Three-time Emmy-winner Margo Martindale (Justified, The Americans) and Independent Spirit Awards nominee Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever, Freakier Friday) discuss their voice roles in The Twits. The new CG animated feature adaptation of Roald Dahl’s iconic book debuts this Friday Oct. 17 on Netflix. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Margo, you voice Mrs. Twit, who is so enthusiastic about this new theme park that she and her husband built. And you get to do a lot of laughing, yelling and some singing in this movie. She’s feisty. What did you enjoy the most about this voice performance?

Margo Martindale: That it could go all the way up. All the way down. Upside down. And, uh, I loved getting to sing and getting to be… wormy. (laughs) Mean and nasty. How much nastier can you get?

JM: And that must have been a lot, energy wise, in the vocal booth delivering all that.

MM: It was so much fun. I’ve done a lot of voice work, but this one didn’t tire me out as much, which is interesting.

JM: Yeah. And Maitreyi, you voiced Beesha, who’s an orphan girl with a great sense of hope and confidence. What do you love so much about her spirit?

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan: She’s just so vivacious. I love how confident and how bright-eyed, bushy tailed she is. At some point in all of our lives, we have that perspective on life until, for some reason… for some event, whatever it is… we might kind of doubt that and we might push that side of us down. And that happens to Beesha, but we see her overcome it. She’s so wholesome and it’s just terrible when you see her deal with all the worminess that she’s dealing with because she’s just a good girl. She’s sweet, she’s wholesome.

JM: That genuine nature comes through in what you do with that voice performance. And when I think about “The Twits”, Margo, I remember being in grade school seeing the cover in libraries and it’s so iconic — seeing Mrs. Twit in that version. How far in the process of making this movie did you see the new way she looks with the green hair and the design? How far into the process did they show you the animation?

MM: Pretty far into the process, but I could see some sketchy stuff at the very beginning as well. I love that I start very skinny at the top and go all the way wide at the bottom — that ridiculous. And Mr. Twit is skinny at the bottom and goes all the way wide at the top. So, we’re a match made in Hell.

JM: (laughs) There you go! And that green hair, it’s so bold. Crazy but very memorable. Maitreyi, you’ve done a lot of voice work, in “Turning Red”, you voiced Zipp on “My Little Pony”, and you’re in the upcoming “Angry Birds Movie 3”. So what do you enjoy the most about the voice acting experience, and how have you wanted to grow as a voice acting artist over these projects that you’ve been a part of?

MR: I’ve always loved animation. I still love consuming animation. It’s my go-to, it’s my comfort. So being able to be a part of that process, knowing how long it takes to make an animated film or a TV series. This was a well over three years process for “The Twits”. Animators have put so much love and hard work into it. So equally matching that with all the roles that I bring is such a priority to me. But shout out to our director, Phil [Johnston]. He’s the homie. He just gave us the best performances to work off of. So truly finding the character along the way, since we’ve been working on this for three plus years, I think my voice was more like a 10-year-old before. Not that I was ten three years ago. That’s not how math works. I was able to make my voice a lot higher. And I think by the end of it, during our last sessions doing pickups, Phil had to kindly remind me that she’s not a 23, 24-year-old girl. She like 10. She wouldn’t talk like this. But truly this performance is just one that’s just so genuine. Beesha is just such a genuine character, and bringing that earnestness to it was very important.

JM: Phil Johnston is the director. He also [co-directed] “Ralph Breaks the Internet”, which is such a zany movie and has so much of social media. Margo, how was it working with Phil — and that vision that he has about bold visuals with that heart that really comes through in “The Twits” and in “Ralph Breaks the Internet”.

MM: He is a miracle to me. He brings so much joy that you never feel like you screw up. He keeps you going farther. Go more. Not too big — it can’t be too big. And he was an incredible audience, so that really helps.

JM: Maitreyi, a lot of Roald Dahl adaptations have such whimsy and charm. “Fantastic. Mr. Fox” is one of my 10 favorite movies of all time. I love it. You’ve got “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Matilda” and “James and the Giant Peach”. So what do you think kids can expect as far as that charm and that whimsy when they watch “The Twits” on Netflix?

MR: It’s so crazy that you mention all these titles because with “The Twits”, this is the first adaptation of it, which is wild. What an honor. It’s its own piece of IP. It’s so unique. The take that we’re doing on it with The Twits and having… the children stand up to The Twits, I think that’s gonna really resonate with kids. Also, just showing kids you have power, you have agency and also to lead with kindness is the most powerful thing you can do. So I think between Beesha and Bubsy and even Harold, everyone is there to just show kids, “Hey. You have power, and if you lead with kindness, you deserve all the respect and love… you deserve to be loved, and you also have community.” Highbrow themes, lowbrow comedy.

JM: Good combination. A lot of strong themes in this for sure — about empathy, loyalty, doing what’s right. Margo, you’ve been in this business a long time. Are these the kind of projects that you look for, with these very important themes, and something that really attracted you to doing “The Twits”?

MM: Yes. I look for something different… in most everything I do. Try to make something new. Don’t get stuck in a rut. When I finally was able to be mean. I was sweet for so many years… in show business, in characters… that when I turned the corner and was mean, it opened up a whole new world for me.

JM: Maitreyi, I also wanna mention you were Ella in “Freakier Friday”, which was a big hit this summer. Took my mother to it. We had a great time. You love, clearly with these animated films and with something like “Freakier Friday”, projects for the whole family.

MR: Yeah. I like projects with heart. It could be any kind of genre set in any crazy setting. It could be wherever, but as long as there’s heart, I think that’s what I gravitate towards, because I think those scripts really resonate around the world.