouTube helped Cristina land some of her biggest roles.

[19:27] Cristina as Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon.

[23:44] Cristina’s advice to all aspiring VO artists.

[27:47] Q&A with Cristina during the IgTV live.

Instagram: @Alicyn
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YouTube: Alicyn Packard
Twitter: @Alicyn 

Intro Welcome to Alicyn's Wonderland. I'm your host, Alicyn Packard. Join us as we journey through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole into the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. Hey, do a girl a favor, and please subscribe to this podcast and go on iTunes and leave us a good review. If you like the show, please help spread the word it really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much. Alicyn Hey, everybody, welcome to Alicyn's Wonderland. Thank you so much for joining live. Yes. Thanks everybody that's joining live Jeffrey, DanielRoss, UnrealMira, Galley, LethalMullet. Cristina the one and only, Baisley, Venom, Gordon. Hey ChrisBrown. Thanks for joining live. MisterLuigi, SusanBakedBean, DanaParker, MoonlightNika. You guys thanks so much for joining liv,e it's always so much more. I'm really excited because today on the show, we have Cristina Vee, voice actress, singer, a content producer, amazing, incredibly talented woman. Cristina is the recipient of several Behind The Voice actor awards, including the Anime Dev Movie Special for Voice Acting Work for Best Vocal Ensemble. She's incredibly talented. Right now we are listening to the Miraculous Ladybug theme song, and she plays Marinette aka Ladybug. We're gonna dive into her career today. And thank you guys so much for joining. I'm gonna welcome Cristina to the show. Hey, now I have to back off so I don't get super zoomed. Hey, something outrageous. Let me see. I know I was like, some of them are just really strange. Like this doesn't look like me at all. Cristina Hey, girl. Hey. Alicyn A little sparkle never hurt anybody. Cristina Let's see. Why isn't this. Oh my god. What is this? Alicyn Oh my god, you look amazing. Cristina I'll just do this one. Hi. Alicyn See, you are like a living cartoon character or staight out of a horror movie. How are you? Happy Wednesday. Cristina Happy Wednesday. Alicyn I know some of these are just over the top. Oh, wow. It looks like you're, we're watching a VHS recording of you from like the 90s. Cristina That's so strange. But it doesn't have like the one I usually, we'll just. Hi. Alicyn Alicyn's Wonderland. It's so good to see you. I was on a women in animation panel. I was watching that you were on a couple months ago. Actually, a year ago now. I have to like think with my pandemic timeline. And I was just so enamored with you and your career. And I just am so glad that we got to have you on and get to chat with you about everything. You got a lot going on. And it's awesome. Cristina Thanks so much. Alicyn Yeah, it's so crazy how pandemic time? It's not fair. I'm always like, Oh, it's been, you know, like, two, three months? And like, Oh, no, it's been like two years. Cristina Yeah. I know. I remember, like, early days, I was like, Oh, it's kind of nice. Like, it's like, kind of like a little vacation where I'll just stay indoors for a few weeks. Alicyn Yeah. So it's funny, I was just, you know, just kind of going back and seeing kind of where you got your start. And you were a Skipper on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland? Cristina I was. Yeah, I was, it was my first job right out of high school, my summer, the summer between high school and college. I was 17. And I wanted to be, I wanted to be a Disney Princess. But they told me the easier way to do that would be to to work, like at the park first and then audition and kind of get grandfathered in. So I did the Jungle Cruise. And yeah, that was it was perfect for me. I, because I wanted to be a voiceover actor. And that gave me a lot of practice and experience and it's just memories. Alicyn Did you see the new movie? The Jungle Cruise movie? Cristina You know, I haven't yet and my, one of my co workers from the Jungle Cruise reached out to me on Twitter. She's like, I just think we need to see this together. I've been, the time that has elapsed will be exactly like an entire lifetime when I see her. So, I can't wait. Alicyn That's amazing. Yeah, Jungle Cruise reunion is in order. So you grew up Orange County, is that right? Cristina Best of LA County and Orange County. Yeah. Alicyn So at what age did you know you wanted to be a performer? Cristina I don't, it's so weird because like I feel like in a past life, I must have been a voice actor but I don't think my summers pretty near so it's probably not that because when I was like seven and eight, I would memorize Disney movie, and then put them on mute. And then I would do the entire, I had, I have like The Lion King memorized still to this day. When I was 12, the internet started becoming a thing. And that's when I realized like, Oh my god, this is actually a job. I want to do, I want to be a voice actor specifically in Sailor Moon. Alicyn Dreams do come true. Cristina Yeah. So that was pretty crazy manifestation because it literally, literally happened. And there it was. It was impossible at the time and it happened two years later. Alicyn So were you, were doing performing in school or acting in community theater or anything? Cristina I started doing theater in high school after I was kicked off the softball team. Alicyn You know what? I was kicked off this softball team too. Cristina High five. Alicyn Oh, my God. I didn't make the cut. Cristina That's okay, because, Alicyn More like hazed off, actually. Cristina I, I hung in there, but I was almost hazed off the drumline. Alicyn