Beary exciting news (sorry!) for Winnie-the-Pooh fans with today’s announcement that Jim Cummings, the beloved bear’s voice actor, will be a guest at July’s MCM Manchester Comic Con. This year marks the 30th anniversary of legendary voice talent Cummings’ debut as Pooh, having taken over the role from Hal Smith back in 1988. Cummings has also voiced Winnie-the-Pooh’s Tigger for almost as long, starring as the excitable tiger since 1989.

One of Disney’s go-to talents, Cummings has featured in many of the studio’s films over the years – from Aladdin, The Lion King and Hercules to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and Wreck-It Ralph – as well as providing the voice for crime-fighting canard Darkwing Duck and appearing in Disney’s dub of Miyazaki’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

With more than 500 credits to his name, the prolific Cummings has also starred in a huge variety of non-Disney roles, including Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog; The Tasmanian Devil in Taz-Mania; Fuzzy Lumpkins in The Powerpuff Girls and Hondo Ohnaka in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Meanwhile, gamers will know Cummings as the voice of everyone’s favourite miniature giant space hamster-owning hero Minsc in BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate series. Go for the eyes, Boo!

MCM Manchester Comic Con comes to Manchester Central on 28-29 July. Tickets to the show are available here.