As the latest cartoon from Dan Povenmire (Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy’s Law), where do you recognise the Hamster & Gretel voice cast from?
Have you heard of Hamster & Gretel? Emmy-winning writer Dan Povenmire created the show, his latest for the Disney Channel. The series follows a young girl named Gretel and her pet hamster, who unexpectedly and accidentally receive superpowers.
Povenmire’s previous projects include Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law, co-created with Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh.
His other work includes Family Guy, Looney Tunes, Hey Arnold and The Simpsons, among others.
By now, it’s almost customary for Povenmire’s main voice cast to include established actors. On Phineas, cast members included Disney veterans Ashley Tisdale and Mitchel Musso, as well as Love, Actually star Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Meanwhile, Milo Murphy’s Law starred “Weird Al” Yankovic in the main role, opposite Sabrina Carpenter and Pamela Adlon.
So, whose voices populate the world of Hamster & Gretel? Read on below to find out.
Meet the cast of Hamster & Gretel
Some say blood runs thicker than water. Well, this certainly rings true for Hamster & Gretel, although not initially planned.
Cast in the role of Gretel, the lead human character, is Dan Povenmire’s own child, Melissa – or Meli Povenmire. Before winning the role, Meli recorded ‘scratch’ (temporary dialogue). Of course, Meli landed the part full-time, which as it turned out, wasn’t much of a surprise.
Meli recently discussed this alongside Dan in a recent interview with Showbiz Junkies. This their discussions beforehand, during the casting process:
“I knew it was going to happen, honestly. You did not tell me a single time, ‘Oh, you might not get it’. It was, ‘Oh, I think you’re going to get it, because you’re one of the best and you tested really well.”
Meli Povenmire, Showbiz Junkies (2022)
As a side-note, Meli also inspired the name and appearance of Melissa Chase (voiced by Sabrina Carpenter) on Milo Murphy’s Law.
The voice of Kevin…
In the show, Gretel has an older brother, Kevin, the originally intended superpower recipient. Instead, rather than having the powers himself, he acts as a mentor for Gretel and Hamster.
The 22-year-old actor and Nevada native Michael Cimino voices Kevin. Aside from age, the two have other differences.
For instance, Kevin has a Venezuelan mother on the show and Cimino has Puerto Rican heritage in real-life.
Cimino is probably best known for his lead role on Hulu’s Love, Victor. He also lent his voice to the sci-fi podcast Black Box, which featured Joel McHale, Brec Bassinger, Jacob Bertrand and Chosen Jacobs.
The voice of Fred…
Fans of The Kissing Booth franchise might recognise Joey King‘s voice. She plays “Fred”, the snarky and cynical cousin of Gretel and Kevin. In addition to this, Fred is very tech-savvy and provides support in this area.
Acting from an early age, King’s earlier film roles include The Dark Knight Rises, Ramona & Beezus, Crazy, Stupid Love and The Conjuring.
Her television work ranges from guest star roles on Malcolm In The Middle and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, to Fargo, The Flash, New Girl and The Simpsons.
The voice of Dave (Dad)…
Former Breaking Bad actor Matt Jones (Badger) voices Gretel’s father, Dave. In addition to his recurring role on the AMC crime drama, Jones was a series regular on CBS’ Mom for its first 3 seasons. He played Baxter, ex-husband of Christy, played by Anna Faris.
Jones also currently plays the role of “Douglas Wheeler” on CBS’ Bob Hearts Abishola, created by Chuck Lorre. Other appearances include NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Community and Hawaii 5-0.
The voice of Carolina (Mom)…
Completing the core Grant-Gomez family – at least, the human members- is actress Carolina Ravassa. Perhaps coincidentally, she shares the same first name as her character, Carolina Grant-Gomez.
As well as this, Ravassa has South American blood, being born in Colombia. She also speaks four languages – English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
Aside from Hamster & Gretel, Ravassa has long worked in video games as a voice artist. Some examples include Overwatch, Valorant and Grand Theft Auto V.
The voice of Hamster…
It wouldn’t be Hamster & Gretel without, well, Hamster. Saturday Night Live alum Beck Bennett plays the role, making up one half of the title characters.
On the film side, Bennett has appeared in Sing, Zoolander 2 and Bill & Ted Face The Music, among others.
He’s lent his voice to other cartoons such as The Simpsons and DuckTales.
Bennett has also made live-action appearances on Last Man Standing and Arrested Development.
Also Featuring
As well as those named above, Hamster & Gretel also features several actors in recurring roles. These include:
- Stranger Things’ Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair) as Bailey, Gretel’s unaware best friend who does not realise her BBF’s superhero identity
- Alyson Stoner (Cheaper By The Dozen, Phineas and Ferb) and Brock Powell play Lauren/The Destructress and Lyle/Fistpuncher, a brother-sister duo who, of course, are evil supervillains
- Internet personality Liza Koshy as Veronica Hill, a news reporter.
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