Oh, yes. Cuz you're a drummer as well, right? Cristina Yeah, not so much more these days. But that was a big, a big part of my high school music. I think I did it for 10 years straight and then serious about acting. But yeah, I did, I did a high school theater. And then I ended up going to college, and majoring in theater. And it was also so I can become a voice actor. Alicyn And you're also an amazing singer. Did you take singing lessons as a kid? Or is that something you got into later in life? Cristina That's something I got to do later in life, I would have loved to when I was a kid, but it wasn't until I was making money already for my acting that I was able to afford, like traditional training. So I started my singing lessons later, but I was singing, I was singing for fun. And getting better that way. Alicyn Yeah. And so what was your very first voice actor job? Cristina My very first job, it was on a show at a studio called Bang Zoom. And it was a group record for background voices. And I did that for a couple years while I was in high school. Alicyn How did you fall into that? Cristina I was, okay, I wanted to be a voice actor. The first time I ended, before I started majoring in theater, I did a voice acting competition at Anime Expo a long time ago. I was 14 years old. It was my first time acting in front of people ever. And it was to be a voice actor. But it was like a traditional like monologue. And it was pretty rough, because like that's a very like candid feedback. Like To this day, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I was, I was a baby. I was 14. But it's okay because I got better. I started taking theater. And then two years later, I did a panel that was specifically geared for voice acting at the same convention. And they gave me, they gave me an audition. And I haven't stopped working with them since. Alicyn Wow. That's amazing. A little similar to Kellen Goff's story. Cristina Oh, yeah? Alicyn Yeah, he also had done a similar kind of like audition at a convention or something, that's so interesting. Yeah. It's funny. How you, oh, sorry? Cristina Maybe it's, might be the same one. I'm only aware of maybe two. Alicyn That's so interesting. Wow. So yeah, it's just kind of like you were destined to be where you're at. Cristina And that's all I wanted when I was a kid, was to do voices. And yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty crazy. Alicyn Yeah. And for anybody that's tuning in, if you guys have questions, we're going to save some time for questions at the end. So there's a little box at the bottom. So go ahead and put your questions in there. Now you've, at this point in your career, you've voiced so many like iconic characters. I was just wondering, before, was so before you started voicing Marinette, did you know that the show was such a hit in France? Cristina So the first time I got the audition, there was only one, there was one Facebook page dedicated to the show, they're like, this is going to come out sometime. Because they, and these people it was like 30 people who were fans of an animated trailer, like in the anime style of Ladybug. And that was the only info that was out there at the time. But I fell in love with it. And I auditioned for it several times over several studios. And every time it came around, I'm like, Oh, my heart. Like whoever gets to voice these characters, they're going to be so lucky because I felt like it was a new version of Sailor Moon, and I just got that feeling from it. And I feel like even after I was cast, it took some time for the fan base to build. And I think it's just kind of been a gradual build of fans. I think first, it was on Nickelodeon first and then it moved to Netflix. And I think once I hit Netflix, people were like, Oh my god, what is this? And then over the pandemic, it's been a huge surge of a lot of support for Ladybug. It's been really cool. Alicyn Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing. My son and I really like the show too. So it's, I feel like it is very universal. It can appeal to, you know, both men and women, kids, grownups you know. Yeah, and now, Tamir says, and now Disney. So it's on Disney now? Cristina It's on Disney now too. Yeah. Alicyn That's amazing. How many seasons are you guys into now? Cristina Oh, goodness. Is this season 4? We're over, definitely over 100 episodes. Alicyn Wow. That's great. Cristina There's a lot. Alicyn Yeah. So when you are, when you first get sides for an audition, how do you go about breaking down the role? Cristina For me, I'm very visually oriented. And a lot of sides don't include any pictures. But if they do, that's very helpful for me. But if not, just character descriptions, I try to get an image of how I look in my head and the actions that they might be doing, kind of storyboarding it really helps, especially for the animation roles, video games are a little more straightforward, I feel like every line is kind of like its own little story. But for animation, especially the sides, there's usually like an overarching story. So I want to get as good of a grasp on that as I can. Alicyn And so, sorry, somebody just texted me, it got me. So then when you are pushing characters, do you have like a stable of characters that you have that you kind of, you know, like, work with off that? Or is it just your instinct kind of like your first thing? Or do you spend a lot of time kind of breaking down the script? Cristina I don't spend a lot of time on auditions. I know, I know, some people really like to say out loud, some people like really craft it. But I feel like that's not what I'm going to be doing in the sessions because you get picked and then you go for it and it's I feel like the most honest way. Well, that's not