On Sunday afternoon at WonderCon 2024, I attended the “30 Years of Gargoyles” in celebration of the Disney animated series’ three-decade anniversary, which was attended by the show’s behind-the-scenes creators and members of the voice cast.
The panel began with moderator Jessica Tseang bringing out Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman, voice actors Thom Adcox (who played Lexington) and Elisa Gabrielli (Obsidiana), director Frank Paur, casting director Jamie Thomason, and storyboard artists Brad Rader and Patrick Archibald. The panelists began by discussing why they think Gargoyles has remained so acclaimed and beloved over the last 30 years: “At every level, everyone just tried to make the show as good as they could possibly make it. And we also have the most fantastic fans on the planet.”
“Gargoyles was very unique visually and thematically. We could go into any genre we wanted to. But ultimately it’s about the world-building and character building. We were determined to make these characters come to life.” Thom Adcox talked about how Gargoyles was his first voice-acting role in animation, and he also told the story of being replaced by Pauly Shore in A Goofy Movie. The animators talked about using cinematic / film noir influences like Mildred Pierce in shots of Gargoyles, and Elisa Gabrielli talked about her character Obsidiana and how she really wants Gargoyles to come back.
Greg Weisman mentioned how Disney was not looking for a lot of original TV concepts in the ‘90s and it took several years to sell the idea for Gargoyles to then-CEO Michael Eisner. Thom also talked about why people love his character Lexington so much: “Because he’s so cute! A lot of the fans were also in love with technology, and Lexington is a bit of a techie. Fans got behind his all-around spirit.” Jamie Thomason discussed the process of assembling the voice cast for Gargoyles: “The writing was really good, and that buzz started making its way through town, so it got easier and easier to get people to come in and audition.” This wrapped up the panel itself and marked the point when audience members were invited to ask questions of the Gargoyles cast and creative team.
.
For more coverage from WonderCon 2024, check right back here at LaughingPlace.com.