Interviste varie a Doug Langdale

DOUG LANGDALE
Executive Producer/Creator

It's back to the business of silly cartoons for Doug Langdale. "After working on boys' action shows like 'Ozzy & Drix' and animated sitcoms like 'The Weekenders,' I really just wanted to get back to making wacky cartoons," Langdale explains. "It's all about the fun of making fun."

Langdale's work has garnered Emmy Award nominations for "Ozzy & Drix" and "Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain," and Annie Award nominations for "Aladdin" and "Earthworm Jim." But Langdale isn't seeking awards, just an outlet for zany antics.

"It's this whole other way of tell a story - where people can fight without hurting each other," he says. In this show, it's easy because they're idiots. They fail to hurt each other because they're too wrapped up in their own insecurities to ever get around to fighting."

Though he now has a test audience at home in the guise of his two-year-old daughter, Langdale's focus on pleasing the audience numbers just one. "I don't ever think about who the audience is, because the audience is me," he says. "I try to pack the show with funny and, hopefully, most of this stuff will appeal to people of my mentality … which is about 8-years-old."

Langdale says he and Dave have become quite close over the making of the series - closer than he realized when he first put words to paper. "I would say I'm a lot like him," Langdale admits. "I didn't realize it at the beginning, but the more I write, the clearer it gets. I'm a big guy, but I'm not really a manly guy interested in sports and cars. I like to cook a bit and read and things like that … hobbies not necessarily the norm for a guy 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds. So I understand Dave."

Langdale was born in an Army hospital in New Jersey, before moving to Massachusetts, then to San Diego when he was 10. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in theatre, with roles in over 20 student and equity-waiver plays under his belt. A few years later he started writing cartoon scripts and amassed credits on such shows as "Darkwing Duck," "Aladdin," "Quack Pack," "Mickey MouseWorks" and "Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command." He also story-edited "Earthworm Jim" and wrote most of the episodes.

Langdale co-created and co-executive-produced the Saturday morning cartoon "Project Geeker." He executive-produced "The Mr. Potato Head Show," a series combining puppets, human actors and animation for which he wrote all the episodes, and in which he appeared in the recurring role of The Writer. He also performs improv comedy around Los Angeles and can be seen in starring roles in the independent feature films "Falling" and "Mothman."

"Dave the Barbarian" is Langdale's second animated creation for Walt Disney Television Animation. As the creator of "The Weekenders," Langdale also served as the executive producer, he story edited all the episodes, and wrote about 20 percent of the scripts. "Weekenders' was unique in that it was inspired by my experiences growing up," says the self-deprecating Langdale. "At last, what the viewing public had been crying out for - a show based loosely on the life of some guy they've never heard of!"

Still, "Weekenders" allowed Langdale to create multi-dimensional characters that didn't rely on getting squashed by anvils for a laugh. "The acting of the characters was more realistic than most cartoons, and the comedy less broad," Langdale recalls.

Langdale's superiors know and appreciate his work. "Through Doug Langdale's approach to animation, 'Dave' represents a true departure for Walt Disney Television Animation in its presentation of wacky, off-the-wall comedy," said Barry Blumberg, President, Walt Disney Television Animation. "This series' melding of Doug's improvisational comic nature and Disney Channel's sensibilities of fun and family has proven a perfect example of the growing partnership between Walt Disney Television Animation and Disney Channel."

For Langdale, it's all about the end product. "The great thing to me is that, with this series, the bar has been consistently raised," he says. "The people I like to work with don't think of this as a way to make the kids watch commercials or a way to sell toys. And we don't approach this as an art-form, because I don't know what that means. But we think of it as real entertainment. And that's the true goal." And, of course, having fun.

"Everybody on the crew is really into the show, so it's a very cooperative project," Langdale says. "We're building by accretion, where everyone adds their two cents. The meetings are just out of control - the other day we had this one character hiccupping, and cats started coming out of his mouth every time he hiccupped. So he was 'hiccating.' It's hard to keep a meeting on an even keel when you're having that kind of conversation."

"Dave il Barbaro" è la seconda serie animata ideata Langdale per la Walt Disney Television Animation. Già creatore di "Finalmente Weekend," Langdale conserva anche il ruolo di produttore esecutivo, cura tutti i dialoghi degli episodi e scrive circa il 20 percento dei copioni. "Finalmente Weekend era unico nel senso che era ispirato alle mie esperienze di crescita," dice l'autoironico Langdale. "Alla fine quello per cui il pubblico è impazzito è un programma basato liberamente sulla vita di un tizio di cui non hanno mai sentito parlare!"

Comunque "Finalmente Weekend" ha consentito a Langdale di creare personaggi multidimensionali che non si facevano schiacciare da incudini per provocare una risata. "Il comportamento dei personaggi era più realistico della maggior parte dei cartoni e il senso dell'umorismo era particolare," Langdale ricorda.