We got to speak with the voice cast of the classic Sailor Moon series at Anime Expo.
Were any of you interested in reprising your roles…
Mary Long:Are you hiring?
(laughs)
DoG: …and what are your feelings on them bringing in a new cast?
Linda Ballantyne:We would do it in a heartbeat, number one.
I think what appealed to me the most was the fact that they kind of broke the barrier.
These people, these individuals, these young girls, were different, and thats what appealed to me.
So, that also would get in the way.
That being said, were all completely available and we come cheap.
(The room laughs)
John Stocker:We dont come cheap, but were available.
Katie Griffin:I think were all really hopeful that the series is a success.
So, hopefully they really look for the best possible Sailor Mars.
You know, she lives in Toronto.
They look at it differently, because were all affected by the way the world has changed.
Toby Proctor:I bet you five bucks we can do it!
DoG: I have another one.
Mollys rather distinctive accent?
Was that a personal choice or was that direction?
They may have been transplanted to the place that they are, so she may have had this accent.
Mary Long (to DoG):Are you aSailor Moonfan?
Karen Bernstein (to DoG): Are you a plant?
I worship the show in a godlike way, but anyway… this is a question for Linda.
Linda Ballantyne:[Sailor Moon] S and SS.
DoG: What was it like for you, coming into a cast… Linda Ballantyne:In a word, I would say terrifying.
When I got the part of Sailor Moon, I said What?!
I got Sailor Moon!
So, I tell my husband, Honey, I got Sailor Moon!
And he said, Which part?
I got SAILOR MOON.
And his buddy was with him and he said, What?
What do you mean?
I GOT THE PART OF SAILOR MOON.
And he said, …well, you better be good, cuz my kids watch.
And all of a sudden, it hit me, and I went, Oh, my God.
I got this part that is so already iconic.
My nieces watch it.
It has to be huge.
What am I going to do?
What have I done?
Ugh, its the bad one.
So I was paranoid.
I would come home literally crying after a recording, saying, I hate this!
All Im doing is screaming all the time and I just dont know what Im doing.
Im not the one they want.
Im the other Barney!
And my husband would say, You have to make this your own.
And I said, They dont want me.
This is not what I want this character to be.
What do I want this character to be?
This is who my Sailor Moon is.
And I came home that day, and Id had a great day of recording.
It was fun, it was funny; it was what I needed it to be.
DoG: For Toby, you were Tuxedo Mask #2.
Toby Proctor:Correct.
Rino Romano did episodes 1-10, and I did 11-65.
DoG: What was the reason for that cast change?
Toby Proctor:You know, to this day, I dont know.
Maybe Katie Griffin might know.
Katie Griffin:I know, because I am a very good friend of Rinos.
Hes actually here in Los Angeles, and the reason he left was… he came to Los Angeles.
We were recording up in Toronto.
He actually got me the audition for Sailor Moon.
Karen Bernstein:And I have a little casting story.
I was in the room when Tracy Moore had to leave the show.
And its no reflection on Tracy Moore at all.
Shes a very big and busy actress.
And the next time I was in, Terri Hawkes was the new Sailor Moon.
DoG: This is for Katie.
I thought there was really great chemistry between Raye and Darien.
Did you ever feel kind of sad that that never panned out?
Katie Griffin:Do you know what?
I always felt sad that that didnt turn out, because hes Tuxedo Mask, of course.
But years later, as Toby mentioned before, we had no idea what anything was about.
We never got the full scripts.
I really loved the performance of the two of you, you and Terri.
Because it sounded like you really meant it.
Why is she such a bitch?
And you know, when I played her, I never saw her that way.
I just saw her as really strong and really loyal.
Of course they fought.
But theyre still friends at the end of the day.
Theyre still best friends, and theres a loyalty factor, so theres just a weird…
I was just kind of stunned.
Actually, Susan and I were in Vancouver.
So, a lot of time we didnt really know exactly what was going on.
We didnt fully understand what we were doing at the time.
The general format is that we were recording one performer at a time.
We jumped all over the place.
Wed save the screaming till the end.
That, too, would be out of context.
Even as voice director, I had minimal handle on the storylines and the plotlines and the themes.
All I knew was, heres a conversation.
I knew it had to make sense.
And I get it, kind of.
I understand why this took off.
Toby Proctor:I actually think it is pretty crazy.
I mean, if you look at it, theres trees around, theres guys throwing ice.
Theres some crazy stuff, and I can only guess that my character had a rose garden somewhere.
Thats why hes always late, though, cause he had to go get a rose somewhere.
Its a win/win situation all the way down the line.
You could never deal with the lesbian issues that are inSailor Moon.
There are still things, still restrictions today when an anime is brought over and dubbed.
You still cant show certain things … you cant show an open holstered knife.
And certain anime comes over, and youve got nine-year-old kids with open holstered knives.
We want to see … how the whole storyline unfolds, everything.
We just want to see how they take it and make it their own.
After all, no one want to be the other Barney.
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