I don't understand why animated characters NEED to have such annoying/unrealistic voices

[Argent Towers]

I've never really been able to enjoy most animated cartoon shows and the main reason why is because I feel like the voice acting is often too obnoxious and goofy-sounding. Case in point: Family Guy, which, though I try to avoid, I just involuntarily caught a snippet of and spent a few minutes watching it just to contemplate why the voice acting is so over-the-top dumb-sounding. Why do they need to do this?

My whole life, I've always hated The Simpsons, which never fails to elicit genuine shock and even anger from just about every single person I've ever told - the main reason why is because I can't stand the sound of the voice acting. (Marge especially.) (The other reason is that I don't like the way Matt Groening made the characters' faces look, with the yellow skin and the pronounced overbite - this totally drives me crazy from an aesthetic standpoint and makes the show visually look revolting to me.)

Futurama, same thing. The Professor and Zoidberg are the two most-annoying to me, though I also think Fry is pretty obnoxious. I think this show has some hilarious moments and some good concepts, yet the voices get to me.

The only cartoon show I really like - and I truly love it - is King of The Hill, which I feel has much more listenable voice-acting. Although a few characters like Boomhauer, Bill and Luanne have slightly goofy and obnoxious styles of speaking, I find most of the dialog on the show to be far, far less grating and more "normal" sounding than most shows, which is why I like it. (I also like the semi-realistic way the characters are drawn - this appeals to me far more than the stylized humanoids of other shows.)

As a kid, I also enjoyed Doug, which, again, I think has more realistic sounding voices. Again, on that show, there were a few annoying voices, but they belonged to minor characters like Mr. Dink. The core of the show - Doug and his family - all had really real-sounding vocal styles and sounded like real people, which I liked. I never really enjoyed any of the other Nickelodeon cartoons because the dialog was just too over-the-top goofy-sounding.

I don't understand why this needs to be. Why don't more producers of animated shows try more realistic voices? Voices that sound like actual human beings?

[Bosstone]

It's cartoony and distinct. Just like the animation.

With few exceptions, "real" voices are boring as hell.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

I don't understand why this needs to be. Why don't more producers of animated shows try more realistic voices? Voices that sound like actual human beings?

Because most people prefer it that way? You used the Simpsons as an example of how animators are doing it wrong. This is a show that's been on the air for twenty two years. Clearly, the vast majority of the viewing public does not have a problem with cartoons that have cartoony voices.

[Argent Towers]

First of all, I never said The Simpsons is "doing it wrong." I'm saying that I, personally, don't like the style. Obviously most people do.

The actors in live-action comedy shows do not sound like Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson, so why does it seem that anything animated must have goofy voices in order to be funny?

ETA: you used the term "cartoony voices." Does someone want to try to take a stab at defining what it is about these voices, exactly, that make them sound "cartoony"? I have a mental picture of it, but I can't put it into words. What is it about the inflection that is so "cartoony" sounding? Does it relate to the yo-yo-ing pitch of the voices? I feel like a wildly changing pitch is one of the things that does it.

[friedo]

Fry's voice is basically how Billy West talks normally, with a bit of stupid thrown in.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

My whole life, I've always hated The Simpsons, which never fails to elicit genuine shock and even anger from just about every single person I've ever told - the main reason why is because I can't stand the sound of the voice acting. (Marge especially.)

Julie Kavner's speaking voice is not that different from Marge's. My impression is that this is pretty common in animation: a lot of character voices are a slightly modified version of the real voice of the actor. People like Billy West (who voices the Professor, Zoidberg, and many others on Futurama) and Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer (all from The Simpsons) are not common. There's a reason animated voiceover work is dominated by a small number of people. Whether or not it's your thing, they're very talented.

Anyway as far as the main question goes.... perhaps because it's entertaining? Or it's funny? Or because animation is an inherently unrealistic medium (that's one reason you draw things instead of filming them) and it's not going to look like real life no matter what, so why not take advantage of the possibilities it offers? You can get away with bigger departures from reality in animation. There's nothing wrong with the King of the Hill way, but animation lets you do some things you can't do with real people. Exaggerated voices are one part of that. It'd be stupid if nobody took advantage of that, and clearly, some people enjoy it.

