Mel Blanc's Influence On Film

Like color, while music generally did accompany animation, the recording of the human voice changed the animation game and therefore the way they worked and their influences. In the 1940s recorded sound allowed for the characters in films to talk. Unlike the cartoons of the of the Silent Era, cartoons of the ‘40s were influenced by radio personalities as they would provide the voices that helped to define the character. The most notable radio personality turned voice over artist is Mel Blanc. Blanc did the voice of about 400 characters including the voice of Bugs Bunny and many other Loony Tunes characters. Mel’s contribution of his voice brought these characters to life, their personalities shined through. In Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices, 2008 voice actor, Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) stated that Mel’s most genius performances was in Rabbit Fire, when Daffy and Bugs are fighting over whether it’s rabbit or duck season and Daffy comes out dressed as and imitating the voice of Bugs. Bugs also comes out dressed as Daffy imitating his voice and yet they still sound like themselves …show more content…
With the limited technology of early animation films were black and white and influenced by the comic stripes of the day and the inability to record the human voice borrowed from the silent film stars of the day. This influence transferred to storybook illustrations as color became apart of the animation process. The addition of recorded voices drew upon radio personalities to build memorable characters. With the new advancement in computer technology animation is going to places it never has before. The technology may continue to evolve and influence the way future generations produce animated films, however one thing is for certain that a good story and appealing characters never change. Animation will always have the power to entrance and charm audiences