In a recent, heated succession of posts on professional networking site LinkedIn.com, members of the Voice-Over Professionals sub group debated an insidious trend that has overtaken the industry: celebrity voice-overs in commercials. The discussion began innocently enough as a complaint. One non-celeb member bemoaned the growing lack of voice-over commercial campaigns available for actors of his ilk. The reason cited is that big names, such as Gene Hackman (Lowe’s), Allison Janney (Kaiser Permanente), Zach Braff (Cottonelle AND Pur water filters), Morgan Freeman (Visa), Peter Coyote (Hyundai), Thomas Hayden Church (Volkswagen), and Catherine Zeta Jones (on-camera AND voiceover for T-Mobile) have cornered the market, shut out the little guys (and gals), and have duped the advertisers into paying their exorbitant quotes. But what makes this situation all the more offensive is that the famous do not need the extra ad income at all! And the LinkedIn posts most definitely reflected the outrage of many in the non-celebrity community.However, as annoying as the live action commercial voice-over trend is, there is another casting pattern that just about tops it in aggravation: celebrity voices in animated fare, especially properties targeting children. There is an outstanding and inherent slap in the face executed in these instances: the target consumers do not care who voices their favorite characters, but more important, in many cases, kids do not know who the alleged “celebs” are! As brilliant as Robert DeNiro and Marty Scorsese were in Shark Tale, did tykes (or even their parents and guardians) really patronize the movie because those thesps were in it? In other words, are Robert DeNiro and Marty Scorsese, in all their Oscar-winning, live action glory, really an animation box office draw? If you, gentle reader, have supporting evidence, then please . . . keep it to yourself!
So, in the spirit of solidarity with all those disgruntled, unemployed, unfamous voice actors (and you know who you are, even though nobody else does!), here are the five most ridiculous celebrity-voiced animated roles, or Studios, Now Don’t You Feel Stupid?
5) Brad Pitt as Sinbad in Dreamworks’ Sinbad (2003) – Honestly, is Brad Pitt’s voice distinctive in the very least? And does a milk toast romantic lead demand an expensive or a distinctive voice anyway?
4) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marina in Sinbad – I suppose the justification here was that Brad Pitt was in need of a suitable counterpart.
3) Angelina Jolie as Lola in Dreamworks’ Sharktale (2004) – Regarding her performance . . . yawn . . . although her character’s design was adorable!
2) Angelina Jolie as Tigress in Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda (2008) – Do you see a pattern here? Dreamworks must be stopped!
2a) James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in all the Star Wars films – Just kidding! Those movies are not animated, silly!
1) Nicole Kidman as Norma Jean in Warner Brothers’ Happy Feet (2006) – Yikes! Someone give this gal voice lessons, singing and otherwise! And
so . . .
Case closed! Let the offenders be punished in the court of public opinion, or at least on LinkedIn!
Comments
Advertisers don't realize that folks try to figure out the name of the celebrity who's voicing the spot. While they're playing "Name that Voice" they're missing the message in the commercial. Thus advertisers are wasting a ton of cash on celeb voice overs. Thanks, Bryan Cox (Voice Actor)
I have no particular stake in this argument, but it seems to be an extension of the "winner take all" environment. A few thriving A-list actors, a lot more steady-work B-list actors, and millions of struggling hopefuls. I think it's the same in most fields, not only in show-biz. But the question remains: Why are the advertisers willing to sink so much of their budget into something that their target audience can't perceive?
Marlene,
GREAT article! Thank you!
Bryan,
you make 1 good point...that is that the message gets missed... but I think the only people playing "Name that voice" are people "in the biz" and their poor spouses who have to sit there and listen to us, while giving us that puzzled "what the hell are you talking about" look on their face.
'-)
dc
One of my best friends is the Marketing Director for Visa. And BELIEVE ME..they DO know that people are playing name that voice. And they do know that at times it might take away from the actual message. But poll after poll has shown that even though the actual message may be lost from time to time. Overall it is still advantageous to use (whoever the voice might be)...this stuff ain't just drawn out of a hat. Every single LITTLE move is calculated and has to pass several levels of the marketing chain before decisions are made.
DC, more non-industry folks play "Name That Voice" that you are obviously aware of. Who do you think buys the tabloids and watches E! and Entertainment Tonight?
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