Either that, or Homer figured it out: "It's because they're stupid. That's why everybody does everything."

[Bosstone]

There's also the cynical side benefit: by exaggerating the voices, one person can provide the voices for multiple distinct characters, thereby saving money.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

First of all, I never said The Simpsons is "doing it wrong." I'm saying that I, personally, don't like the style. Obviously most people do.

Then... what's your question? They do it, because that's the style that's popular.

The actors in live-action comedy shows do not sound like Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson, so why does it seem that anything animated must have goofy voices in order to be funny?

It's not a requirement, obviously. You've already pointed out one example of a cartoon that didn't do that, at least too much. But it does help heighten things. Futurama could still be a funny show with naturalistic voice acting, but voices like Doctor Zoidberg really add to it. It basically boils down to funny voices being... well, funny. And in a comedy show, you want as much funny as you can get.

ETA: you used the term "cartoony voices." Does someone want to try to take a stab at defining what it is about these voices, exactly, that make them sound "cartoony"? I have a mental picture of it, but I can't put it into words. What is it about the inflection that is so "cartoony" sounding? Does it relate to the yo-yo-ing pitch of the voices? I feel like a wildly changing pitch is one of the things that does it.

I think the voices are just generally exaggerated, same as the animation. All the aspects are punched up to one degree or another - when they're excited, they're really, really excited. When they're sad, they're really, really sad. Characters with accents push the distinct part of the accent harder than a real speaker normally would. Characters with no distinct speech patterns are absurdly flat. Same with the animation: if a person gets punched in the face, it doesn't just flatten their nose, it completely inverts it. A character falling down the stairs doesn't just thump down them, he bounces like a rubber ball.

Out of curiosity, how do you feel about Looney Tunes, or the old Disney stuff?

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by Miller

Then... what's your question? They do it, because that's the style that's popular.

Do you get what I'm trying to ask here? Why is that style popular? Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

I prefer the Looney Toons that have a minimum of dialog. Tom and Jerry is one of my favorites. The best old cartoons are the ones that are kind of like the silent comedy films by people like Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett - the humor is all in the physical comedy, not the vocals.

[Marley23]

People doing multiple voices isn't a cynical byproduct, it's a major advantage.

Originally Posted by Miller

I think the voices are just generally exaggerated, same as the animation. All the aspects are punched up to one degree or another - when they're excited, they're really, really excited. When they're sad, they're really, really sad. Characters with accents push the distinct part of the accent harder than a real speaker normally would. Characters with no distinct speech patterns are absurdly flat. Same with the animation: if a person gets punched in the face, it doesn't just flatten their nose, it completely inverts it. A character falling down the stairs doesn't just thump down them, he bounces like a rubber ball.

I was starting to write another post about this when I saw this. I think the medium does invite it. Animation calls for a little extra energy and it's not a naturalistic medium on its own.

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Why is that style popular?

Some of it has to be tradition. Most of the earliest classic animated characters, like Mickey and Donald and Bugs and Daffy and Porky, aren't human in the first place. So you can't ding them for being unrealistic.

Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

Audiences don't expect the same amount of realism for cartoons (where everything is obviously not real) and for live action (where things are assumed to be realistic unless it's established they aren't).

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Do you get what I'm trying to ask here? Why is that style popular? Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

Because that's what people like? You're not asking a question that really has an answer - it's a matter of taste. Most people find it funny. That's not really something you can explain.

It's also hardly unique to animation. Lots of live action slapstick do the same thing - look at The Three Stooges or The Marx Brothers, for some classic examples. Or any Adam Sandler movie, for something more contemporary.

I prefer the Looney Toons that have a minimum of dialog. Tom and Jerry is one of my favorites.

It's not clear from your post if you're aware of this, but Tom and Jerry aren't Looney Tunes. They were developed for MGM by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Looney Tunes was, of course, done by Warner Brothers' animation studio.

