# I don't understand why animated characters NEED to have such annoying/unrealistic voices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867 "2011-05-23T05:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/21 "2011-05-23T10:47:18Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/22 "2011-05-23T15:14:57Z")
> [@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? [QUOTE=mac bolan] huckleberry hound (new england?) yogi bear (mid-west?) fat albert (south-side chicago?) yosemite sam (texan?) popeye (bronx?) [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/23 "2011-05-23T15:29:48Z")
> [@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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8lFfMt1bBI#t=00m50s) (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. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/24 "2011-05-23T15:59:55Z")
> [@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. > [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/25 "2011-05-23T16:13:35Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/26 "2011-05-23T19:30:41Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/27 "2011-05-23T19:39:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/28 "2011-05-23T19:45:29Z")
> [@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].](http://www.projo.com/tv/content/projo_20050430_macfarlan.1d6c9b8.html) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/29 "2011-05-23T21:35:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/30 "2011-05-23T22:31:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > ["MacFarlane […] said Peter’s voice was inspired by listening to the security guards when he was going to [Rhode Island School of Design].](http://www.projo.com/tv/content/projo_20050430_macfarlan.1d6c9b8.html) 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](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1561755/)? The voices of Bob and his daughter Louise are essentially the voices of their actors, H. Jon Benjamin and Kristen Schaal, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/31 "2011-05-24T03:27:57Z")
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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it9d94JNriQ) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/32 "2011-05-24T05:37:52Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/33 "2011-05-24T05:45:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/34 "2011-05-24T13:03:11Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > :smack::smack::smack: > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/35 "2011-05-24T13:10:19Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > **Argent** , have you ever seen [Bob’s Burgers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1561755/)? 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. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/36 "2011-05-24T13:26:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/37 "2011-05-24T13:53:39Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > :smack::smack::smack: > > 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/38 "2011-05-24T14:05:15Z")
> [@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.](http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/rnrdist_2160_85553772) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/39 "2011-05-24T14:44:38Z")
> [@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**. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867/40 "2011-05-24T14:55:27Z")
> [@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.](http://americanthings.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/mel-blanc-by-erasserartdotcom.jpg?w=500&h=312)” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-why-animated-characters-need-to-have-such-annoying-unrealistic-voices/582867.md?page=3)