true. Let me take that back, walking that back. I feel for me, the most honest way is like, this is how I would perform it if I were in the room. And I feel like having done it for so long, I trust my instincts. I'm just like, this is what I can bring to the table, if it's a great, if it's a fit for your character, awesome. If not, that's okay too. That's kind of my philosophy for auditions. Alicyn There's also like, sometimes if you keep working and overworking it, it ends up feeling overworked. Cristina Yeah, sure. When I was younger, I used to like, after like, the really big auditions to get like coaches and stuff and like, help me through this. But I think it's because I didn't really trust myself yet, to make those choices. Yeah, it's all part of the learning process. Alicyn And do, so do you record most of your stuff at home? Cristina I think I'm like, primarily working from home, with a couple of exceptions. Some, yeah, but they'll usually be like the ones that are through SAG, and for some reason they need to have it like a super top secret. But yeah, everything from home. Alicyn How has the pandemic affected that? Do you feel like, do you just feel like, I'm like, people, I need people? You know? Yeah. Cristina I'm really missing people. I'm really glad I get to work, of course, but I you know, we're in these little boxes now. And not like studios with people. And it's pretty, it's pretty challenging. Some days, I feel like I'm kind of just glued to this room right here because I have a session and then I have like maybe 30-40 minutes, jump to the next session. And it's all in a little four by seven cube, and also conventions are gone. Alicyn Yeah, there's not a lot happening. And now with the new surge. Cristina I was really hopeful that you know, this summer we'd be traveling again and going back to conventions, but so far, no, so far, it's safer to stay home. Alicyn And do you perform your singing out live? Cristina I don't have too much live singing. I feel like I'm a recording artist through and through. I'm not sure why that is, why I never really had that itch to like go out and perform concerts and or anything like that, but it just, it works for me and for my personality, I think. You know, to just really get in the zone here with my work and it's different than performing live. And it's just, it just kind of works for me. You know what this weave is like hurting my brain. So I'm gonna like do a Sailor Moon transformation and just take it off. Alicyn Are you gonna do like a swipe? Cristina Right? I need one in real time. Alicyn That's amazing. Cristina It's stuck. The hairs going away guys, ow. Alicyn And for anyone that is listening to the replay on the podcast, that's audio only. Let's just say that. Cristina's long, luxurious locks are about to become slightly less long, okay? Cristina They were a lie. And it's like, it's physically stuck. So maybe not. Maybe I'm just gonna have like an awkward, okay, this is fine. It's fine. This friend should pay me. Alicyn Yes. There we go. Wow. Geez. Transformation one, transformation two. Cristina There we go. Okay, let's, okay. Alicyn Ah, I actually love that top that side, side tangent, is it a dress. Oh my god. I love it. Oh my god. Cristina I'm also wearing yoga pants. Alicyn Yeah, it's all about comfort these days. Cristina I think this is the first time I've worn makeup in, like, a month. Alicyn I'm like once a week ,just basically for this. So yeah, I'm really interested. So now, how long ago did you start your YouTube Channel? Cristina I started my YouTube channel like right when YouTube started. Yeah, it was I think it was that same summer like right out of high school that's when it kind of became a thing. And that was a saga all on its own that was just for fun. And that kind of blew up at the time. I was pretty big deal before like you can make money off of it, of course. But I was doing like English translations of anime, popular anime songs. And I was maybe one of three people total doing that. They kind of blew up, it was really cool to see. And I actually got voiceover jobs because people from Japanese companies, anime companies, specifically the show called Bandai Entertainment, the president at the time, liked my YouTube videos, so he came to me one day, he asked the studio to ask me and this never happens. Like we have this big show coming out called K-on which character do you want to be? Which main character? And so I got to choose. That hasn't happened since I don't think that'll ever happen again. Yeah, I didn't have to audition for it. They're like, do you want to be Mio? Yes, you can be Mio. Alicyn Well, this, it really speaks to the power of power of social media. Cristina Yeah. And that was my first big role. Alicyn For Mio? And then, so how has that you know, evolved your channel, your YouTube channel since since you first started? Cristina You know, it was a different time back then. I was doing it, and again, before monetization was a thing. But I had several voice actors. And I was, I was really young, I was just starting out. I was in college, I was a student. And I had several big voice actors who I respected. And I, you know, I want to be one of the cool kids. But they told me like, hey, if you want to do voice acting, you should probably stop doing YouTube because people can't get them professional. I know, right? It's the irony to think of now like, but what was I to do? Like I, you know, they are they have the power to cast and they're basically saying, like, if you want to be seen as a pro, you need to stop. And I, I took them at their word. And it wasn't till years later, when I got back into it again, this time stronger than ever. I learned how to monetize videos, monetize my music, get music