Right now I'm watching some program about cartoons on VH1. Don't even get me started on the stupidity of having show about cartoons on a MUSIC station. Stupid TV execs. Anyhoo, on this program, they had a brief blurb on the Simpsons--the original prime-time cartoon that wasn't just for kids anymore. Just like Frosted Flakes. Mmm...Frosted Flakes... Ahem. During this blurb, they interviewed Hank Azaria, who is quite possibly one of the most amazing voice actors ever. In this interview he recapped almost every single one of his major characters on the show. He seamlessly transitioned between Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Snake, Comic-Book Guy, and many more. Now it is difficult to describe the emotions one experiences while watching this impressive display of vocal acrobatics, but it is quite powerful. Perhaps this is more an indication of my character than of any over-arching quality of human nature, but one comes to develop a deep and real relationship with these characters. Homer, Bart, Maggie, Lisa, Marge, these are all real people within the confines of my mind. They can inspire, disappoint, confuse, entertain, provide all of the qualities of a real human relationship. I often share anecdotes from the Simpsons as if I experienced them first hand. Now, when you view the voice actor recreating these characters in front your very eyes, your mind gets caught in a very delicate situation: since you see all of these characters coming out of one mouth, either the characters are not real, or the voice actor is host to the whole lot of them. Now, we have established that the ink & paper are as real as the flesh & blood. Therefore, they share an equal portion of the knowledge base with which we measure other members of the human race. Consequently, the first choice is not an option. It has too much potential to upset your entire personal belief structure about human nature. This is the subtle step that moves the characters out of the silver screen and into the 3-D world. To sum up the emotional translation, it is akin to the experience giving birth. A new life is brought into the world and, as with all newborns, leaves its indelible mark on the world.
Keep in mind, that during the Renaissance, the great artists of the day created art for a living. They were every bit as commercial as today's creators of film, TV, music, and other forms of art. Only time will tell which of these ventures will be taught to the eager young minds of our great-great-grandchildren. I hope to god that they never hear of Jerry Bruckheimer.
On an interesting side note, when I ran spell check on this post, the suggested spelling for "Bruckheimer" was "brokenhearted." This is a very smart blog.
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