Toronto voice actor Eric Bauza can鈥檛 think of a cartoon he adored as a child that wasn鈥檛 also culturally inappropriate in some way.
鈥淚 keep trying to think of something 鈥� all the stuff that we grew up with in the '90s sugar-coated the terrible,鈥� says Bauza, adding with a laugh: 鈥淚 mean, I was going to say 'Aladdin,' but wait a second, there鈥檚 still bad stuff there.鈥澛�
In the six-episode CBC and CBC Gem series 鈥淪tay Tooned,鈥� Bauza spends a good deal of time re-examining his old cartoon loves.聽
Combining archival animated footage and interviews with voice actors, experts, cartoonists and the general public, 鈥淪tay Tooned鈥� sets out to provide a critical social lens on cartoon history.
The L.A.-based Filipino-Canadian, who became the first non-white actor to voice Bugs Bunny in 2018, says he鈥檚 had to confront some difficult aspects about his old favourites that weren't immediately apparent to him.聽
That includes the ways Asians were portrayed in numerous cartoons from 鈥淭he Flinstones鈥� to 鈥淏ugs Bunny 鈥� often with Coke-bottle eyeglasses and buck teeth. Then there are the many villains who seemed to be coded with queer traits such as Scar from 鈥淭he Lion King.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 like me doing a feature on Taco Bell, and I love Taco Bell, but now I鈥檓 going to tell you how to make a taco and what鈥檚 in it, and it鈥檚 like, how do you enjoy it?鈥� jokes Bauza, who has also voiced Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and others.聽
鈥淗ow do you enjoy cartoons after peeling back and talking through all the necessary evils that unfortunately come with this?鈥澛�
The series includes input from pop culture experts and voice personalities in the industry including Tara Strong who voiced Bubbles from 鈥淭he Powerpuff Girls,鈥� 聽Lake Bell, who voices Poison Ivy in 鈥淗arley Quinn鈥� and Ken Jeong from 鈥淏ob's Burgers.鈥澛�
They discuss the ways cartoons have interpreted gender, sexuality, race, morality and consumerism throughout the 1980s and '90s.聽
鈥淲e grew up watching this stuff as it was happening. I was buying those Transformers as they were being made,鈥� says Bauza.聽
鈥淔ast forward, and I鈥檓 auditioning for the reboots 鈥� I buy a toy that I鈥檓 voicing, which is a Transformer that my son鈥檚 now into, so it鈥檚 kind of like a cat eating its tail.鈥澛�
Bauza adds that these failings were either under the surface or obvious tropes but have become increasingly difficult to overlook today as online platforms including YouTube share them with new audiences.聽
Closer scrutiny of onscreen representation has moved into the spotlight in recent years with several big media companies and broadcasters vowing greater diversity across the industry, both in front of and behind the camera.
Among the most high-profile is an upcoming live-action remake of Disney's animated 1989 film 鈥淭he Little Mermaid,鈥� which cast Black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role, offering a new generation of Black viewers a way to see themselves.
Bauza says the issues explored in "Stay Tooned" must continue in order to further change.
"There has to be progress 鈥� you don鈥檛 want to just sweep things under the rug,鈥� says Bauza. 鈥淗ow else are we going to know? How else are we going to move on unless we take a serious look at ourselves and what we considered normal?鈥澛�
It鈥檚 a task that Bauza has no qualms about shouldering, even if it means stepping out of his recording booth and in front of a camera.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 insane to think that these cartoons were just a reflection of who we were back then,鈥� says Bauza. 鈥淚鈥檓 just glad to see that we鈥檙e paying attention to it. If it鈥檚 going to be someone, it might as well be me.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.
Noel Ransome, The Canadian Press
