Goldsboro 10-year-old makes cartoon debut
By Turner Walston
Published in News on December 19, 2005 1:45 PM
You might not have recognized Ryan Castrati of Goldsboro when he made his television debut last weekend.
Unless, of course, you have seen him disguised as a mustache-twisting, horn-wearing apple before -- or recognized his voice.
The 10-year-old Northwest Elementary student watches Kids' WB! programming every Saturday morning. When he heard this November that the network would be granting eight of the wackiest answers to the question -- "What do you want to be?" -- he decided to send in his wish. The winning viewers would see themselves -- in the form they requested -- on television.
Ryan Castrati, transformed into an apple.
Off went his e-mail entry to the host of this month's Holiday Sock Party, Coconut Fred, who usually hosts the show, "Fruit Salad Island," on the network.
"I thought, 'Hey, that's pretty cool,'" Ryan said.
Ryan can't really explain why he choose an apple, a mustache or horns.
"It just came to me for a weird reason," he said.
About a week later, Ryan got his call. He was one of the eight lucky winners.
Over the phone, he recorded his voice for animators, grunting and creating phrases he thought a horned apple with a mustache might say like "whoa, cool."
"The dude said I did pretty good," Ryan said.
And then, he had to wait for his Dec. 10 premiere.
That morning, Ryan did what he typically does on Saturdays. "I woke up early. I got my blanket, and I just watched," he said.
In between shows, the wishes were granted. With his family by his side, Ryan saw his animated alter-ego hit the television screen. There it was -- an apple with horns and a mustache, with Ryan's voice.
He was thrilled.
"I came out of the box, and I just said 'whoa, cool!'" Ryan said. "It lasted probably a minute. It was really, really good."
"Everybody just started laughing," Ryan said, after the apple left the screen.
He said he enjoyed his brief glimpse of fame.
"I've entered many contests on Kids' WB! but this is the first time that I've won," Ryan said. "It was pretty cool."