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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.11 - FEBRUARY 2001
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I Call On Charlie Adler CA: It was a cartoon. They turned it into a cartoon. Yes and I was wild for Krazy Kat. WR: And I'm just wild about Herriman. Charlie, you've made the transition from acting to directing, a very logical transition, but keeping your feet in both ponds, so to speak. CA: The direction thing has been great. I would go out of my mind if that's all I did, as I found I was going out of my mind just doing animation voices. I mean there's a glass ceiling in this world that we inhabit and I'm not really particularly interested in any of -- any limitations, which is why I started painting and which is why I probably will be doing other things too. I mean four years ago I co-wrote a show for myself, which won a Dramalogue, which has now been scripted for a screenplay. And we have some people attached to it and that's still something I want to do down the road as a writer. Whether I'm in it or not as an actor or a director is at this moment immaterial but you start to lose your mind if you buy into the boxes that you're put in. So, very luckily for me, even the stuff I'm directing has a lot of diversity which is great for me. WR: You mentioned that you recently directed Jane Goodall. That's kind of...how in the world did that come about? Tell me the story. CA: Oh my God. Well I'm directing this series, The Wild Thornberries, which is with Tim Curry and a great cast. I've been with them something like 90 episodes and they wrote a script that was very pro-animal rights. I am totally about that, and probably if I didn't do this I would have an animal shelter and be a perfectly happy man. They had Dr. Goodall --
WR: I observe you have a dog on your lap at this very moment. CA: And a peacock in the driveway. And a feral cat in the backyard. We got the beat now. Anyway, she played herself and it was a spiritual experience for me. It sounds so hokey to say that but there are some people on earth who are so potent and so inspirational and so remarkable and exemplary in the life that they have created and in what they manage to pass out. She's one of them. She absolutely rattled my cage. WR: Which is pretty rare for her -- she's usually spotted in the wild, you know. CA: You asked me something earlier, before we started rolling tape. WR: You mean, what you would do if you could do anything in the world? CA: Yeah. I just thought of what I would do in life if I had a magic wand. WR: Does it involve tutus? CA: It involves tutus and a can of Wesson oil, black light and a Jimi Hendrix poster. I think I would travel my ass off. I would probably have an animal shelter. I probably would spend my life being politically active and being ridiculous about what I committed myself to do. I would paint, I would sculpt, I would write and I don't think I'd ever act again as long as I lived. I don't think it would have anything to do with show business if I had the option. If I could turn the clock back -- and I love my life but there's one thing in me that isn't sung -- I would love to have been a doctor or a veterinarian or both. WR: You're working toward a degree right now. CA: Naturopathy. Homeopathy. WR: Which is related? CA: It is. Actually, I want people to look at my paintings. WR: Oh yeah. What's the Website? CA: I'm on Artnet.com and you just pull up my name. They have a directory of artists and you pull up my name. WR: (They're terrific.) Now when did you start painting, by the way? CA: It'll be just a year. WR: That's very surprising. CA: I'm having a good time.
WR: That's great. Unfortunately, these words are being preserved so you can't take anything back. With that in mind, do you have any final words in self-defense? CA: I saw the best refrigerator magnet -- tells you where I shop -- and it said, 'I have no idea what I'm doing out of bed' and for the last two weeks that's been my motto. 'Charlie,' I go, 'I have no idea what I'm doing out of bed.' WR: Well, let me sign off here before you hop back in. For more articles about voice-overs, acting and casting visit the Animation World Magazine Archives and type in the above key words to get an array of past articles. Will Ryan won an Annie Award for the series Elmo Aardvark: Outer Space Detective! in November. Co-produced by Renegade Animation and Snappytoons Amusement Company, it will soon be distributed by Mondo Media. He was recently nominated for a Writer's Guild Award and an Emmy for his work with Jim Henson Productions. His new book, Unsung Songs of the American People, will be published in November by Oxnard University Press.
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