Panel Review: The Kids Are Alright! at Screen Forever

Screen Forever, the 30th Screen Forever conference for screen industry professionals, hosted rock royalty yesterday for its panel on Cartoon Network Australia’s virtual studio model.

Bob Mothersbaugh of new wave originators Devo was among six panels who congregated at Melbourne’s Crown Conference Centre for the panel on music, animation and comedy in children’s entertainment, The Kids Are Alright!

Motherbaugh, with his production company Mutato Muzika alongside brother and Devo member Mark, had been working with Cartoon Network on Regular Show when he was approached to score the Network’s first full-length Australian-made series Exchange Student Zero.

“I was on tour, I was in Seattle in a hotel room when I looked at the information about Exchange Student Zero,” he said. “[…] I could just tell looking at that, I said this could be really, really good if they do it good.”

Animation Director at Bogan Entertainment Solutions Patrick Crawley was also on the panel. He revealed he sent Mothersbaugh links from different types of Anime films to inspire a theme track which combined Anime and Western.

“I think I sent you at one point every single morphing scene from every single episode of Power Rangers,” laughed Crawley. “And I think it goes for 40 minutes.”

Mothersbaugh actually used a popular electronic toy from the ‘80s, a Speak & Spell forthe opening theme of Exchange Student Zero.

“If I was just doing one type of music it would just become cookie cutter,” Mothersbaugh added. It was more fun.”

The series spawned from a one-hour telemovie and is now the #1 cartoon in Taiwan.

Also on the panel were talk show host/2dayFM radio DJ and Roving Enterprises founder Rove McManus, and Scott Edgar of comedy trio Tripod.

McManus, who is the voice over artist for three characters on the show, and Edgar, who is the voice of villainous Principle Rogerson, discussed what it was like to create a series via Skype without ever meeting any of the other voice over artists.

The panel’s rehearsal on Wednesday was the first time the voice over artists, its composer Mothersbaugh and its writers had all met in the same room.The panel was produced and moderated by Bruce Kane, Company Director at Bogan Entertainment Solutions.

As was discussed on the panel, Exchange Student Zero is far from the first time a music luminary has been brought in to score a cartoon. Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman composed the opening sequence to The Simpsons in 1989 and rock band The Might Be Giants scored Playhouse Disney series’ Higglytown Heroes and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Motherbaugh himself wrote music for TV cartoon Rugrats for over 12years. His brother Mark wrote the opening theme (“It’s just two notes played at a time,” revealedRob) and its writers modelled the character design for Chuckie Finster on him.

Following the panel, Edgar and Motherbaugh were joined onstage by Tripod’s Simon Hall and Steven Gates to perform the opening theme for Exchange Student Zero.TMN filmed the performance, which you can watch below.