created from the ground up so that I don't own it, but I have the license to perform it. And I've been slowly working on building that. But yeah, that's one of the things where if I can go back in time and tell Cristina, you do you, girl. It's gonna be okay. Alicyn You knew it? Cristina Yeah. Alicyn Do you write original songs as well? Cristina I do. But for video games, specifically when they hire me. I don't have original works coming out anytime soon. Alicyn It's like some of the songs that you have on your Spotify? Cristina Yeah, but yeah, but the only time I'll write original music is when I'm doing it for a company who's asked me to do that. Alicyn Yeah. Do you have any other licensed songs that are coming out soon? Cristina Yes, I do. I took a little break for a couple months. But I'm getting back into it. And there'll be more out soon. Alicyn Awe, well keep us posted. I definitely want to share that when they're out. Cristina Oh, thank you. Okay. Yeah, for sure. Alicyn Yeah, yeah your voice is just so magical. I love it. Cristina Thank you. Alicyn So now let's see, where do you find yourself getting inspiration from these days? I know, it's like we're in a time where we're creating so much content for social and then you have your career and you have your music? Where do you get your inspiration from? Cristina My inspiration. I mean, I feel like, I feel like I've just had kind of like these goals and and they change and they evolve. But I just I have certain goals that I want to do in mind. And I kind of just keep those and that's kind of what propels me forward is I want to accomplish this, and I would love to be in this project. But for the singing, I really feel like I just feel like I have to do it. Yeah, I just want to create as much good content, I don't like calling it content, but art as possible. Alicyn Yeah. Yeah. I hear a lot of people chiming in about Sailor Moon and you have a newer, so they're, correct me if I'm wrong, it's two different incarnations that you've been a part of, is that right? Cristina Yes. But they were on the same time. Alicyn Around the same time. Okay. So did you have, what were you drawn to? Now, you said you were a fan of Sailor Moon in high school, is that right? So and then you had the opportunity to audition? Cristina Yeah, so I grew up watching Sailor Moon. I loved it so much. I was a Sailor Moon girl in school, and it was, Alicyn Did you have the outfits and everything? Do the hair, and, Cristina I wish I did. I was like, the most that we had, we had some like dolls, and then a wand and then like, you could go to Toys 'R Us and buy like little trading cards and that was it for guys back then. Yeah, one day I just got an audition, seemingly out of the blue because I never worked at that studio before. I'd always wanted to. They were like we're holding auditions for this show. We can't tell you what it is. But it's obviously Sailor Moon because besides, like, I know these characters. So I thought it was for like a new version of Sailor Moon coming out. But and I thought that up until the day we recorded it was like the most secretive thing I've ever done. And but when we got in the booth, we realized like, Oh, this is the original series being redone for like, a new generation. And then we later did the newer series as well. Alicyn And how did you resonate, did you resonate with Sailor Mars? Was it like love connection? Cristina No, I, I almost didn't read for her. I was like, I don't match this character. I'll just do these, every other one. And then at the last minute, I was like, you know, I should probably just do so. But even then, I, I wasn't cast. My callback wasn't for Sailor Mars. It was for Sailor Moon, and my voice for Sailor Moon, they're like, you know what, why don't you try Luna? That sounds like Luna. So I tried Luna and then they're like, wait, that sounds like somebody else, like you're messing, the casting director is like, You're messing up my casting man, like, Okay, I hope that's a good thing. So that's how I was cast. Alicyn Was it too similar to another voice that was already cast? Cristina I think they probably had, they had an idea who they wanted for the role. And then I came in and read. And they're like, actually, we should think, she should probably do this. Alicyn And you're like, Cristina Like anything, I'll do anything in Sailor Moon. Alicyn Boots licking, kissing. Cristina I thought I was going to be the cat. I'm gonna try them like really fast. Alicyn This is where I tell you guys that we do this a weekly. And I hope that you will join us. We have next week is Ellen Su, who is the artistic recruiter for Titmouse Studios. And she's going to talk all about what is coming out animation from the side of an animator and what they look for at Titmouse. And then the week after that we have Brizzy Voices coming on. So we're gonna attack, we're gonna talk more voiceover. So hi, she's back. Cristina Is that better? I think it's this filter that's making it a little lighter. Alicyn Yeah. So what do you have a favorite character? I asked everybody this. It's like choosing your favorite child. But do you have a favorite? Cristina Marinette. For sure. Alicyn Yeah. Cristina Because I feel like it's opened up some, I mean, not just voiceover wise. But I get to connect with so many people. Because of this character. I feel like people, it's definitely it has an audience. And I think like, my being Marinette, I think people on, the people have listened to my singing, which is important. Of course, that's not the reason why I love being here. But it's just opened up so many doors, and it's been so much fun to see something from the ground up. Whereas anime, you know, they have like their voices already. And people have probably already seen it. But with Ladybug everything was kind of done at the same time. So it's been a really cool experience to see that. Promo Hey, guys, this is Alicyn Packard. Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that if you like the show, please, please, please remember to subscribe to this podcast. And leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much. Alicyn Yeah, the fandom is amazing for that show. And how was it singing for the show? Cristina Oh, it was a dream come true. Alicyn I was playing it. Cristina I was so happy. When they asked us to do that, the Christmas episode, I hope that we get to do more, it was so much fun. Alicyn Did you sing in your audition, or they just kind of threw it at you have to you're already cast? Cristina Yeah, there was no audition for the singing. Alicyn Yeah, they're like, yeah, you're like, just check out my YouTube channel. Cristina Like we'll make it work. Alicyn I know. So a lot of people are always asking, you know, I know everybody's story is different. But do you have any advice for people that are looking to break into voice acting? Cristina Yeah. Alicyn Don't do YouTube? Cristina Good. I know, right? That sounds so silly now. Alicyn So different. Yeah. Cristina Yeah, it was really different back then. I think, I think if, how do I word this, you should go for it. Because you can totally do it. But I think the most important thing is to start creating in any way that you can, whether it's on, you know, I see like some Tik Tok viewers who are like voiceover Tik Tokers, doing music on YouTube or doing theater, I think once you start actually doing it, I think that's how things tend to fall into place. And yeah, just work hard on your craft, and develop your voice and really know your voice. And the best way to do that is to start hearing it. So fandubs, radio plays any opportunity. I was, I was not good when I started out. Alicyn That's so important for people to know, we all start somewhere and maybe, you know, obviously you had some natural ability and you have the drive to get up on stage and do it in front of a whole division full of people. But you know, we all start somewhere and it's like you're always learning and growing. And I think the growth, it's not like a straight line. It's like, as it as it goes. So it's like, don't be afraid to suck because sucking is part of the process. You just got to get started. Cristina Yeah, for sure. I actually had like a diet like thing that I needed to work on to just growing up in the area of California. And it wasn't wasn't something I was aware of until like casting directors like, hey, so if you're really good, let's work on the way you pronounce certain words so that it's more of like a neutral American. Like, okay, yeah, so, yeah, but as soon as you start acting and putting yourself out there, the sooner you will get the feedback that you need to grow. Alicyn Yeah, I mean, I think sometimes it can be hard because we are the product, right? So it's not like you've, you're an entrepreneur that's made a product and this is your thing. It's like every feedback is something about your you, which feels like your soul. So how do you deal with any kind of, you know, negative feedback or frustration? Does it ever, do you ever take it personally? Cristina I think I used to when I was starting out for sure. I think it's pretty natural. Like I wanted everybody to like me. And I wanted to be really good. And I think, I think that just doing it over time. You know that for me, that was just kind of the bomb was, you know, you keep doing it and you fail some and you win some and it's all okay. Everything is, it's okay, no matter, no matter what happens is basically the way I feel. Obviously, I want to eat but but that's been kind of my my attitude and just kind of having trust in the process and that everything's gonna be fine. Alicyn Yeah, Power Rangers, a lot of people chiming in that they love Power Rangers and your character, you want to talk a little bit about what it was like working on that show? Cristina Sure. So that show was a, it's an official Power Rangers show, but it wasn't a scripted one, like you would see on TV. It was tabletop RPG. And it was a lot of fun getting to create a character. They let me be the first female Black Ranger. And it's Canon and been in comic books and games. It was a really cool experience. Again, having grown up watching the original Power Rangers to be with them on the show because they would call on it and we would all play together. It was pretty surreal. Getting to fight alongside the Green Ranger. Alicyn Johnny? Was it Johnny Yong Bosch? Cristina No, he's the Black Ranger. He's known for years. Oh my goodness. Jason David Frank. Yeah. Everybody's favorite. Yeah. So there, it was some pretty surreal and cool moments, and we're always hopeful that they will bring us back to do some more. Alicyn Would you like to answer some questions from the audience? Cristina Let's do it. Alicyn Okay. Gosh, oh my gosh, there's so many questions. Okay, we kind of already answered some of these. Okay, so a lot of people wondering, but I know you kind of already said that you don't know if we'll get to hear Ladybug and Cat Noir sing again? Cristina Yes. But I can't say any more about that. Alicyn Teaser. What is something you and Marinette have in common when you were 14? Cristina Oh my goodness. I feel like, man I didn't, I wasn't really crushing on a boy no, that's not true. I was totally kind of blacked out. We were both pretty. Pretty clumsy. A little shy. I definitely relate to Marinette more than Ladybug at that age, clumsy a little shy. I was always doing the drawing and doing things like that. So that's definitely how I was too. Alicyn So what are some of