Raymond Persi: Story Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios and the voice of “Flash”

I interviewed Flash from Zootopia….like I literally interviewed Flash! I was given a 45 second spot…and well we didn’t get really far! If ONLY Flash would speak as fast as he drives!  How did I get this fun opportunity? I was invited to a press day event for the release of Zootopia on Blu-ray.  Expenses were all covered by my friends at Disney!  So let me geek out about Disney and Zootopia!  My other job, is that I am a teacher so I also created Zootopia Lesson Plans that are super fun!

With Zootopia being SO popular and being one of the top movies this year, I was so excited to meet in person one of the funniest stars!  He is funny, because he isn’t trying to be!  Flash was popular just when the trailer came out that featured HIS scene!  If you missed it check it out below!

So who is Raymond Persi, we met him too! Also, how did he get into voice acting…or did he? There are all these great questions! We sat down with Raymond and he was so nice and fun to chat with! He plays the voice of Flash.

Raymond Persi was the director of the Simpsons before working for Disney Animation Studios. He joined Disney when he was brought in with Wreck-It Ralph.

About Raymond Persi as a Voice Actor

So Raymond was brought to voice acting when he was called into the office to do scratch voices. Since then, he has been the voice of several different characters.

Wreck-It Ralph: Played Gene and Zombie
Frozen: Played several small parts…during one part his “wife” says his name “Persi”.
Zootopia: Flash

Even Raymond’s dog got to do voice/sound effects for Feast!

So prior to interviewing Flash, we interviewed Raymond Persi himself!

I explained to Persi how watching and listening to Flash is like NAILS on the chalkboard. So I asked if acting as Flash, if he gets the same feeling.

Of course he answered with long pauses like his character, “My goal when I did that scene was to make you feel like nails on a chalk board. So thank you so much for letting me know that I did it right.”

So, did they have an actor in mind for that part before they had you read for it?

Persi: “I don’t think so. I think it was just that they, um, it was a character they wanted to try out. It was a, it was an idea for a scene, you know, like I think when, ah, Rich and Jim came on to the project, they were just trying to think of funny locations: like animals in a nudist colony, that’s funny, sloths running the DMV, that’s funny, a guy who’s like a mafia king pin, but he’s a tiny little shrew. So I think they hadn’t thought about it yet, and then that one just worked for them.”

Order your Zootopia Blu-ray TODAY!

 Walt Disney Animation Studios’ (WDAS) comedy-adventure, “Zootopia” has broken records worldwide earning more than $900 million at the global box office to date. The best reviewed movie of 2016, critics and audiences around the world have fallen in love with the wonderfully innovative animal metropolis of “Zootopia” and the comedic chemistry of rookie rabbit officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and scam-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). It’s been called one of the best buddy cop comedies in years! Viewers will not only be able to enjoy the vibrant world of Zootopia and reunite with their favorite characters, but also discover more about the evolution of this extraordinary tale through in-depth bonus offerings. The runaway hit arrives home on June 7 via Digital HD, Blu-ray™ and Disney Movies Anywhere.

Find 4 different versions of the movie from Target.com!