[BigT]

What I'm confused by is that you are citing voices that are rather realistic. Yeah, Peter Griffin has an accent that isn't usually shown on TV, but it does exist. Marge and Fry are using their actor's real voices, and I know people who talk like the professor, and Zoidberg is based on a real person.

There are unrealistic voices out there, but you haven't really named any. Unrealistic would be Bart or Homer, Herbert, Zap Branigan, or nearly the entire cast of South Park.

[Double Foolscap]

Animation is a medium where subtlety is very hard to convey, because actors can't use their face and body language. Animation which can portray emotions in a subtle way requires a ton of time and therefore money, so it's easier to exaggerate everything.

[devilsknew]

Well, I suppose you could just phone it in, like Angrlina Jolie in the whole Kung Fu Panda franchise.

She sounds like Billie Bob's Angelina, evermore. Nothng strained or different there. Helll, even the more unrestrained voice actor even sounds Like Jabbels.

[phantom lamb]

I guess they have "unrealistic" voices for the same reason that most cartoon characters have an "unrealistic" appearance. It's not supposed to be real life, it makes them unique and I prefer it that way.
I always hated the trend of having famous celebrities do voices for animated feature films instead of professional voice actors. An interesting, recognizable and unusual voice is an important part of a cartoon character.

By the way you've mentioned that you liked the voices in Doug yet not Fry from Futurama. Maybe you know already but the same guy (Billy West) did both the voices for Doug and Fry - and those two characters sound very similar.

[Krokodil]

Go to YouTube and call up the first Popeye cartoon. Olive has a pretty realistic voice in it. Betty Boop has an extended cameo. Betty's voice is so much better for the cartoon medium that her voice actress (Mae Questal?) became the voice for Olive Oyl pretty quickly.

[Koxinga]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Although a few characters like Boomhauer, Bill and Luanne have slightly goofy and obnoxious styles of speaking, I find most of the dialog on the show to be far, far less grating and more "normal" sounding than most shows, which is why I like it.

gottatellyamanyertakinyercartoonswaytooseriouslythereman antellyawhutbuddyyaaintevencominupwithexamplestosupportthattherepointyagotthereman

[mac_bolan00]

just a sub-question, could you guys help a non-american place these accents (given the charater and my own guess):

huckleberry hound (new england?)
yogi bear (mid-west?)
fat albert (south-side chicago?)
yosemite sam (texan?)
popeye (bronx?)

[Gyrate]

Argent, have you seen any of Creature Comforts by the Aardman Studios (either the original short film or any of the later television episodes)? The creators interviewed real people on the street and then animated them (in clay) as animals. It's very effective, very funny and you get real voices and unscripted (albeit edited for comic effect) speech. You can watch a lot of them on YouTube. Admittedly a lot of them still have funny accents but they're REAL funny accents (as spake by The Great British Public).

Mac - Fat Albert is definitely intended to be Philadelphia where Bill Cosby grew up, although it's not a strong Philly accent as some.

[cochrane]

Originally Posted by Miller

It's not clear from your post if you're aware of this, but Tom and Jerry aren't Looney Tunes. They were developed for MGM by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Looney Tunes was, of course, done by Warner Brothers' animation studio.

Even more potentially confusing, when Chuck Jones left Warner Brothers in 1963, he produced 34 Tom and Jerry cartoons for MGM over the next four years. Those cartoons could easily be mistaken for Looney Tunes, as they retain the style that uniquely belonged to Chuck Jones.

[pseudotriton ruber ruber]

Originally Posted by mac_bolan00

just a sub-question, could you guys help a non-american place these accents (given the charater and my own guess):

huckleberry hound (new england?)
yogi bear (mid-west?)
fat albert (south-side chicago?)
yosemite sam (texan?)
popeye (bronx?)

HH definitely not new england. From an ancient memory, he's from somewhere in the south. Popeye doesn't sound Bronx to me either.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Do you get what I'm trying to ask here? Why is that style popular? Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

I still find your question confusing.