your favorite moments with Bryce? Who voiced Adrien and Cat Noir? Cristina Bryce is amazing. He's so sweet. We don't actually get to record together, unfortunately. Alicyn Does he live in Texas? Cristina He lives in LA. Alicyn LA. Okay. Cristina Yeah. So the only time I really see him is at conventions. The rare occasions when we're brought on together, but I've known him for a long time. He's, he's one of the nicest guys in the business. There's a fly buzzing around. Alicyn That's so weird. I have this moment where I thought it was in my room. Is it in my room? Is it in your room? Is it in both our room? Cristina There's definitely one here. Maybe there's one in there too? Alicyn I don't know. Maybe it was just like a optical illusion. I was like, ah. Cristina It travels in between live streams. Alicyn Okay, we kind of already answered some questions. And what is something that you wish that people understood about Marinette? Cristina Oh, understand? You know, I feel like a lot of times people expect the protagonists to be kind of like perfect, shining beacon of, you know, unflawed but I think one of my favorite parts about the show is that she does make mistakes. I hope that people are more like, realizing, like, Oh, this is kind of part of her character arc where she has to fail in these ways, because she's human too. And I think that's one of the best parts of the show is the characters have many layers to them. And they're not just one character traits. Alicyn Yeah, I wanted to ask you a question to what was it like working on DuckTales? That was the show that I loved growing up. And you know, it's always a dream to be like voicing like one of your favorite shows. What was it like? Cristina It was so, okay, here's the number one rule of booking a big part, have a vacation plan during the recording dates. There was like, so they, I was freaking out. Yeah, I was so excited. Because I remember that audition. And that was, that voice in particular was one that I would mimic growing up. And even like, when I was an adult, like the Huey, Dewey, and Louie voice. Alicyn Can you do it for us? Cristina Yeah. So that was, it was pretty, pretty cool to be able to, it just felt like an honor. And I don't think I let myself fully, like process everything until after it was out because I got to see, well, we weren't recording together. But David Tennant was my favorite television actors. But not only that, and I wanted to do a good job to protect, well doesn't need protecting, but I wanted to do a good job for Rusty Taylor, who I always looked up to, one of my biggest inspirations. Alicyn Did you ever get the chance to meet her? Cristina But that was definitely things that I wanted to, I wanted to make sure that I was as true to her as possible. Yeah. Alicyn Yeah. So did you end up having to cancel your vacation? Cristina No, they worked around my schedule. That's so great. It happened again too, with my last trip to Hawaii a couple months ago. I booked it. And then of course, my agent was freaking out. They're like you booked your first national commercial for Taco Bell?.Like, what do you mean? Are you kidding me? So it was a whole thing. I was like, Okay, I gotta reschedule. I have to find a studio over there. It all worked out, of course. And that was pretty cool. That was a cool commercial. It's, it was playing a lot during the Olympics. It's called Taco Bell Fry Force. It's like a really like high budget, anime Taco Bell commercial. Alicyn Oh, that's so perfect. Cristina Yeah, it was so much fun. Alicyn That's amazing. Is there somebody that got you into anime when you were younger? I mean, obviously, it was, do you have a friend that was like got you into Sailor Moon? Was that your first anime? Kind of how did all that come about? Cristina My brother was the one who got me into Sailor Moon when we were, when I was seven. He was maybe five. He was like, watch this with me. And he was really scared. Because it was like the scary doll episode. But I did watch it with him. And I, that's how I liked, Sailor Moon. Then Pokemon came out. And so I was in probably the seventh grade when a friend of mine in band was like, that's not real anime. And she gave me like a desk just like recorded because that's the way you did it back then recorded anime episodes from several different shows. And I watched that thing over and over again. I was in shock. Yeah. Alicyn Wow. Yeah. And and what was it like, you know, coming into the Pokemon franchise, was that? Cristina That's pretty crazy, too. I feel like I, I've been in it the first time I got to be in it. It was pretty, pretty surreal. And then it kept happening. Like, because I, you know, I definitely it's, I still play, I'm playing this game called Pokemon unite. Before we started today, it's so much fun. I don't think I'll ever stop playing Pokemon, because I was the Pikachu girl in sixth grade. And yeah, I just feel like it's that thing where whatever you put your attention on. I feel like that gets amplified in our lives. And that's something that I really can see looking back. I think happy thoughts if you can, as much as possible, Alicyn Right. Yeah, put your energy on what you want to grow. I definitely see that as well. And over the years, you know, you can kind of see the growth or the people that do focus their energy on where they're going versus the ones that people that are sometimes looking in the rearview mirror. Really, sorry about that, focused on sort of the lack, you know, because it always just demands a matter of perspective. And I'm Oprah Winfrey, welcome to my podcast. Cristina But that, I think that's something that I feel like it's talked about more easier now. And I think Gen Z is going to have an easier time of it. But when I was