Celebs, Save Your Voices

A question nagged me as I suffered through G-Force last week: why do studios cast celebrities in voice roles for animated films?  Seriously, what was the thinking behind choosing Sam Rockwell to voice Darwin the guinea pig?  He's Sam freakin' Rockwell, for pete's sake -- the actor Roger Ebert deemed "the go-to guy for weirdness."  King of quirky characters in deep, dark and (more often than not) independent films.  No kids know who he is, and I'd wager a lot of money that 90% of adult audience members (in the theater for G-Force) wouldn't have been able to put a face with his name, either.  I'm personally a big fan of the guy, but if I hadn't already been informed that he was behind the leading four-legged agent, I certainly wouldn't have been able to identify his voice on my own.  As far as Tracy Morgan and Penélope Cruz go -- their voices might have been recognizable, but did they make their characters memorable or the movie better overall?  No.  Anyone else could've voiced Blaster and Juarez and my opinion of the movie wouldn't have changed one bit.  (Don't even get me started on Nic Cage as Speckles -- there were literally gasps of shock in my theater when the credits revealed Cage's involvement, since the poor-sighted mole sounded nothing like the unfortunately tressed action star).

So this got me thinking about other animated films I've seen over the years... and I realized that there are very few instances where a well-known actor or actress has actually added something to their two-dimensional character.  Sure, it's neat that Tom Hanks was Woody and Tim Allen was Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films, but ask yourself this: would you have honestly liked these films less had the toy cowboy and the spaceman been voiced by unknowns?  Do you think your enjoyment of The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast was negatively effected by the lack of A-list stars in its cast?  Was Ray Romano's voice truly crucial for the character of Manny in the Ice Age franchise? 

I personally don't understand the trend of putting big-name celebrities in animated films.  Yes, their presence at premieres and on talk shows helps in the PR department, but forget about marketing gimmicks and just think about the end products: are children's films somehow "better" when well-known stars lend their pipes?

There are only a few examples I can think of where I believe a famous actor or actress has been critical to the success of an animated film or to the audience's enjoyment of their character.  The most obvious is Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin. Genie is Robin Williams, and Robin Williams is Genie.  I cannot even imagine this movie without the manic comedian's involvement -- so whatever Disney paid him, it was worth it.  I felt the same way about Jack Black as Panda in Kung-Fu Panda -- DreamWorks expertly leveraged his trademark expressions and goofy nature; it's tough to picture anyone else in Jack's place.   While not on the same level as Williams in Aladdin or Black in Kung Fu Panda, Alec Baldwin brought his special brand of cynicism to the jealous and competitive Makunga in Madagascar 2, and I do think I liked the movie a little more than I would've if he hadn't been on board.  And who can imagine Finding Nemo without Ellen Degeneres as the bumbling, forgetful Dory?  That's a fish tale I would want no part of.

So every once in a great while a celebrity can make magic happen on screen by becoming one with their animated counterpart.  But I certainly don't think it happens enough to warrant the trend we've been seeing lately where pretty much every major animated kid's movie touts a star-studded voice cast. 

What's your take?  Are celebrities in animated films a huge joke, or do you actually prefer a famous face behind a cartoon or CGI character?

Comments

[Donna]

If I am not familiar with the whole cast of voice, I find it very distracting when I hear a familiar voice in animated movies, but can't place who it is. I spend the whole movie listening very closely to that one character trying to figure out who it is and then can't follow the rest of the movie.

Other than that, I agree with the instances you mentioned about characters that wouldn't have been the same without their famous voice. Otherwise, it doesn't make any difference to me if it's a famous actor or not.

[Trevor Levine]

What urks me about celebrity voice acting is that it takes a very good paying job away from a professional voice actor, who would sound just as good, if not better than the celebrity.

[Ryan Hross]

It's Tracy Morgan, not Tracy Jordan. Though it's easy to mix them up because Tracy Jordan is the name of Tracy Morgan's character on 30 Rock.

[mike]

For Aladdin's sequel Robin Williams didn't want to do it so they had Dan Castellenta (Homer Simpson) replace him and he sounded just like the Genie. I thought he did an awesome job in that role so I didn't care if Williams wasn't doing the TV series.

[Jon]

Every time I watch the show "Saving Grace," I can't get Elastigirl out of my head.

And if you've seen that show, you know that's a disturbing thought.

[CTSkip]

I agree! Glad to read someone other than me has been thinking about this!

These actors make plenty of cash on their faces. Leave the voice work to the voice professionals. That includes commercials too. If I have to hear Ann Curry's raspy voice one more time....

Times when actors helped the animation-Shrek-Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy, Alladin-Robin Williams, Toy Story-Tom Hanks (but not in that Christmas Zemekis movie)-Tim Allen could have been easily replaced. I would think any animation Chris Rock or Wanda Sykes did would be hilarious as well.

[Matthew S.]

My thing is, if you pick a person for the voice, keep them as the voice. Sure, kids don't notice the difference, but it's like when you're used to seeing someone as a character and then they don't reprise their role, the character loses their charm.

[Erika Olson]

Ryan - D'oh! Thank you, can you tell I'm a 30 Rock fan? I changed his name in the post.

CTSkip - Whoa, I can't believe I forgot about Eddie Murphy as Donkey -- he's definitely one of my faves.

- Erika

[kia Jeen]

I think that there is a misconception that since it is an anitmated film that it does not require REAL actors. The fact that you don't see their faces does not mean they are not acting. There is a reason these celebritys are celebritys. THEY ARE GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO! Why not hire the best ACTORS for any film, regardless of whether it is animated or not?