Vocal Contrast

In a casual voice more suited for his characters on MadTV or his role as Static, Phil LaMarr reclines in a chair during a DVD interview and explains how he came up with the voice of the Green Lantern on the Justice League cartoon. He explains that because Bruce Timm draws the heroes with such prominent chests, the voice should be deep and come from the chest. As he speaks, his own mellow voice deepens, becoming more bold and commanding, delivered in the unmistakable crisp tone of the Green Lantern.

Voice acting has changed a lot over the years, and in this feature I was watching on a recently purchased DVD, the actors definitely take it seriously. Not only do they study and develop the voices and match them to the visuals, but they act out the scenes while recording them. If their character has to throw a punch or deliver a kick, they can't get the right sound unless they throw a punch or a kick. I've always been impressed with the dedication of voice actors, and I think it must be a great career. The Justice League and other Timm series have always had the best voice actors, and it all started with Kevin Conroy's Batman. He set a new precedent for how a hero should sound in contrast to his alter ego, and it was always great to see Bruce Wayne's casual tones deepen to the ominous bass of the Batman. I suspect Christian Bale was influence by this when he worked on Batman Begins. He plays the two sides of his character flawlessly, and one scene in particular stands out in my mind, when he tells an enemy he will protect his city. In mid-sentence you can hear the transformation, and know that someone else is now speaking, someone far more formidable than his millionaire playboy facade.

'80s nostalgia is big right now, and could possibly be used to justify my impulse buy of the first 33 episodes of He-man and the Masters of the Universe. Unlike the myriad other cartoons from that decade which followed, this one seems not to have survived the test of time as well. Not only was it clearly aimed at younger viewers, but the voice actors of that era didn't seem to put as much effort into changing their voices. Each actor could have as many as 10-15 roles, and it was obvious. I always had a gripe with the show that Prince Adam and his alter-ego He-man didn't look all that different. On the action figures, they even used the same head for each toy! But in revisiting this series, I realize that his friends and family had to be complete morons not to realize his secret. In the first few episodes, I noticed John Erwin made the character sound a lot more....effeminate...as Adam. Thankfully, this aspect seems to fade as the series goes on, but the result is that Adam and He-man only sound MORE alike. Only by sound editors adding extra echo to He-man's voice is the difference enhanced.

I don't mean to nitpick a cartoon I watched when I was nine. As a children's show, it still holds up, especially with the morals at the end of each episode, messages I realize shaped the way I behaved and interacted with others in a positive way. I believe many children of my generation grew up, however, and began making cartoons themselves, FOR themselves. The level of sophistication in cartoons like the Justice League, not only in the voice acting but in the dialogue and plot, far exceeds any cartoon I watched as a child. Picking up DVDs for both shows this week only served to underline that contrast. It makes me wonder what sort of cartoons the kids of today will make in twenty years when THEY grow up...