growing up, like, in high school, even early college, it wasn't a really great, like support for, like mental health issues. And I feel like, I feel like it's so important to to focus on that if you're if you are struggling, I think like without your health, what is everything for, you know, nothings more important than that. So I think, you know, if you are struggling in that way, you know, it doesn't have to be that way. And it's a hard road, but you can do it and yes. Alicyn Yeah. 100% there are ways to heal and we all have our own journey. But yeah, there's so many more resources available which is very inspiring to see people talking more authentically about mental health and wellness and you know, it's such a spectrum that was like, I was like going to bed last night. And I'm like, we're all mentally ill, really just a spectrum and like neurodivergent. And I think being neurodivergent is like neurodivergent it's just different, different shades of different shades of personalities. So it's like, I think it's it feels to me like we're evolving into this time where it's actually it's okay to be who you are. It's okay to be a little weird, creative, but scattered. It's okay to be OCD, but very together, you know, the different shapes. And hopefully we can all continue to embrace each other. And hopefully we get back together in real life and like, physically embrace each other. That would be that would be nice. Cristina Yeah, for sure. Alicyn Now, I know we want to get you out of here, right at seven. So let me just see. So one of your fans is asking in the season four theme songs, Ladybug's voice starts to sound a little deeper. Yeah. Is she because she's getting older? And is she going to sound like the future Ladybug from Time Tiger eventually, by the way, the best voice actor ever. Cristina That's how my voice sounds when I deepen it. So I don't know why that's not. I'm not sure why. But that that was pitch down in post for that opening. And also for one of the movies, the TV movies, just one of them though. And I don't know why. But it's not because of a character thing or anything I'm doing in the booth. It's somebody's decision made after we're done recording. She's still the same age. Alicyn A lot of questions about Bryce, we did already talk about Bryce. We did already talk about tips for getting into voice acting. And we talked about Marinette. Okay. So someone is asking what it was like to work in Seven Deadly Sins, with other Miraculous Ladybug voices. Cristina I think Seven Deadly Sins might have come first. I'm not, I don't remember the timeline. But I loved it. This is a fun show. I'm still working on it. Actually, I get to play a picture. And that was the start of my creature VO career because I didn't realize I could make these creature sounds. And now it's become like a big part of it where I can. I know how to squeal and scream in ways that don't hurt my voice. And it's all thanks to that little pig. Alicyn Have you ever had any issues with your throat or with with your voice or vocal cords from doing characters? Cristina So very rarely, and it will be because of creature stuff. When I was really like a teenager when I was still doing voices for the internet. I was doing a fandom. And I actually made my throat bleed. Alicyn Oh my gosh. Cristina And that was scary. I'm like, Hmm, maybe I should learn how to protect my voice. Alicyn On the inside? Like you could taste blood? Cristina It was horrifying. Like that's it, my career's over, it hasn't even started. I ruined it. And you know that was the only time it happened until maybe six, seven months ago. I was doing a creature voice and they're making me kind of just do it again and again, like many takes, and I was like this Okay, I'm like hey guys, can we like slow down a little bit? Because this is like it's really vocally stressful, but the blood thing happened again. I was like, Okay, I have to set, I need to start setting boundaries when it comes to super vocally stressful and like, I feel like my, I have like cords of steel because I can keep screaming. I've done like video game sessions where I'll be screaming for not less than four hours and I'm fine but this one like I felt it too like this is like local pain is like a very special kind of pain because it also makes your heart race and you're sweating. So that's, that's my story. Alicyn And so did you go see an ear, nose, throat specialist or just let it heal on its own kind of thing? Cristina I just, I just went on vocal rest and I think if it had continued if anything changed but after a day and a half or so I was back to normal I'm just like okay, I can't, I can't do a second session like this, like they need to, Alicyn A lot of people asking what it was like to voice Bennett for pGenshin iIpact. Cristina Oh, so I was so excited when I got to cuz I knew exactly what the game was because I'd seen there was like a controversy about it for some reason online where people were upset about the game like hadn't even come out yet. So when I saw like, Oh my gosh, this is that game. I want to be in it so badly. I didn't book the first several roles that I got but later they sent out sides for Bennett and Xingqiu at the same time. And they told me, I booked both of them. Cool. That's pretty awesome. So I got to voice two main characters and I recorded them simultaneously. Both little boys, so yeah, that's, that was pretty, that's pretty cool to be able to be a part of Genshin, and to see it grow from like this game that first started like had a rocky start, like with perception, which of course is completely wrong. And in watching it grow into this huge thing now it's pretty, pretty insane. Alicyn Are you a gamer? Cristina I wouldn't call myself a gamer. But I do play a