We had watched Martellus Bennett play football and we are big Phineas and Ferb fans, so when Disney Jr.’s Hey A.J.! show
a whimsical and music-filled family comedy about an imaginative young girl who, along with her stuffed bunny sidekick Theo, uses her big imagination to make ordinary life moments extraordinary
got announced we knew we had to learn more about the people behind the show. The animated series drawns inspiration from the children’s books Martellus wrote, and we also get a bunch of fun guest voice cast members as well. Dig in below to learn more about Martellus Bennett and Jeff “Swampy Marsh” as well as the Hey A.J.! show.
BSCKids: So what felt better a Super Bowl Championship or seeing that first book printed and then in your hands?
Martellus Bennett – I would say the book. My imagination changed into a physical product and a tangible product where you could just touch your imagination and flip through it. I was imagining these things on a piece of paper, but now someone else can hold my imagination. This felt more of a shared experience. Football’s temporary, but my imagination is forever.
We love A.J.’s stuffed bunny Theo, is that character based on a real-life Theo?
Martellus Bennett – Yes, we still have the real-life Theo at my house. Theo is very much part of our family, and we don’t go nowhere without it.
How hard did you find voice acting and how did you decide you were going to voice Marty Whether?
Martellus Bennett – I love to be silly and whenever I read, I do all different types of voices. Marty Whether has a big personality and since this story is based on my family, it only felt right for me to play myself. If I am behind the mic, I can portray the true authentic Marty, the way I would want Marty to be portrayed. I didn’t want anyone to watch the show and be like, oh, that’s not the Marty we know.
How did you get involved in the Hey A.J.! series, and what were your first thoughts on the show when you heard about it?
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh – My partner at Surfing Giant brought me Marty’s books and they were just lovely. There were messages in the books that needed to be brought into the world. And once I got the chance to meet and speak with Marty, the stories he wanted to tell, why he wanted to tell them, and what was important to tell seemed to align with my thoughts. In particular, being family inclusive. It’s not just a show for kids, it’s a show for mom, dad, and the whole family. I haven’t been uncomfortable in a long time, in a good way, and this was a great challenge. It was a lot of fun and exciting.
So what makes Hey A.J.! unique from other shows that you have worked on?
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh – There were a lot of things that were the same: family, inclusivity, positivity, and the musicality of all of it. There was a lot of the touchstones, which was why I was attracted to it. It was important for me that I portrayed this all right since I was dealing with a family that didn’t look anything like mine growing up. I had to go in and open my ears and listen to other people’s stories about their family. This is a show about a family that is Black. But the family part is universal. I learned so much through working on this show.
The animation looks amazing and really blends that feel between a book and a cartoon, how did you achieve that?
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh – Most of Disney Jr. and preschool shows are 3D, but I wanted to keep that comic book, bright, candy-colored world that Marty created in his books.
The designs morphed and changed a little bit to make them a bit more animation-friendly and less illustration, but we wanted to keep the same feel as the books. We wanted to do the book and Marty’s original vision justice. We got to work on the design with Marty and his family and found out things that I would’ve never thought of like how to create A.J.’s curls, different darker skin tones and making a home that felt true to a middle-class family, avoiding overly “cartoony” designs. This grounded real-world setting contrasted well with AJ’s imaginative world.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you?
Martellus Bennett – I train to be a Samurai
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh – I race cars in my spare time
In one sentence tell us why everyone should be watching Hey A.J.?
Martellus Bennett – You should watch Hey A.J.!, because it will open up your imagination and encourage you to play and dream again as loud as possible.
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh – Watch Hey A.J.!, because it’s good for your soul
With only two books out, where did the stories come from for the first season of the show?
Martellus Bennett – All the stories came from my family and just real-life experiences. I would one take one small real-life event and turn it into a bigger story. I think it came from sharing my truth and being vulnerable in the writer’s room.
Special thanks Martellus Bennett and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh for taking the time out to speak with us, and make sure to tune in to Hey A.J. on Disney Jr. January 13, 2026, with the first episodes airing as a marathon, and then became available to stream on Disney+ the next day, January 14, 2026.