I am hoping that now that the weekend is over most of you have had the chance to see Monsters University. If you have, then you know what an adorably funny character Squishy is. While on my recent Pixar press trip, I had the opportunity to have snacktime with Squishy, where some bloggers and I were able to pick the brain of Peter Sohn (voice of Squishy). Scott “Squishy” Squibbles is none other than the Oozma Kappa (OK) brother who provided the frat house for his brotherhood, as well as his mom/chauffer/cook.
Peter Sohn seems to be a very down to earth kind of guy who is just thrilled to be a part of Monsters University.
Peter describes his role in the film:
“Uh, yeah, my name is Peter Sohn. And I’ve worked here at Pixar for about 11 years. I’m lucky enough to be playing Squishy, the chubby guy with the hat and a bunch of eyes. And, uh, it’s been really fun.”
Peter refers to himself as the chubby guy who gets the chubby roles – and he’s okay with that. “It’s funny. I’ve played Emile in Ratatouille here. And it was like you’re chubby. And you’ll eat a lot of food. So why don’t you play this guy? I’m like okay. And then this is kind of like you’re chubby. And you’re kinda nerdy too. So why don’t you give this a shot? Um, but it’s– it’s funny. I’ve been on other projects since.” Peter says that playing the nerdy, chubby character of Squishy, in this loser frat, wasn’t too far of a stretch. I would have to disagree because I found Peter to be charming!
Peter talks about what he likes about Squishy:
“I like that he’s so sincere about naïve things. You know, like there’s a scene in there where Mike and Sully want to throw a party. And he’s like this is great. Grab some couch cushions ’cause we’re gonna build a fort. You know I totally connect with that type of guy just ’cause that’s how I grew up with my cousins. We didn’t have the Internet. So the world was so like out there. You have the one piece of Lego like whatever that is that you can just nerd out for a while.
It was that naïve sincerity that I really really liked about him. And then when Julia Sweeney came, who plays Ms. Squibbles, his mom. I got to have lunch with her. You’ve seen like, wow, she’s so brilliant. And then seeing in the reels how he’s embarrassed of his mom, but still totally like, yeah, that’s– that’s my mom. He still loves her but totally living this weird 30-year-old living with his mom kind of feeling of it.
I totally understand it, connect with it as well. It’s not a stretch. Seriously, it’s not a stretch at all what that character is.”
Peter and many of the crew at Pixar would laugh because the drawings of Squishy often looked like a thumb. It became a joke that Peter Sohn was nothing more than a thumb.
Squishy is a warm, fun loving character in Monsters University, whom I just adore. I also love his relationship with his mom, who seems to be one of the coolest moms ever!
Don’t forget that Monsters University is in theaters now so head out and see it!
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