John DiMaggio might be the cracking voice worker of our generation . He ’s Bender on Futurama , Jake on Adventure Time , Aquaman on Batman : Brave and the Bold , and many others . We were lucky enough to have an exclusive consultation with him today , and he tell us that if you do n’t care cartoon , “ there ’s something improper with you . ”
DiMaggio ’s resumewould essentially take the length of several articles to list — but suffice to say , if you ’ve heard a eldritch or hilarious voice in a cartoon lately , it ’s quite likely to be him . come up next , he ’s puzzle more episodes of Adventure Time , plus the final season of Futurama starts June 19 . He ’s playing Master Nigel in Kaijudo : Clash of the Duel Masters , coming back June 21 . And he ’s Niblet in Pound Puppies , whichreturns this Saturday . Also , DiMaggio is in post - production on adocumentaryhe produced about part actors , call I Know That Voice .
We ask DiMaggio if we ’re live in the gilded age of cartoons right now , what with all the amazing stuff on television , and he tell there might be something to that . “ There ’s a lot of interest in animation right now , and I think that ’s great for the business , and majuscule for the voice - actor that perform in it , and large for the energiser . Yeah , I intend we ’re in a really good sentence for animation . ”
Part of it is that people are pick up there ’s “ more of a story to severalise ” with life , peculiarly with grownup cartoons . Another reason is that technology has made it comfortable to do production on a new cartoon . But also , there ’s a big talent pool — more people are get education in vivification . For instance , in L.A. , “ CalArtsis a manufacturing plant . They ’re just churning out great young artists , great young storyboarders , great young eccentric layout people , everything . They ’re doing all sorts of poppycock to create so much material . And I think that has to do with it . A deal of masses are being boost to be artists and [ taught ] there ’s a life-time in it .. There ’s a career in it . ”
Also , people are willing to labor the witticism further in cartoon , especially ones aimed at adults . “ I love nothing good than a foul cartoon , ” says DiMaggio . “ I think that it ’s really , really funny to see adult themes in a genre that ’s usually directed towards children . ”
total DiMaggio : “ I think cartoons are important . Tell me that you do n’t care animated cartoon , and I mean there ’s something wrong with you . I do n’t translate why people do n’t wish cartoons . ” In fact , cartoons are “ more democratic now than ever before . ” Just the excitation about DiMaggio ’s documentary I Know That Voice is grounds that people are excited about animation — people keep wanting to tattle to DiMaggio about it , and the DVD already has 1,500 pre - social club .
“ There ’s such a fascination with vitality and how it ’s create , ” says DiMaggio . “ People always want to know , ‘ How can I get into voice act ? And it ’s pretty shocking . There ’s conventions all across the world now , ” and citizenry descend from all over to satisfy part actor . “ It ’s an industry now . ”
Confused by Adventure Time
But few shows for kids tug the envelope of humor and weirdness further than Adventure Time , which DiMaggio order is “ a very particular case , ” because of its strange , bewildering existence .
When DiMaggio signed on to Adventure Time , he was confused :
I was test to calculate out from the starting time what the big deal was . I was like , ‘ I ’m not sure I understand what ’s go on here . ’ frankly , it ’s just like , I could n’t figure out [ what was go on . ] We would get scripts that were numbered , that did n’t have level directions in them , so we had to match the line to the storyboard , which is a big botheration in the screw , to be perfectly honest . But it ’s how some of the big productions do their thing these daylight . But you really did n’t know what was going on . You just had these line that said whatever , and it was like , ‘ I do n’t get it . ’
I said to Tom Kenny once , I was like , ‘ Dude , I do n’t get this show at all . I have no idea . ’ And he was like , ‘ Listen , human being . Just bank me . This is this generation ’s Yellow Submarine . Just leave it at that . ’ And he was right . The art direction on the show , the whole reality is great — the Land of Oo is just uncanny . The whole populace that ’s been create for it is just harebrained , it ’s just barbaric . It ’s just a unearthly thing , you know . I love doing the show . It ’s sport as blaze .
And now , DiMaggio says that he gets into the show more now that he ’s seen a bunch of it — although he does n’t always like to sit around watch things he ’s been in . It seems “ kind of cheesy ” to view his own work , and it seems better to shrug it off and say “ oh , I did it , it was funny , ” and move on .
But even a more round-eyed , straightforward show like Kaijudo has some complex themes , peculiarly with the debates over whether the small fry should endeavor to befriend the creatures they summon and control . Says DiMaggio , “ Kaijudo is a footling different , ” and sneaks in “ some heavy themes . ” Every show has some kind of a message for its audience , and in the typeface of Kaijudo , “ margin is a handsome deal . ”
I ask if Master Nigel is speculate to be British , and he said they asked for a “ worldly ” emphasis , sort of mid - Atlantic — and of course it ’s kind of eldritch that a soldierly arts skipper is named Nigel , but DiMaggio guide out there were “ a lot of Brits in Hong Kong . ”
Futurama ’s swansong
This coming season is the end of Futurama , which DiMaggio says has been “ one of the greatest experience of my liveliness , ” both professionally and personally , over the preceding 13 or 14 eld . “ It ’s been a wondrous , wonderful experience . ”
We ask how thing turn out for Bender , and he responds : “ At least I did n’t go out like Fry ’s dog , that ’s something . ”
“ If in fact it is the last season , which it feels more like it is than ever before , it ’ll be all right , ” enunciate DiMaggio . “ I ’m beneficial . It ’s been a great ride , and if that ’s that , then that ’s that . I wish we could have done a lot more . It ’s still a majuscule show . ” And then he makes a joke about “ get the band back together , ” which leads to pretend that he and Billy West ( Fry ) are going on a roadtrip playing Zeppelin covers together .
But does Bender get a happy ending , we necessitate again . “ Yeah , yeah , Bender gets an ending . Why does he merit a happy ending ? I ’d rather see Fry and Leela get a well-chosen ending . ” But he wo n’t say if Bender ’s closing is happy or not .
But does DiMaggio ever slip into the Bender interpreter — like if he ’s annoyed at someone at the gasoline station or the bank ? No , he says . “ The only time I regain myself doing a Bender voice — and it ’s been a long time for that — is when I was out at the bar , give birth a distich of pops . You get a duad beer in me and I ’m like , [ does Bender voice ] ‘ yeah , yeah , yeah , all correct . ’ You give me a couple of cocktails , I ’ll be talking about the Professor in no clock time . [ Laughs ] ”
So what ’s the best improvisation DiMaggio has come up with , that actually got admit in the final cartoon ? He say actually Bender ’s scat singing - tattle , which he just sort of made up , became a trademark of the character , and the Futurama bunch would enjoin him , “ Just go ahead and do the Bender stroll , ” intend the scat vocals .
Also , when he was playing the Repulsive Juju in Power of Juju , he summate some eructation , farts and “ all kinds of disgusting things ” as he was talking , and then the animator animated them , which was awful .
in conclusion , we ask who ’s more virile , Manly Dan from Gravity Falls , or Aquaman . DiMaggio responds :
Surprisingly , Aquaman . Aquaman is much more manful than Manly Dan . I intend , he ’s a superhero . Manly Dan ’s a pretty manly clotheshorse . You ca n’t mess with Manly Dan . But Aquaman ? [ Does the voice ] : ‘ Come on in the water , old chum . I defy you . ’
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