Celebrity Voices in Cartoons? Do you choose cartoons based on actors?

Okay, first off I am going to tell you that you're extremely biased here and left very little for realistic objectivity.

Just because the 5 actors didn't have as many lines as Jack Black's or Dustin's, it doesn't mean that their lent voices didn't a make a difference. Even Chan's 2-3 line in the movie, still so recognizable as him, it just fits.

And again, you have to take these movies, especially those which are cast with highlight actors/actresses, as movies with characters written with the context of the actor/actress. Many times the scripts or the ideas come along hand in hand where the writers will think this person would be great as this character, let's alternate the character a bit, let's change some animation about it to make it work better with the context of the actor/actress and the movie itself.

Like I said, with some movies, yes I'd agree some voice actors/actresses are damn unrecognizable and then later you wonder if that was really him/her/. Biggest example is the Movie Monsters Vs Aliens. Unless I knew that Reese was the giant girl, I never would've guessed. Granted she lent a very unique, crisp and clean cut voice, it just wasn't authentic enough as a lead. However, the supporting team, like Seth Rogan as Bob, and Hugh Laurie and as the Roach... Serious brilliance in the performance. Their characters and the lines would not have the same impact with other generic actors. And by the way, some the actors you suggested are fairly famous and do posses unique and recognizable voices. So you're being somewhat hypocritical.

But just to prove you incorrect here, take for example Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs. While Ray Romano fits perfectly, there is no way anyone would guess that John L. is voicing the Sloth. And yet, I can't think of anyone who could do it better. Then again, you get Diego, which again, could be voiced by almost any Daytime Soap actor, yet Denis Leary's voice is simply unmatched for this character. And of course, DUG who unless I read the cast, would never realize it was Simon Pegg. And you know what, he is popular and recognized, but nowhere nearly as the other actors in Hollywood. Yet, he stole the show in the movie. Pretty much every scene Dug is in, are pure humor brilliance.

And of course, the biggest example is Shrek. Say what you will, but there no one, and I MEAN NO-ONE who can replace Eddie Murphy as Donkey. Yes, Michael's role originally was written for Chris Farley, but, he did the character justice.


Be more objective, majority of the times the main characters are written around the actors who portray them, and many times animated with accordance to their body language and facial movement as they speak.

AMDG

Slipsider, I get what you're saying about good voice actors being able to do a good job, but Shotor has a point about voice recognition counting for something. The producers aren't necessarily hiring the best actors for the job; they're hiring stars.

And to some extent, it does matter. Audiences have loved Jacky Chan for decades; even if they don't immediately recognise his voice, something will click in their minds. There will be a connection to the character--even if he does say only a few lines.

Whether people will watch an animated movie based on the voice work of popular stars is another question. I know I don't . . . but I'll bet a familiar voice will still affect me more than an unfamiliar voice will.

(There's kind of an ironic reversal in the case of Transformers, when producers hired Hugo Weaving to voice Megatron instead of Frank Welker, who was the original voice actor from the 80s cartoons. When I saw the movie and heard Peter Cullen--the original Optimus Prime--speak, it was as if my childhood had come alive again. But although Weaving was familiar to me from The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix, he left me cold as Megatron.)