select few games religiously. Nobody can beat me at Mario Kart. And its people very true. Yes, people get very upset with me. All I do is win. But I recently started playing Pokemon unite, which is really fun. I love it. Alicyn Oh, wow. And is that is that a computer game? Or is that through one of the gaming systems? Cristina It's on switch. Okay, League of Legends is that it's kind of like League of Legends light with Pokemon. Alicyn That sounds adorable. Sebastian really wanted to know what Mark Hamill be the final villain called the Dark One in Miraculous Ladybug. Cristina Mark Hamill would be amazing in Miraculous Ladybug. Oh, I have a Mark Hamill story. Alicyn Let's hear it. Cristina He came to my school. Alicyn No way. Cristina He came to my, when I was in college, he came to my school. And he was doing the chat with the film majors only. And the film majors really liked putting me in their films. So they invited me to, to go to this chat with Mark Hamill. And I met him and I asked him a voice over acting. And he was like, it's really hard. Be prepared. He's like, I'm not going to discourage you. But just know it's tough. Like, okay, I'll take that as I'm going to go for it with all my, I think like a couple, maybe two years ago, now pandemic time, I reached out to him on on Twitter. And I was like, hey, so we met when I was just starting out. And now I've done all these projects. And I just want to let you know, like, I think about that and how much you inspire me to be a voice actor. And he responded to that. And he was like, Hey, he's like, I know. Like, I tell people it's really hard. And they probably told you that too. But I'm so happy for you and I can't wait to work with you and that was like, Alicyn Yeah, wow. Yeah, that's Yeah, I love that. It's, it's just perfectly, perfectly the way it's meant to be. Gosh, sorry. There's so many questions and a lot of them are the same you guys and we did answer some of these so if anybody missed the beginning, I will post the replay right after for you guys. I just think this is a really sweet sentiment. Xxblueberry said, love the hard work you do and that I'm thankful truly for everything you've helped me through and learn so much to be myself more. Do you feel that it's taken work to become more authentic in your, in your work? Has it, has it taken time to evolve to that? Cristina Definitely. I think it's kind of normal to start off kind of, not copying other people kind of having an idea of like, Oh, this person will do this for this kind of role. And it takes time to like recognize that realize like, Oh, this is my voice. This is my voiceprint. This works well and, and kind of start to embrace the little differences you have in your reads and yeah, I used to be a little self, actually, a little self conscious about the way I say my R's because I still say a little like rounded and that's just my voice but it's pretty cool now to see people recognize that like, Oh, I know those I know that R sound that's Cristina, nobody sounds like that. And like yeah, that's that's exactly it. That's my thing. Alicyn Yeah. It's your print. Yeah, it is like sometimes we have something that we can perceive as a, as a flaw and yet, it's just a part of who we are in this beautiful, beautiful part of who we are. Yeah, well, where can, I mean I'm sure people have probably already pretty connected with you obviously here on Instagram. And where else can people find you? Cristina You know, for some reason I blew up on Tik Tok, I don't post there a lot, but Alicyn Find you in Tik Tok. Cristina Find me on Tik Tok I have. I have a crazy amount of followers. And that kind of like, I think that's why I don't post I'm like oh my god, that is a million people watching. What am I gonna do? Nothing. I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead. Well, anyways, Tik Tok, Twitter, Spotify. I am also on, Alicyn And can you talk anything, say anything about the new music that you have coming out? Cristina I'm filming a music video tomorrow for My Hero Academia. Alicyn Oh. So is it, is it a song that's going to be in My Hero Academia? Cristina No, it's gonna be on my friend Richard's YouTube channel. Alicyn Got it. So it's like a cover from from the show. Got it. Cristina That's my next release. Pretty much it. I just have a couple things coming out. Always a lot of covers. Alicyn And is there any upcoming projects that you want to mention or is everything NDA? Cristina Projects? You know, I'm not sure if there's anything I can really talk about. I think everything is kind of that I can talk about has been announced already. Looking forward to the Ladybug movie. Alicyn Yeah. What's the release date on that? Do they have one? Cristina I don't think, I don't know if they have one or not. I don't know. But we've been working on it for a couple of years. Now I feel and I got to see some of the animation recently. So cool. Alicyn I can't wait to see it Cristina It's so pretty, Alicyn Well, Cristina, thank you so much for your time. I want to make sure I get you out of here on time, but it's been lovely chatting with you I only wish it wasn't through a screen. But best of luck with everything. And thanks to everybody that tuned in live. Next week with Ellen Su, artistic recruiter at Titmouse. She's going to talk about the process how she finds animators and storyboard artists. And then the following week after that, we have Brizzy Voices. So hope you guys subscribe. Thanks, Cristina. Thanks. Outro Thanks for tuning in to Alicyn's Wonderland, where we explore the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. Please remember to subscribe and leave us a review. For more episodes of Alicyn's Wonderland. Please visit us at www.AlicynPackard.com. See you next week.