Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the cat, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn—what do these characters have in common? They are, on the most obvious level, a bunch of zany, anthropomorphic cartoons. They were also, and continue to be, recurring characters in one of the most popular cartoon series ever created. The Looney Tunes are all about half of a century old—our parents grew up watching them, and so did we (thanks to the magic of reruns and spinoff series.) But they also share a commonality you may not be aware of: their voice. Before he passed away in 1989, Mel Blanc was the sole voice actor responsible for the hundreds of characters appearing in Looney Tunes. There was the exception of the rare cartoon episode he shared with another voice actor, such as June Foray, who would contribute only one or two characters while Mel provided the voices for the rest of the cast. Though he did an incredible amount of voiceover work for television, Mel Blanc was not a popular live action film or TV star—he never shared the screen with Paul Newman, John Wayne, Sean Connery, or Peter O’Toole. He became famous as a result of his incredible voice work. In fact, Mel Blanc may be the only “famous” voice actor there ever was.
Many talented voice actors of the past and present go unrecognized for their work, predominantly because audiences never see their faces. Ironically, it appears that faces are becoming increasingly important in the voiceover industry. If you watch recently released animated films, you will hear a plethora of big-name celebrities lending their voices to the onscreen characters. But are they truly hired because of their vocal talent and ability? Do they really outrank voice artists who have been in the field for decades? Even if they’ve been extremely successful, will their acting ability inherently translate to fit the needs of an animated work? The general answer to the preceding questions seems to be: “No; definitely not.” Instead of casting voice actors based on their talent, filmmakers unfairly utilize big name celebrities in their animated films solely for their star power and ability to draw an audience. Not only does this reduce the amount of work for voice actors in film, it also produces lower-quality movies.
Acting and voiceover work are completely different crafts. Even if a celebrity who is loaded with star power happens to be an extremely talented actor, they are not guaranteed to be an extremely talented voice actor. There are different processes involved in both fields, and different skills one has to call upon in order to get the job done. According to Pete Docter, director of Monsters Inc., actors have to turn up their performances about 15-20% in order to tackle the challenge of voice acting (Solomon).
Tom Hanks, who charmed audiences as Woody in the Toy Story films, says, "It's the hardest work I've experienced as an actor: the very nature of what you're doing is the antithesis of what comes naturally to the acting process—for me anyway. You're in a dark room, not interacting with anybody…The natural instincts you use to find the movement and the natural cadence of the scene, have to be manufactured through sheer brain power." (Solomon).
Hanks, who has been working in film for nearly 30 years, had a difficult time adjusting to voice work. Working with another actor in a live action film or TV show allows for a great deal of energy and give-and-take between actors. In such an environment, many actors are able to flourish and deliver spectacular performances. But if you put them in a dark recording booth, ask them to react to people who aren’t there, and force them to provide all of their own energy, the experience can be extremely challenging and foreign to an actor. It would be comparable to asking one of the Backstreet Boys to sing the male lead in Puccini’s opera, Turandot. Though the request is not impossible, an audience may find Nick Carter’s pop music more enjoyable than his aria performances. Conversely, an audience may have found Luciano Pavarotti to be a highly effective opera singer, but would have probably taken him less seriously if he wore baggy jeans, a backwards baseball cap, and joined a ‘90s boy band.
If a director were casting a revival of Turandot and had to choose between Carter and Pavarotti, the choice would seem obvious. However, there are usually ulterior motives behind casting. The director may cast Carter, simply because he or she wants to draw a younger audience to see the opera and, therefore, make a larger profit. (Also, the fact that Pavarotti is deceased happens to give Carter the upper-hand…but this is extraneous to the point being illustrated.) This unfortunate method of casting happens quite frequently in the realm of voiceover work. Casting is not based on talent—it is based on how much money an actor will make or save for producers—and this can be very detrimental to a project. While celebrities are cast in animated films because they will draw an audience, professional voice actors are used predominantly in television. This is because celebrities are, in most cases, limited to their own, natural voice. Celebrities may be worth paying to star in a film, but hiring them for an animated series would be fiscal suicide. If they’re only able to produce one voice, they would only be able to portray one character—then an entire group of actors would need to be hired in order to play the rest of the characters. And, unlike a single film, these series can last for many years. Matt Groening’s The Simpsons, for example, is currently in its 19th season. The idea of paying a group of big-name celebrities the salary most big-name celebrities would expect—for 20 years of playing one character each—would be enough to give any producer a heart attack. So, instead, they secure their budgets (and health) by hiring a small group of voice actors to voice all of the characters in a series. In the Animaniacs, for example, Rob Paulsen voiced Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto, and Pinky (just to name a few.) During an interview for Animation Magazine, Paulsen pointed out, “Most of the people who get the press are the names that we recognize and I totally get that: it’s the nature of celebrity. But more often than not you’ll find that the people you recognize… are hired to do pretty much their own voices” (Gurman). Paulsen’s sentiment is echoed by prolific voice actor, Billy West: “[It] doesn't make sense, to do what [CGI filmmakers] do—spend zillions on visuals, and then have this totally fucking flat-lining voice track. You know, ‘Hey, I'm Will Smith, I'm a clam! I'm Will Smith, I'm a kangaroo!’ All you bring to the performance is your own ego” (Ryan).
