At the Emerald City Comic-con on March 31st 2012, there was a
gathering of some of the greatest voice actors of our generation. Introduced
one by one, they proceeded to sit in a row in front of an ecstatic crowd, each
with a shortened script of the first Star Wars trilogy laid out in front of
them, and they read it. Not as themselves of course, but as Zoidberg,
Christopher Walken, Yakko, Raven, Batman, Bender, Brain and a whole host of other
characters that these gods-among-men are able to produce in a moment’s notice.
Who are these gods, you say? They are known as Rob Paulsen,
Maurice LaMarche, Tara Strong, Jess Harnell, Billy West, John DiMaggio, and
Kevin Conroy. My friends, these are the ingredients to one of the funniest
performances I have seen in a long, long time.
The best parts aren’t even when the voices the actors
perform don’t match the script characters (such as when Bubbles voices Darth
Vader right out of the gate). It’s when the actors are riffing, making each
other laugh, bringing back favorite phrases from childhood memories – NARF! – or
just screwing up the lines. When they go beyond the script, they show the
reason they’re the best in the business. It’s 80 minutes of pure, laid back
hilarity.
What’s so fascinating about voice actors is their ability to
transform into beloved characters instantaneously. Rob Paulsen positions his
jaw differently and he becomes Pinky. Jon DiMaggio throws his head back and he
is Tracy Morgan. Maurice LaMarche jerks around and physically overacts to he
becomes Calculon.
There are very few live actors, and they are most often
impersonators, who can change into character and have the audience really
believe the transformation. Even if they can achieve it, there is something
lost in the performance. They are older, or too fat, or too thin, or what have
you. When Billy West voices Stimpy, his pitch and clarity is absolutely
perfect. You wouldn’t know that even a day has gone by since the show ended.
But if it isn’t for the laughs, watch this reading simply for
a brilliant, albeit rare demonstration of what cartoon lovers always want: actually
seeing voice actors perform. Too often is the face behind the voice left in the
dark. We only get short featurettes on DVDs showing actors in a sound booth, or
a grainy video online of an actor doing a line or two. This video is clear, and
best of all, its long.
Granted, perhaps there is a reason we shouldn’t see the
actors themselves that much. If we did it would start to ruin the illusion of
the cartoon. But don’t listen to that now. Watch this video and just enjoy it.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBzRmWeC6Ds
No comments:
Post a Comment