One minute cancer, lots of fun

Werbewoche: Nikol and Roman Camenzind, you lend your voices to a funny crab couple in the new Disney animated film "Finding Dory". How does a crab speak?

Roman Camenzind: (laughs) That's a good question! The native language of crabs seems to be English, which we didn't know until now ... We were given the finished movie "Finding Dory" as a template with the task of translating what the crabs say into German. And because we only have our innate voices, we couldn't do much more than lend the crabs these voices to speak in German.

Were you able to fill Chräbs and Chräbsli with life yourself - like Anke Engelke does with Dorie in the German version?

Nikol Camenzind: We already spoke the way we speak naturally - but in High German with a Swiss accent. It's quite possible that this and, of course, the faster pace of speech in High German had an influence on the color of our voices.

Did you have any guidelines for the recording?

Roman Camenzind: No. The director did guide us a little, but we were able to decide for ourselves whether we wanted to speak clean High German or with a Swiss accent, for example. Nikol and I are big fans of the Swiss German roles in the Disney films. So it quickly became clear that we would speak with an accent and interpret the crabs with the angular Swiss High German.

The switch to High German is not exactly home territory for most Swiss people. How did you feel about that?

Roman Camenzind: We were allowed to speak with a Swiss German accent, so it was relatively easy. We didn't have to concentrate so much on pronunciation and were able to speak the text pretty freely, from the gut. The only thing we had to get used to was the speed, as German text has more syllables in the same amount of time than English text.

And the translation from English was given, or did you translate the text yourself?

Nikol Camenzind: No, the text was predefined.

American films are normally released in their original version with German subtitles in Swiss cinemas. However, Disney Switzerland occasionally has the opportunity to give individual roles to Swiss voice actors when producing German dubbed versions. As Chräbsli, are you the only Swiss voice actors?

Roman Camenzind: There is another girl who speaks High German with a Swiss accent. She won this role in a competition organized by the Coop newspaper. And when it came to the crab couple, Disney obviously thought of us straight away (laughs).

Did you initially think it was a joke when you were asked if you wanted to synchronize two crabs?

Nikol Camenzind: We felt extremely honored that Disney approached us and wanted us as crabs. It was immediately clear that we were in - we didn't have to think about it for a second. We are very proud to be able to play two funny, hearty crabs in the new Dory film.

You, Ms. Camenzind, have a lot to do with children in your job and you both have three children together. As Chräbs and Chräbsli, many of the "Schwiizer Goofe" and probably your own children will now become your audience. Does that put you under pressure?

Nikol Camenzind: I immediately told the whole Schwiizer Goofe troupe that we have two speaking roles in the new Dory film. The children are really proud of me. They were extremely excited and immediately wanted to know what minute of the movie our appearance would be in so that they could watch it. I said: "The crabs only appear briefly, but you can't miss them! They're the most important part of the whole movie." (laughs) Normally I'm more in the background, writing the songs and making sure that the children have fun in front of the microphone and can let off steam. Now I can give something back and stand in front of the microphone for them. I think that's really nice and very special. And our own children are 6, 5 and 2 years old and extreme Disney fans. When we told them that we were in "Finding Dory", they looked at us askance and wanted to know what we were playing in the movie, as we weren't animals after all. The fact that we play the two crabs is completely incomprehensible to our children. Because in their world, all these animals really exist, Dory lives somewhere in the sea ...

... and Nemo at Zurich Zoo ...

Nikol Camenzind: ... exactly! And it totally confused our children that we were now supposed to be the voices of the crabs, they didn't buy it. After all, the crabs can talk themselves!

Roman Camenzind: In the end, we agreed with them that we would tell the English-speaking crabs how to say it in German. And that was fine, they accepted that. Before, they had the feeling that we were the biggest bluffers.

How many times did you watch the original version before you knew: This is how our crabs should be?

Roman Camenzind: We first watched the whole movie once. And the one scene in which the crabs speak, we then repeated x times in the studio and tried out different variations: louder, quieter, with more singsong in the voice, with less singsong ... that was also a good experience for me, because I was on the other side of the screen for once.

You also recorded the scene together, not each of you individually. Was this work mostly strenuous or fun?

Roman Camenzind: Super funny.

Nikol Camenzind: That was above all very funny, yes. It was great work and an unforgettable time in the big Munich recording studio with the people from Disney. The funniest moment was when I heard Roman's voice and saw the cancer (laughs). That was my highlight, his strong, masculine voice in such a small crab, that was great. When we discuss something now, I just imagine Roman as a crab and I have to laugh! (laughs heartily)

Roman Camenzind: It was great fun for us. But I can well imagine that it is very intensive, exhausting work to produce a soundtrack for an entire film, as Anke Engelke does for Dory in the German dubbed version of "Finding Dory", for example. It's certainly much more demanding than you might think, especially when it's a leading role. And it takes great talent.

How long is your appearance in the movie?

Roman Camenzind: About one minute.

How many times did you record the scene until everyone was satisfied?

Roman Camenzind: That went quickly, it didn't take more than ten minutes. However, the situation of standing behind the microphone in a studio was of course not unfamiliar to either of us.

Nikol Camenzind: We now hope that the next Disney movie is all about the Chräbsli and that we get to voice them. (laughs) They really deserve more space, they're that great.

You are lending your voices for the first time. How does that feel?

Nikol Camenzind: It was great and I'm really looking forward to the movie. The voice really shapes the character of people and figures - so it's all the more special when you can lend yours to someone else.

Most people find their own voice strange. How do you feel about that?

Roman Camenzind: We're both quite used to hearing our own voices now and know that our voices sound totally different as a soundtrack than when you hear yourself talking. But when I heard Nikol as Cancer, I also had to laugh quite a bit.

Is there a character you would like to play?

Nikol Camenzind: Our two girls love Elsa and Anna from "The Ice Queen". That's why I'd love to lend my voice to Elsa, the girls would be amazed. And I'd also like to see Roman as Olaf ... (laughs)

Roman Camenzind: I would of course see myself as Hank from "Finding Dory", the octopus with seven arms, a great, very funny and likeable character who grew very close to my heart during the course of working on the movie.

Interview: Anne-Friederike Heinrich

About the movie

Disney's animated film "Finding Dory" sees the return of the blue palette-

Doctor fish lady Dory returns to Swiss screens. The little fish with no short-term memory is now living happily and contentedly with Nemo and Marlin in the coral reef when she has a flash of inspiration: Somewhere out there must be her family, who may have been looking for her long ago. So Dory sets off with Marlin and Nemo on the biggest adventure of her life, which takes her through the ocean to the famous Marine Biological Institute in California.

In her search for her parents, Dory gets help from the most colorful characters at the institute: Hank, the grumpy octopus (or septopus), who only has seven tentacles but still regularly slips through the guards' net; Bailey, the beluga, who thinks his echo sounder is broken; and Destiny, the whale shark lady, who is extremely short-sighted. Forgetful Dory can also count on the help of the funny crab couple "Chräbs" and "Chräbsli" - voiced by Roman and Nikol Camenzind.