The one thing that annoys me about star names doing animated voices is that certain studios (i.e. Dreamworks) seem to pick the actor because of their name rather than their ability to do the job. It is as if they develop the movie poster with all those big impressive names splashed across the top before thinking about who could actually do those characters justice so you end up with some rubbish like Shark Tale. At least with Pixar they pick actors (big name or otherwise) that fit the role they are cast to play. I'm pretty sure its only the Toy Story films (please correct me if I am wrong) that have the actors names on the posters from Pixar and that is the way it should be.
Dreamworks are at it again with Shrek 3. The only reason they cast Justin Timberlake is because of his (then) connection with Cameron Diaz. Is he the best man to play that role? Maybe but I highly doubt it.
Big Star Voice Actors--pro or con?
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Perhaps it is different in the UK as it is in the US because neither of those films had promotional posters with the actors names on it.Meg wrote:Monsters Inc. and Cars did as well.I'm pretty sure its only the Toy Story films (please correct me if I am wrong) that have the actors names on the posters from Pixar and that is the way it should be.
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I don't know if is or not. But, I believe they said that his casting had nothing to do with him dating Cameron Diaz.Dreamworks are at it again with Shrek 3. The only reason they cast Justin Timberlake is because of his (then) connection with Cameron Diaz. Is he the best man to play that role? Maybe but I highly doubt it.
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Well, what about the Madagascar Penguins? They were the best thing in that movie, and NONE of them were big stars! 
(all animators)
Also, OTH: Yeah it had Avril Lavigne in it (I actually think she did a pretty good job, as she fit the character) but other than her there were no "HUGE" stars unless maybe Wanda Sykes, but her voice also fit her character.
Are William Shatner, Thomas Hayden Church, Nick Nolte, Allison Janney, Eugene Levy and Gary Shandling TRULY what you would call big stars?? I don't consider them that to tell the truth. I don't think ANY of them can open a movie the way Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts can. (Not that it makes them better actors.) None of those guys are on any A-list the way studio executives think of an A-list. They're great actors AND character actors, they served the voices well.
And Bruce Willis....yeah he's technically on the "A-list" but not that big anymore...not like Brad Pitt anyway. He's getting up there in years, he's not Ashton Kutcher.
He sure isn't Jim Carrey (and "despite" being a big star, Jim Carrey WOULD have done a great job as RJ, but as we all know he had to pass) Bruce Willis did a good job on this....he was focused on served the character well.
I personally think that Brad Pitt/Catherine Zeta Jones were not on-the-surface horrible choices for Sinbad and Marina, actually they might have done a very good job had they put more of themselves into it. Zeta-Jones wasn't THAT bad, but Brad, even though he fit the character, obviously wasn't investing himself in that role for whatever reason.
The Gingerbread man, everyone's favorite from Shrek, was played by one of the animation directors, Conrad Vernon. Ditto Pinnochio....and the Three Little Pigs. (also animation guys)
And John Lithgow as Lord Faarquad!
C'mon, who even cares about John Lithgow? Yeah he's a great actor but when was the last time you heard about a 100 million dollar summer blockbuster starring John Lithgow? Didn't Ron 'n Jon seriously consider him to play Hades at one point?
Also, everyone forgets that for Shrek 2 they cast Rupert Everett as Prince Charming and Jennifer Saunders of Ab Fab for Fairy Godmother. How many average people even know who they are unless they are famililar with British actors? How many people do YOU know in America who actually watched Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer Saunders' comedy in England? I used to watch it all the time....not that many people in the USA have however.
People only know Rupert Everett (if they recognize his name at all) as the gay guy in My Best Friend's Wedding. Period. He was also in that Madonna movie The Next Best Thing some years back....how many people remember THAT film??
(all animators)Also, OTH: Yeah it had Avril Lavigne in it (I actually think she did a pretty good job, as she fit the character) but other than her there were no "HUGE" stars unless maybe Wanda Sykes, but her voice also fit her character.
Are William Shatner, Thomas Hayden Church, Nick Nolte, Allison Janney, Eugene Levy and Gary Shandling TRULY what you would call big stars?? I don't consider them that to tell the truth. I don't think ANY of them can open a movie the way Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts can. (Not that it makes them better actors.) None of those guys are on any A-list the way studio executives think of an A-list. They're great actors AND character actors, they served the voices well.
And Bruce Willis....yeah he's technically on the "A-list" but not that big anymore...not like Brad Pitt anyway. He's getting up there in years, he's not Ashton Kutcher.
He sure isn't Jim Carrey (and "despite" being a big star, Jim Carrey WOULD have done a great job as RJ, but as we all know he had to pass) Bruce Willis did a good job on this....he was focused on served the character well.I personally think that Brad Pitt/Catherine Zeta Jones were not on-the-surface horrible choices for Sinbad and Marina, actually they might have done a very good job had they put more of themselves into it. Zeta-Jones wasn't THAT bad, but Brad, even though he fit the character, obviously wasn't investing himself in that role for whatever reason.
