THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409020838
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
BACKSTAGE, HIRED hands were slipping into costume, all ready to work the floor as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Biker Mice from Mars and The Stone Protectors. Billy West looked around like he'd been pinned behind enemy lines.
``I was watching cartoons this morning,'' he said, lowering his voice, ``and I didn't know if it was Biker Mice or Ninja Turtles. Loud rock music. Loud voices. Ten characters slapping high-fives.
``Is this what we've come to? What does it do to a story?''
West, who had just wrapped up a meet-and-greet gig at the recent Video Software Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas, speaks from more than experience. The voice of Nickelodeon's Ren Hoek, Stimpson J. Cat and Doug Funnie, he grew up on champagne and caviar - Warner Bros. and Mel Blanc.
``Theatrical cartoons were a labor of love,'' he said. ``There were no focus groups. No test marketing. They sat around in a small room and pitched ideas. Whatever got a laugh, they went with.
``Cartoons shouldn't be teaching anyone anything. Kids are born learning machines; anyone who doesn't know that ends up pandering. As a 7-year-old I knew I couldn't drop an anvil on someone's head. There are tons of educational places to go. Pure entertainment chances are so few.''
Funny thing is, West's Nick jobs do both, and two new releases from Sony Wonder make the point: ``Doug Christmas Story'' and ``Ren & Stimpy: Have Yourself a Stinky Little Christmas.''
Gentle, good-natured ``Doug.'' Rattled, wired ``Ren & Stimpy.''
``With `Doug,' '' West said, ``I draw on a lot of my own 11-year-old experiences. I remember fantasizing and finding reality was a little bit of both. `Ren & Stimpy' satisfies my psycho tooth. It's like rolling up the car windows and screaming.''
By the way, ``Doug'' buffs, West also is the voice of bully-boy Roger Klotz (an edgier Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, another West character), and Joe Valentine, Skeeter's dad.
The next night, on ``The Tonight Show,'' he showed that he does a dead-on Jay Leno, too.
It's all exposed the 42-year-old Detroit native to something new - recognition, even if West and his wife live so up in upstate New York they can't get cable. Twice during our interview he was stopped by fans, including a grandmother who couldn't wait to tell her grandson.
``I'm so very flattered,'' he said, ``that in this day and age kids actually look beyond the character and are aware there is some human being responsible, that it's not magic. It gives me hope.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CRAIG SHAPIRO
Billy West is the voice of Ren Hoek, Stimpson J. Cat and Doug
Funnie.
by CNB