Ft. Worth Star Telegram 8-24-2001

8/24/2001

SECTION: Northeast & Region, NORTHEAST Edition, Page 1

LENGTH: ??? words

HEADLINE: Back on the laugh track

BODY:

Monika Antonelli leads a secret life.

By day, she's a mild-mannered librarian at the University of North Texas. In her spare time, she's the voice of cartoon superhero Chiaotzu and a shape-shifting cat called Puar on the popular TV series Dragon Ball Z.

The show is a "Japanimation" classic that was created in the 1980s. FUNimation Productions of North Richland Hills takes episodes originally done in Japanese and dubs English voices onto them. FUNimation also recomposes the musical score.

The series, which is broadcast on Cartoon Network, is popular with children in the United States.

Antonelli, 42, was introduced to the cartoon about three years ago when FUNimation circulated fliers at the UNT campus announcing auditions for Dragon Ball Z.

With two degrees in theater and training in the performing arts, she believed that she was the right person for the job.

"They let me read, and they had a cartoon voice that they asked me to match, and I was able to do that," she said. "I think that is why I got the job."

It was a turning point for Antonelli, who has worked at UNT for nine years.

"It's like I'm a very minor, minor celebrity," she said. "Every now and then someone will ask me for my autograph, and that's kind of fun. It's not enough to be disruptive, just enough to tickle my ego every once in a while."

No stranger to performing, the librarian won critical acclaim from children attending Denton Public Library, where she played library mascot Whiffles the Bunny in 1984 and 1985.

"It was probably the favorite part I ever played. The kids loved Whiffles so much. Because I was portraying Whiffles, I got a lot of love," Antonelli said. "I was dressed up like a giant white rabbit. I did this many times during the week. I got to be this very sensitive white rabbit."

However, the librarian cautioned, even minor stardom has its dark side.

A fan tracked her down on the Internet last year and submitted a written list of questions, but decided he did not want the answers when they were sent to him.

"He had decided to shut down his Web site, and he decided he didn't believe I was Monika Antonelli," she said.

"It was really weird. Especially since he had contacted me. He decided I was an impostor," she said.

Slight fame is common for many of the actors who provide the voices for Dragon Ball Z, said Dave Moran, media representative.

"A lot of them have fans," he said. "Whenever they do appearances in public, they are usually mobbed. The show is so popular, kids want to get as close as they can to them. It's almost like they are movie stars."

Antonelli said her cartoon work does not take much of her time.

"It's perfect work for the busy person. When we are making episodes, I go in on average two hours a week. I don't have to memorize anything or have a costume or do my hair. I just come in and do the work and go home. It's a great way to perform, and it's very efficient."

She said she would love to do more work with voices, such as on radio, but she has no intention of leaving her librarian job.

"I can't quit the day job. The pay is good, but it's not something I could support myself with. But it's a pleasure to be able to do it. It's fun. It's, like, you know, I get to do a television show! How many people get to say that?"

Author:Ben Tinsley, Star-Telegram Writer

PHOTO(S): C. Somodevilla