Q&A With Teri Hatcher About Her Role As Dottie In Disney’s Planes

While in LA learning all about Disney’s Planes I also had the opportunity to interview Teri Hatcher. Unfortunately, Teri was feeling under the weather so what was supposed to be an in-person interview turned into a conference call. So no picture with the star (c’est la vie), but at least Teri was a good sport about the whole thing and talked to an eager group of bloggers on the phone.

Of course we all love Teri for her roles as Susan on Desperate Housewives and Lois Lane on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, but you may not realize that Planes is not her first animated experience. Teri’s credits also include Coroline’s mother, Mel Jones, in Coroline and Beatrice La Beak on Disney Junior’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates.

In Planes, Teri lends her voice to the character Dottie, Dusty’s no-nonsense friend who also happens to be his mechanic. We asked Teri what it was like to voice a female character in such a traditionally male role. As a mom to a teenage daughter, Teri was proud of Disney’s decision to break this stereotype and her chance to be part of it.

I think that it was a really great choice that they made for the movie. So while there’s a lot of that kind of quality in me that sort of just something needs to be done, then I’m gonna get it done, and I consider myself fairly tough, I knew nothing about fixing cars, or planes, or mechanics, or anything else. Thank God for AAA…

I love that she is that sort of tough, and smart, and capable, and also friendly and caring. And I felt like it was an important piece of the journey — watching someone who is going out of their comfort zone to reach something they really desire and dream for, and part of you wants to support that, but part of you wants to protect from that, and Dottie balancing not being a voice that says, ‘You know, I want you to be safe more than anything.’ And, I think that was a point that needed to be represented in the film.”

When asked about her reaction to joining the cast for Planes, Teri gushed over the opportunity to work on a Disney film.

“You know, when offered a Disney movie one of the first thoughts that comes into your brain is my child’s gonna love this, or my grandchild’s gonna love this, or even my great-grandchild after I’m long gone is gonna love this, and that is the quality that Disney offers.”

We all have our favorite Disney movie(s), and while one really can’t go wrong with any of them, I was bit surprised to learn that her favorite is Aristocats. She and daughter Emerson (now 15) have watched it together over and over, and Teri pointed out that the staying power of Disney movies is what makes it fun to be part of them. 

“I feel like Cars and Planes are gonna be the same [as Aristocats]. I mean kids 50 years from now, whatever the technology is, will still be entertained with their families by those movies, and that’s pretty fun.”

Of course Teri does a fabulous job as Dottie, much better than the version I recorded. (Wink, wink!) And it was an honor to talk to her.

Don’t miss Disney’s Planes when it lands in theaters August 9, 2013. 

Can’t get enough Planes? I’ll share lots more Planes news over the coming weeks including my movie review on Friday. In the meantime, learn 5 Fun Facts About Disney’s Planes Straight From The Directors, check out 5 Things You Never Knew About Voice Actors & A Special Clip From Disney’s Planes, see How 50,000 Sketches Became One Animated Feature Film: Planes, learn about Bringing The Characters From Disney’s PLANES To Life and find out how you can get Free Disney Planes Movie Ticket with Purchase.