Arnett lends voice to animated series

NEW YORK (AP) — “My PEANUT butter! ... my PEAnut butter! ... MYYYY peanut butter!”

At full throttle, Will Arnett was pushing out one version, then another, of a line from his script.

After the fourth or fifth stab, he burst into laughter.

“That’s great,” said Arnett’s collaborator, who was nowhere to be seen in the Manhattan recording studio but could be heard through the control room speakers as clearly as if he were standing right beside Arnett at the microphone.

That voice belonged to Mitchell Hurwitz, creator of the Fox animated comedy “Sit Down, Shut Up.” He was weighing in from his Los Angeles home base, linked with Arnett from across the country and, like Arnett, clearly having a blast.

Their series, focusing on the demented teachers and staff of a small Florida high school, premieres at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. But this particular recording session took place last October. With cartoons, the characters’ voices are recorded first (and for “Sit Down, Shut Up,” they are recorded individually, actor by actor in New York or Los Angeles, to accommodate a cast that also includes Jason Bateman, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Kenan Thompson, Cheri Oteri, Henry Winkler, Nick Kroll and Tom Kenny). Only then can the time-consuming business of animation begin.

Under Hurwitz’s disembodied guidance, Arnett had thrown himself into his role, Ennis Hofftard, a snide English teacher and would-be athlete who, however inappropriately, wears Spandex bike shorts at all times.

Hurwitz fed Arnett this line: “Do you like music?” Arnett erupted in his character’s pettish growl: “I TOLD you, I’m a giant Huey Lewis fan. So ... NO!!!”

They did it again and again, playing around with various approaches. And cracking themselves up.

Arnett had arrived early for his 3 p.m. session at Pomann Sound, where he found co-star Thompson was running late recording his own part: bossy acting principal Sue Sezno. This was a good time to be interviewed, and Arnett went into irony overdrive.

“It goes without saying, I’m a Hollywood insider,” he began mock-grandly when asked how he got the job.

Hollywood insider? Whatever, he’s got an in with Hurwitz, whose twisted comedy “Arrested Development” featured Arnett as Gob Bluth, the scheming older brother of Michael Bluth (who was played by future “Sit Down” cast mate Bateman).

Blessed with Yuppie good looks he makes the most of comedically, the 38-year-old Arnett has also shown comic chops in films including “Semi-Pro” and “Blades of Glory,” has a recurring role on TV’s “30 Rock” and voiced animated films that include the current hit “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

Maybe best of all, he gets to be married to America’s zany sweetheart and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Amy Poehler — whose NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation” premiered last week, and who, on this October afternoon, was just days away from delivering their widely anticipated first child, Archie.