There are certainly some very talented celebrities who can become effective voice actors. Kevin McDonald of the Canadian sketch comedy group, The Kids in the Hall, is a perfect example of a versatile comedian whose voice is unique enough to breathe life into animated characters. Alex Borstein, another comedian, predominantly known for her work on Mad TV, has enough vocal flexibility to lend her voice to the animated show, Family Guy. Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson (and a wide range of other characters on The Simpsons) began his career as a member of the famed Second City improv comedy troupe in Chicago. However, the multitalented Robin Williams is probably one of the most successful celebrities to ever lend their voice to animation. Billy West attests that “Robin Williams understands sonic performances. He understands what it's like to change your voice up. He understands what it's like to have theatre of the mind…” (Ryan).
Billy West has done it all, and is one of the most versatile and sought-after voice actors in today’s industry. Not only is he behind the voice of the red M&M and the Honey Nut Cheerios bee in television commercials, he’s been in countless animated series since the 1980s. He voiced both Ren and Stimpy in The Ren & Stimpy Show, Doug Funnie and his nemesis, Roger Klotz, in the original Doug, Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and a wide range of other characters in Futurama, and has worked on such shows as Family Guy, King of the Hill, Drawn Together, The Boondocks, etc…the list goes on, spanning over 20 years. One would think that he would be viewed and treated equally to an actor working in live action film and television. However, this is not the case. West provided the voice for Bugs Bunny (among others) in the 1996 movie, Space Jam, in which live action and animation were combined. Since Mel Blanc’s passing, many voice actors have been called upon to reprise Looney Tunes characters that appear in modern cartoons, and West is considered by some to be the best Bugs Bunny in the business, second only to Blanc. During Space Jam’s première, West and the other voice actors were able to see the true colors of Hollywood.
…it's like they treat us like we're not actors. I went to the première of Space Jam at [Grauman's] Chinese Theatre—big première, red carpet, everything. Me and the voice people got invited to the little theatre; there's two of them there, the big Chinese theatre, and then there was a smaller one next to it. We weren't invited to the big place, and so my friend Bob Bergen, who does Porky Pig an awful lot, called them up and said, "Hey, what gives? We're featured in this movie." She said, "Oh you mean the party at the big Chinese theatre? Oh, that's for the actors” (Ryan).
If Michael Jordan had been excluded, the general public probably would have heard about it—and would have been consequently outraged. However, if a few faceless voice actors are left out of the picture, it’s not a big deal. This inequality among actors and voice actors is extremely discouraging—not only for those who presently work in the field, but for those who are just starting their careers. Will aspiring voice actors have to become famous film stars before they can branch off into voiceover work?
Ultimately, the problem of celebrity usurping talent is a reflection of our society—outward appearances are valued more than true talent. A typical audience has never heard of Billy West, Rob Paulsen, Jim Cummings, Tress MacNeille, Kath Soucie, or Maurice LaMarche before—some may even be unfamiliar with Mel Blanc. But nearly everyone knows who Paris Hilton is. We, as a society, are obsessed with celebrity—and for all the wrong reasons. Just like Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons continues to purchase Acme products—even when they’ve malfunctioned and harmed him time and time again—big-names draw our attention because they’re recognizable and familiar, no matter how ill-fit they are for a role. One would think that some of the bland, one-dimensional voiceover performances from celebrities we’ve heard thus far would have tipped us off, like an anvil to the head, that there are better alternatives out there.
Works Cited
Gurman, S. Vocal Marathon Man. Animation Magazine v. 20 no. 3 (March 2006) p. 6
Ryan, Kyle. "Billy West." The A.V. Club 15 June 2005. 15 Mar. 2008
<http://www.avclub.com/content/node/
240/1/1>.
Solomon, C. Finding the Right Voice. Animation Magazine v. 17 no. 5 (June 2003) p. 27-8.