It's popular with cartoons and other types of show because you can't do it with other types of show. You can't have the cast of "Friends" running around talking with funny voices. It's not going to work, visually, to have Matt LeBlanc speaking with a comical Jamaican accent insulting Jennifer Aniston, who's imitating a Jewish lobster.

They do it in cartoons to differentiate between the characters. Traditionally animated cartoons have limited ability to the characters to emote, and so their voices have to be exaggerated to make up for it.

There's also the fact that people's voices sound quite alike. If you can't see a face, then it's not as easy to distinguish between voices as you might think. Unless the voice is quite unusual or extremely well known - James Earl Jones, for instance - you'd have difficulty hearing the difference between a dozen actors all just talking in their normal voices. You would be surprised how alike they'd sound. In cases where a cartoon uses an actor's normal speaking voice it's only when that voice is particularly distinct from all other ones and genuinely suits the character - note that "Family Guy" uses the actor's real voices for Brian, Meg, and Joe and Bonnie Swanson, but those four actors (Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, Patrick Warburton and Jennifer Tilly) all have very distinctive voices that sound nothing at all like any of the other characters. And even they play it up a little to ensure there's no confusion.

I prefer the Looney Toons that have a minimum of dialog.

Huh?

They certainly don't lack for dialogue. Except in the ongoing case of Roadrunner v. Coyote, the characters talk a lot and have highly comical, exaggerated voices - Sylvester's lisp versus the bizarre Tweety Bird voice, Bug Bunny's Brooklyn rabbit against the silly Elmer Fudd or the blustery Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, etc. etc.

How is Elmer Fudd not as cartoonish a voice as Peter Griffin or Homer Simpson?

Originally Posted by mac bolan

huckleberry hound (new england?)
yogi bear (mid-west?)
fat albert (south-side chicago?)
yosemite sam (texan?)
popeye (bronx?)

Huckleberry Hound is Southern. "Huckleberry" is an old slang term for a hick, so his own name implies he'a s southern redneck.

Yosemite Sam's accent is a generic southwestern accent; he's supposed to be a prospector/cowboy type guy.

Yogi Bear is an obvious ripoff of Ed Norton from "The Honeymooners." Whether Ed Norton's accent is legitimately a New York City accent is hard to say, it's so bizarre.

Fat Albert is just Bill Cosby doing a generic ghetto voice that's supposed to be a fat guy.

Popeye is of no particular location at all.

[RealityChuck]

Originally Posted by RickJay

How is Elmer Fudd not as cartoonish a voice as Peter Griffin or Homer Simpson?

Well, except for the pronouncing of the "W," it's the same voice Arthur Q. Bryan's used in live action -- which is pretty funny without changes. Example (Bryan is in white).

That brings up a question: what about live action funny voices? Are they bad, too?

In this case, the OP -- as is far too often the case -- is hung up on "realism." Whether the show is funny or entertaining or good is not an issue -- it has to be "real." It's a very sad and limited philosophy.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Huckleberry Hound is Southern. "Huckleberry" is an old slang term for a hick, so his own name implies he'a s southern redneck.

I've heard (though I don't have a cite) that the voice might be based on Andy Griffith, who is from North Carolina.

Originally Posted by RickJay

Fat Albert is just Bill Cosby doing a generic ghetto voice that's supposed to be a fat guy.

Fat Albert was originally a character in Cosby's stand-up comedy routines about his childhood in Philadelphia. So, if there's any regionality at all to the accent (and I'm not sure that there is), that'd likely be where it's from.

[Anamorphic]

Originally Posted by RickJay

You can't have the cast of "Friends" running around talking with funny voices. It's not going to work, visually, to have Matt LeBlanc speaking with a comical Jamaican accent insulting Jennifer Aniston, who's imitating a Jewish lobster.

Actually, that might have made me watch that show a lot more.

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by Koxinga

gottatellyamanyertakinyercartoonswaytooseriouslythereman antellyawhutbuddyyaaintevencominupwithexamplestosupportthattherepointyagotthereman

If there's one thing I fucking hate, it's the allegation of "taking something too seriously" as if there is some deep problem with thinking analytically about the world around me, especially the medium of pop entertainment that's as omnipresent as the air I breathe. I guess I should just accept everything, every single thing, in life without questioning it at all?

