Charles Later is returning to dubbing with his new movie ‘A Samurai Hero: The Legend of Hank’. An animation by Rob Minkoff that pays homage to the classic western, in which the humorist gives his voice to the villain of a story that begins this Friday. “It’s a lot more fun to interpret the bad guys,” he tells EFE.
Latre (Castellón, 1979) emphasizes: that dubbing was “great” and always presented a “huge challenge”: “The world of creating a voice and creating a character based on what’s on screen is always a big challenge for me, but yes, it’s a very nice challenge because it’s something that will stay there forever,” he says.
Set in feudal Japan, the film is inspired by one of Mel Brooks’ best-known plays, the comedy western “Hot Saddles” (1974).
It tells the story of Hank, the dog who dreams of becoming a samurai but is condemned to be hanged when he finds himself in the land of cats.
On the other hand, Ika Chu (Latre), a high-ranking official, wants to be the successor of the Shogun (military dictator in medieval Japan) and therefore wants to expand his huge palace even further. Therefore, he decides to destroy the village of Kakamucho, a poor town near his area.
And in order not to suspect his evil plan, he sends the dog to become the new samurai of the region, sowing chaos and destroying each other, despite the fact that dogs are prohibited in the area.
Although it may seem like an a priori cartoon for children, it is also a cartoon for adults because of the cinematographic references it hides in its depth and the humor it contains.
“Animated cinema is changing and now includes the adult who will accompany them, not forgetting that children are still the main audience. This movie has a very kid-friendly storyline, but there are implications for the fathers. Those who go will have an equally good time,” he admits.
With this film, Latre returns to a world where he feels comfortable, the world of dubbing.. His latest breakthrough was in 2018 when he voiced three characters from the animated movie “Bikes” directed by Manuel J. García.
“It’s always a pleasure to be back on stage with Sankaya. I have a great time voicing different characters. I’ve also had the opportunity to voice with legendary actors like Robin Williams or Bill Murray throughout my career and now this movie is Ricky Gervais (Ika Chu’ in the English version) who is also a reference in the world of humor. “I hope to meet him at a world premiere,” she laughs.
He has acted in more than 20 films as a dubbing actor. ‘Garfield’, ‘Mortadelo y Filemón’, ‘Happy feet’, ‘The Jungle book’, ‘Asterix and Obelix’ or ‘Emoji’, among others. He lent his voice to villains and heroes alike, animals, people and objects; There is nothing in the dubbing world that resists the comedian or leaves it to interpretation.
“The truth is, I have nothing left to do in animation, so what I want most right now is to face a real character of flesh and blood that I can play myself. It’s my challenge,” he says with a laugh.