He's playing a whiny immature high school kid/teenager. Who would YOU have picked for the role?Dreamworks are at it again with Shrek 3. The only reason they cast Justin Timberlake is because of his (then) connection with Cameron Diaz. Is he the best man to play that role? Maybe but I highly doubt it.
The Gingerbread man, everyone's favorite from Shrek, was played by one of the animation directors, Conrad Vernon. Ditto Pinnochio....and the Three Little Pigs. (also animation guys)
And John Lithgow as Lord Faarquad!
C'mon, who even cares about John Lithgow? Yeah he's a great actor but when was the last time you heard about a 100 million dollar summer blockbuster starring John Lithgow? Didn't Ron 'n Jon seriously consider him to play Hades at one point?Also, everyone forgets that for Shrek 2 they cast Rupert Everett as Prince Charming and Jennifer Saunders of Ab Fab for Fairy Godmother. How many average people even know who they are unless they are famililar with British actors? How many people do YOU know in America who actually watched Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer Saunders' comedy in England? I used to watch it all the time....not that many people in the USA have however.
People only know Rupert Everett (if they recognize his name at all) as the gay guy in My Best Friend's Wedding. Period. He was also in that Madonna movie The Next Best Thing some years back....how many people remember THAT film??
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
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Yeah, but he probably wasn't A-List when he was cast for OTH.Spidey 3 is going to make Thomas Hayden Church A-list, no question. It's what he does next that will determine if he stays there.
Yeah, but really, will anyone actually care?Willis not so big anymore? With Die Hard 4.0 coming in a matter of months?
How many years since the last one again? I don't think the latest Rocky was all that much of a success either.
Oh, and this is funny:
(Edited a bit for content)
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
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Rather that give my rating of individual actors, I'll address the topic title, the "pro or con" part.
In my experience - it depends. Sometimes having a celebrity voice can be perfect casting, other times it can be truly annoying and obvious that the "actor" was chosen for the name/voice recognition factor.
For me, it depends on who's making the film. In my opinion, Pixar, while often casting celebrities, really does tend to choose the best person for the role.
Take a look at Toy Story. Certainly Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are well known by both name and voice, but they truly give rounded performances that give their characters heart and depth. I also truly believe that if Pixar believes an actor is right for a role, they'll cast them, regardless of celebrity status. Take a look at Bo Peep in Toy Story. It would've been very easy to cast someone with more "star power" than Annie Potts, but they went with who they felt was right for the role. I'm not trying to say that Annie Potts isn't well-known, but I certainyl wouldn't rank her fame up there with Tom Hanks.
Then I look at Dreamworks, where I find celebrity casting tends to be overbearing. While the Shrek movies have been great, and well-cast for the most part, I think they go for celebrites more so than actual role-appropriateness, despite what was said in the video clip posted above.
Take a look at Shark Tale. Another celebrity voice is thrown in at every turn, and while mildly amusing, I don't find that any of the parts are all that well acted, nor are the characters endearing.
In Shrek, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers truly make you feel for their characters and love them. But Cameron Diaz? Surely they could've found someone better? I'm not saying Cameron does a bad job, but I think there are probably people out there who are better suited for the role and would do a better job. In this instance I just happen to think that she was cast more for her name than for her talent as a VO artist.
My 2 cents...
In my experience - it depends. Sometimes having a celebrity voice can be perfect casting, other times it can be truly annoying and obvious that the "actor" was chosen for the name/voice recognition factor.
For me, it depends on who's making the film. In my opinion, Pixar, while often casting celebrities, really does tend to choose the best person for the role.
Take a look at Toy Story. Certainly Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are well known by both name and voice, but they truly give rounded performances that give their characters heart and depth. I also truly believe that if Pixar believes an actor is right for a role, they'll cast them, regardless of celebrity status. Take a look at Bo Peep in Toy Story. It would've been very easy to cast someone with more "star power" than Annie Potts, but they went with who they felt was right for the role. I'm not trying to say that Annie Potts isn't well-known, but I certainyl wouldn't rank her fame up there with Tom Hanks.
Then I look at Dreamworks, where I find celebrity casting tends to be overbearing. While the Shrek movies have been great, and well-cast for the most part, I think they go for celebrites more so than actual role-appropriateness, despite what was said in the video clip posted above.
Take a look at Shark Tale. Another celebrity voice is thrown in at every turn, and while mildly amusing, I don't find that any of the parts are all that well acted, nor are the characters endearing.
In Shrek, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers truly make you feel for their characters and love them. But Cameron Diaz? Surely they could've found someone better? I'm not saying Cameron does a bad job, but I think there are probably people out there who are better suited for the role and would do a better job. In this instance I just happen to think that she was cast more for her name than for her talent as a VO artist.
My 2 cents...
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Here's a cool piece on a great VO (I haven't seen the movie in years but still remember his voice quite well.) But he DEFINETELY wasn't "famous"--
http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... treet.html
http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... treet.html
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!