Boomhauer is a comic relief character. He rarely ever gets his own storylines and he doesn't play a huge part in the show. My point still stands that the characters who comprise the core of the show - the Hill family - have pretty normal voices. They certainly do not speak the way Peter Griffin does.

[Bosstone]

What's wrong with a Rhode Island accent?

Also this thread resulted in Prof. Farnsworth repeatedly saying "To shreds you say" in my head since last night and I have been internally laughing every time.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

They certainly do not speak the way Peter Griffin does.

"MacFarlane [...] said Peter's voice was inspired by listening to the security guards when he was going to [Rhode Island School of Design]. I find Peter's voice very annoying, the same as almost everything else about Family Guy. But it may not be unrealistic. I haven't spent much time in Rhode Island, and if a lot of the locals talk like that, I'm not taking a vacation there any time soon.

[Chronos]

Quoth RickJay:

Huckleberry Hound is Southern. "Huckleberry" is an old slang term for a hick, so his own name implies he'a s southern redneck.

Though, the fruit itself is more Northern. It's characteristic of places like Montana and Idaho.

[Superdude]

Originally Posted by Marley23

"MacFarlane [...] said Peter's voice was inspired by listening to the security guards when he was going to [Rhode Island School of Design]. I find Peter's voice very annoying, the same as almost everything else about Family Guy. But it may not be unrealistic. I haven't spent much time in Rhode Island, and if a lot of the locals talk like that, I'm not taking a vacation there any time soon.

And Brian's voice is MacFarlane's normal speaking voice.

Argent, have you ever seen Bob's Burgers? The voices of Bob and his daughter Louise are essentially the voices of their actors, H. Jon Benjamin and Kristen Schaal, respectively.

[aruvqan]

I dont know, nor do I care, but I would love to tie up the ad person responsible for the DING FRIES ARE DONE DING FRIES ARE DONE DING FRIES ARE DONE DING FRIES ARE DONE commercial that is on TV at least 2000 times a day to a tree, dump honey on them and leave them next to a fire ant mound.

[Sparky the Wonder Spirit]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

IMy point still stands that the characters who comprise the core of the show - the Hill family - have pretty normal voices. They certainly do not speak the way Peter Griffin does.

That's because they're from Texas, and Peter Griffin is from Rhode Island. Have you ever been to New England? Peter may be a bit loud and brash, but it's not a make-believe accent he's got.

You seem to have a very narrow definition of "normal" when it comes to speech.

[Argent Towers]

Yeah I've been to New England (it's one of my favorite parts of the country) and I love the Rhode Island accent. But it's not Peter Griffin's accent that I find annoying, it is his style of speaking which goes far, far beyond just an accent. I have never heard a real human being who spoke the way that character speaks.

The movie Me Myself and Irene is full of great R.I. accents because the Farrelly brothers filled the cast with friends of theirs from that state, which is where they are from.

[Arkcon]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Do you get what I'm trying to ask here? Why is that style popular? Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

Are you absolutely sure about this? Let me give example: Cheers. Everyone on that show really pitched their voice and mannerisims far to get their character across. John Ratzenberger really put more pauses, and puffed up his chest further, to really get the Cliff character across. The other characters too, really made real life cartoons out of their characters, you've seen them in other things, films for example, where they carry on more normal dialog.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Superdude

Argent, have you ever seen Bob's Burgers? The voices of Bob and his daughter Louise are essentially the voices of their actors, H. Jon Benjamin and Kristen Schaal, respectively.

I was going to mention earlier that Benjamin is one of the few exceptions to the rule in voice acting. From what I remember, the voices in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist were all pretty normal, too. I found the show pretty boring, but maybe the OP wouldn't.

[Acsenray]

I loved that show, but it was was very different from other animated shows.

And H. Jon Benjamin seems to sound the same for every character he does, whether it's in Dr. Katz, Bob's Burgers, Archer, etc.

