Bette Midler on Kitty Galore

CanMag
Bette Midler on Kitty Galore
Published July 27, 2010 in Movie Interviews
By Fred Topel

If you need a dramatic villain to take over the world, who better than Bette Midler to play her. Even as an English-speaking animal, Midler can rule in diva style. She plays the title character in the subtitle of Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.

Bette Midler Talks Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore

“Kitty Galore is an Egyptian sphinx cat,” Midler said. “She’s hairless except for a little hair on her tail. She’s very cranky because she’s been rejected by her beloved human family and she’s determined to rule the world. I came in for a number of sessions and it was really curious because when I first started it was just a sketch. As the time went on, the backgrounds of the other characters got more and more filled in. That was very, very exciting to watch. I’ve never experienced that before.”

As a professional singer, the recording sessions were a bit easier for Midler. “There are some parts of it that are quite musical. The timing is very important in this kind of work because the phrasing works with the mouth of the character. Once the mouth of the character is moving, you have to phrase along with the character that’s drawn. That is musical and if you listen to that, you can hear where the beats are skipped and where you drop a beat or when you rush and catch up a little bit. I will say that the fact that I’ve sung for a long time has really helped a lot with that. Yeah, really, really helped a lot. I don’t think it helped the character but it helped me get through the sessions.”

Many actors lament the loneliness of voiceover work. That wasn’t the hardest part for Midler. “Actually it’s not just isolating. It’s a little bit lonely because it’s just you in a dark room with a sketch of a character or sometimes a filled in scene, but still you don’t work with the other actors. It’s like one long looping session, I said. It’s like oh my God, ADR for days. The real thrill I think comes from seeing the finished product.”