[Polycarp]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Do you get what I'm trying to ask here? Why is that style popular? Why is it popular with cartoons but not with other kinds of shows?

I prefer the Looney Toons that have a minimum of dialog. Tom and Jerry is one of my favorites. The best old cartoons are the ones that are kind of like the silent comedy films by people like Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett - the humor is all in the physical comedy, not the vocals.

Working with this: remember that Mel Blanc voiced virtually all the Warner Brothers characters, and intentionally made the voice of each distinct -- and somewhat over-the-top in consequence -- as a way of collaborating with the animators to give each character a unique personality. You know how Yosemite Sam or Daffy Duck is going to react in a given situation -- that's good chaqracterization, done by a competent animation team and a competent voice-actor.

All ofr which reminds me of the best thing Warner Brothers as a company ever did, in my personal estimation: the day Mel Blanc's obituary ran in the New York Times, they bought a full page ad, showing nothing but their characters, all closed-mouthed and with grieving expressions, gathered around a grave with Mel's name and dates on it. No caption; the picture said it all: "Their voice is gone."

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Polycarp

All ofr which reminds me of the best thing Warner Brothers as a company ever did, in my personal estimation: the day Mel Blanc's obituary ran in the New York Times, they bought a full page ad, showing nothing but their characters, all closed-mouthed and with grieving expressions, gathered around a grave with Mel's name and dates on it. No caption; the picture said it all: "Their voice is gone."

The description is a little off, but I think you're talking about this image.

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I was going to mention earlier that Benjamin is one of the few exceptions to the rule in voice acting. From what I remember, the voices in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist were all pretty normal, too. I found the show pretty boring, but maybe the OP wouldn't.

Personally, I found that Dr. Katz, Home Movies, and Bob's Burgers (sort of, I've only seen a couple clips) were utterly unappealing. Thing is, I actually kind of liked Dr. Katz and Home Movies; when I could focus on what was happening, they were moderately amusing. But the sheer normalcy of the voices along with the amateurish delivery was like a dead weight, and I found myself bored as hell most of the time. It reminds me of listening to lecturers in class droning on. I'm sure Benjamin is a nice guy, but his voice is simply not interesting to listen to.

I'm sure those shows appeal to some people, since they keep making them, but they are to me what other animated shows are to Argent Towers.

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by Polycarp

All ofr which reminds me of the best thing Warner Brothers as a company ever did, in my personal estimation: the day Mel Blanc's obituary ran in the New York Times, they bought a full page ad, showing nothing but their characters, all closed-mouthed and with grieving expressions, gathered around a grave with Mel's name and dates on it. No caption; the picture said it all: "Their voice is gone."

"Their voice is gone."

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I was going to mention earlier that Benjamin is one of the few exceptions to the rule in voice acting. From what I remember, the voices in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist were all pretty normal, too. I found the show pretty boring, but maybe the OP wouldn't.

YES! Dr. Katz! Thank you, that is a great example. I loved that show. I watched it as a kid, and then later got the DVDs (got hit hard with 90s MTV nostalgia.) Great show.

[CalMeacham]

huckleberry hound (new england?)

As others have noted, Huckleberry Hound is southern -- it's actually a pretty gentle Southern Drawl -- there are much more pronounced southern accents out there.

What's interesting is that this is the very same voice that actor Daws Butler used for his previous characters at MGM studios, before Hannah-Barbera got started. He was obviously comfortable with it.


I can't think of any cartoon characters with New England accents, but plenty of Southern ones. There's no good reason why not. Imagine a cartoon dog that sounds like David Ogden Steirs' Charles Emerson Winchester from M*A*S*H.

[Acsenray]

What was that accent supposed to be anyway? It sounded to me like Winchester was trying to be English.

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by Acsenray

What was that accent supposed to be anyway? It sounded to me like Winchester was trying to be English.

It was supposed to be Boston Brahmin, Beacon Hill accent. I thought he did a pretty good job, without overplaying it. Steirs doesn't have a Boston accent normally -- listen to him as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, or in any of his other roles.


On the other hand, he didn't have the really broad Boston accent that some people I know have. His is "upper crust".

[Hampshire]

I think a lot of why Pixar is so great and successful is because they DON'T have the voice actors doing cartoony character voices. They are straight up voices of the actor.
Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter didn't try to create silly voices for their characters, they played them straight up. Same with Billy Crystal - John Goodman, Tom Hanks - Tim Allen, etc.
It fits very well with Pixar's style and the movies wouldn't be the same if everyone was trying to make unique silly character voices.

[Argent Towers]

Yes, yes, this is exactly right. I like Pixar movies (except for Cars, which is crap.) This is a great example of how animation does not need to have those silly voices.

[Tanbarkie]

Originally Posted by Hampshire

I think a lot of why Pixar is so great and successful is because they DON'T have the voice actors doing cartoony character voices. They are straight up voices of the actor.
Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter didn't try to create silly voices for their characters, they played them straight up. Same with Billy Crystal - John Goodman, Tom Hanks - Tim Allen, etc.
It fits very well with Pixar's style and the movies wouldn't be the same if everyone was trying to make unique silly character voices.

Except that's not quite true. Tom Hanks as Woody doesn't sound exactly like Tom Hanks on a talk show. Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear sounds very different from Tim Allen as himself. They may not be quite as exaggerated as Peter Griffin or Huckleberry Hound, but the actors did go to some effort to create unique character voices.

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by Tanbarkie

Except that's not quite true. Tom Hanks as Woody doesn't sound exactly like Tom Hanks on a talk show. Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear sounds very different from Tim Allen as himself. They may not be quite as exaggerated as Peter Griffin or Huckleberry Hound, but the actors did go to some effort to create unique character voices.

Yes. Buzz isn't Tim Allen, he's Tim Allen in a deeper, manlier register.

As for the Incredibles, they wanted to portray a realistic family as much as possible. And even then Sarah Vowell's voice is holy crap annoying, real or not. I was shocked when I saw her on the Daily Show and that same absurd voice came out. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against her herself and I know she didn't choose that voice. That doesn't lessen the annoyance factor.)

I will say Pixar certainly does a fantastic job of matching voice to character such that little derivation is needed, but they also have the budget to do so, and it's not 100% normal voices anyway.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Marley23

I was going to mention earlier that Benjamin is one of the few exceptions to the rule in voice acting. From what I remember, the voices in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist were all pretty normal, too. I found the show pretty boring, but maybe the OP wouldn't.

That's true, but also note that the animation in Jon Benjamin cartoons is very restrained, almost static. Archer is a bit more dynamic, but still pretty stiff. The visuals in these shows are almost an after thought - you could listen to the audio track for a show without any visuals at all, and still get almost all of the humor.

[Marley23]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

Yes, yes, this is exactly right. I like Pixar movies (except for Cars, which is crap.) This is a great example of how animation does not need to have those silly voices.

I haven't seen that many Pixar movies, but I know Edna's voice in The Incredibles is pretty silly and so is Bob's boss - although Wallace Shawn usually sounds like that; if you don't want someone who sounds like that, you don't bring him in. I suspect if we went down the whole list of Pixar movies we'd find a few silly voices each, mostly in character roles, which is what you find in a lot of regular movies. Maybe Roz in Monsters Inc. would be on the list.

The bottom line is that Pixar movies and older cartoons are very different. A naturalistic voice wouldn't work for Homer Simpson or Bugs Bunny, and some Pixar movies wouldn't count if John Goodman or Craig T. Nelson character sounded like Donald Duck and Yosemite Sam. So this is mostly about fitting the voice acting to the style of the movie or the show and the characters in it, and perhaps admitting that what annoys you doesn't annoy everybody else.

Originally Posted by Miller

That's true, but also note that the animation in Jon Benjamin cartoons is very restrained, almost static. Archer is a bit more dynamic, but still pretty stiff. The visuals in these shows are almost an after thought - you could listen to the audio track for a show without any visuals at all, and still get almost all of the humor.

Right, it's so sedate it's almost radio. Maybe I'd like it better if I gave it another shot.