# Who has given the best voice performance in a Pixar film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298 "2009-11-29T02:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/41 "2009-12-01T00:28:47Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I own the “Ultimate Toy Box” DVD set (a present from my wife, thanks again!) and it has various documentaries about the production process. It is clear that one of the reasons that Pixar’s films work so beautifully is that they are acted out by the writers, story people, directors and animators long before anyone touches a computer. They draw storyboards on cards that they pin up on the walls of rooms lined with corkboards and act out the story. It has to work at that level, and the characterizations are defined before the actors come in to record. So, somebody like Bob Peterson “writes” scenes with Dug by being a great storyteller. A Pixar film works as an “animatic”, a video of the still drawings of the completed storyboards with a soundtrack. If a professional actor could have done a better job as Dug, they would have cast the part. I work with a company that does a lot of product tie-ins for Disney and Pixar. While working on a video game based on _Up_, I was invited to see a very rough draft of the film - only some of it was fully animated, a lot of it was rough animation or simply storyboards. They’d very recently rewritten the final act of the film - they didn’t even have storyboards ready for it, apparently, because shortly after Carl and Russel find the blimp, the houselights came up and one of the animators came out and did just what you describe - he acted out the film’s end for us. It was an interesting insight into Pixar’s process in a lot of ways, particularly in terms of what scenes they animate first. For example, one of the few fully animated scenes we saw was the brief clip of the girl playing in her apartment when Carl’s balloon’s float by, and the room lights up in the balloon’s colors. While I’m sure there were some minor tweaks between the preview and the premiere, the scene was essentially fully complete, while more important scenes such as Ellie’s death, or meeting Dug for the first time, were still in storyboards. I suppose there’s a more prosaic explanation, but I came away with the impression that they just really, really loved that scene, and couldn’t wait to animate it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/42 "2009-12-01T01:06:19Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Hm, interesting. > > One of my few complaints about Pixar movies is that they use celebrities for voices. I’d much prefer they used proper voice actors. Funny, I’ve always felt that what set Pixar films apart from other animated features is that they _didn’t_ do this. A lot of the voices are easily recognizable, sure, but very, very rarely does it come across as “stunt casting” the way it does in Dreamworks or Fox animated features. I mean, nobody goes to see a movie just because its got John Goodman in it, or Craig T. Nelson. They’re celebrities, in the sense that most people would recognize them as “that guy from that thing,” but they aren’t draws in and of themselves. It seems pretty clear that they write the films first, and then cast actors who best fit the roles they’ve created, without much regard to the actor’s star power. I mean, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche are great talents, no doubt, but I have a hard time seeing them do a better Buzz Lightyear than Tim Allen. And Tim Allen is nothing like a great talent - his voice just happened to be perfect for the character they developed. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/43 "2009-12-01T02:20:21Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Right, because when I think “indestructible superhero” I think Craig T. Nelson. > In fairness, they designed Woody then used a clip from _Turner and Hooch_ to do a test, and decided that Hanks worked perfectly. > The only thing worse than Billy Crystal playing himself is Billy Crystal playing a character. We dodged a bullet there. I’ll grant you, The Incredibles was better WRT my complaint than most. I did think Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were perfect for those roles. Nelson is hardly a “star” though. He just fit the role. Good for him. I enjoyed his character. Holly Hunter - while she fit her role perfectly, it again, was basically her just playing Holly Hunter. Compare her role in O Brother - it’s a very similar character. I do agree with Miller - Pixar doesn’t do “stunt castings” like some of the lesser animation studios. I dunno - I just find it a bit lazy to use a well established celebrity voice for a character. I would love to see Billy West tear it up in a Pixar Flick. Similarly, I loved Patton Oswalt in Ratatouille - I think he actually did a proper voice. I didn’t even realize it was him until I wiki’d it. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/44 "2009-12-01T02:29:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It was an interesting insight into Pixar’s process in a lot of ways, particularly in terms of what scenes they animate first. For example, one of the few fully animated scenes we saw was the brief clip of the girl playing in her apartment when Carl’s balloon’s float by, and the room lights up in the balloon’s colors. While I’m sure there were some minor tweaks between the preview and the premiere, the scene was essentially fully complete, while more important scenes such as Ellie’s death, or meeting Dug for the first time, were still in storyboards. I suppose there’s a more prosaic explanation, but I came away with the impression that they just really, really loved that scene, and couldn’t wait to animate it. That’s probably part of it, but wouldn’t another be that that shot is pretty much perfect for a teaser trailer for the film? I didn’t see any for Up some how, so I don’t know if it was actually in one or not. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/45 "2009-12-01T02:50:18Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > I’ll grant you, The Incredibles was better WRT my complaint than most. I did think Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter were perfect for those roles. > > Nelson is hardly a “star” though. He just fit the role. Good for him. I enjoyed his character. > > Holly Hunter - while she fit her role perfectly, it again, was basically her just playing Holly Hunter. Compare her role in O Brother - it’s a very similar character. Helen Parr and Penny McGill the same character? Man, I don’t see that at all. Similar roles maybe, in that they’re both wives exasperated by their husbands, but I don’t think you could have gone further in two different directions with the characterization. > [@](#): > > I do agree with Miller - Pixar doesn’t do “stunt castings” like some of the lesser animation studios. I dunno - I just find it a bit lazy to use a well established celebrity voice for a character. I use the Rich Little metric for determining if a casting choice is legitimate or not. This is where I ask myself, “Could they have replaced that voice actor with Rich Little doing an impression of that actor, without materially affecting the quality of the film?” (Dreamworks could have saved a bundle on _Shark Tale_.) Pixar almost always passes the Rich Little test. Tom Hanks may not have been stretching himself dramatically for the role of Woody, but he wasn’t just doing self-parody, either. I view it as more akin to writing a particular movie role with a particular actor in mind. There’s nothing wrong with tailoring a role to your actor’s strengths, in film or in animation. On the other hand, it’s not a perfect system. Note to Pixar screenwriters: if you ever find yourself thinking, “You know who would be absolutely perfect for this role? Larry the Cable Guy!” then you desperately need another rewrite. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/46 "2009-12-01T02:51:46Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > That’s probably part of it, but wouldn’t another be that that shot is pretty much perfect for a teaser trailer for the film? Oh, sure. Piss all over my cherished illusions, why don’t you? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/47 "2009-12-01T04:54:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Oh, sure. Piss all over my cherished illusions, why don’t you? It was probably a good test segment for how the light passes through thousands of differently colored balloons. There are different crews working on different segments, and I’m pretty sure that scene was done early because it could have presented problems that might have taken some time and engineering to get right. It had no lead characters, no fur, no foreground soft, fluffy clouds. But it did have an interesting lighting challenge that would figure in a good percentage of the rest of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/48 "2009-12-01T05:03:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > On the other hand, it’s not a perfect system. Note to Pixar screenwriters: if you ever find yourself thinking, “You know who would be absolutely perfect for this role? Larry the Cable Guy!” then you desperately need another rewrite. Frankly this was one of their best castings in their movie library. He did a perfect job for it, and who else really would you put as a crappy pickup? ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/49 "2009-12-01T05:20:17Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Frankly this was one of their best castings in their movie library. > > He did a perfect job for it, and who else really would you put as a crappy pickup? You could simply not have the character. That would’ve been… nice. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/50 "2009-12-01T05:46:11Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > You could simply not have the character. That would’ve been… nice. But every small, dying town need a village idiot. 😃 I actually thought the character worked despite the recognizable voice. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/51 "2009-12-01T06:24:22Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > He did a perfect job for it, and who else really would you put as a crappy pickup? Pat Buttram? Were he still alive, anyway. I will say Mater is the least objectionable version in which I’ve been exposed to Larry. Does it make me a bad person if I thought he was actually pretty hilarious during the group session at the end of Blue Collar? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/52 "2009-12-01T07:05:29Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I will say Mater is the least objectionable version in which I’ve been exposed to Larry. That is an excellent phrase. I feel the same way about Billy Crystal, that Mike Wazowski was the _least objectionable_ version of Billy Crystal. I shall use it frequently: “His role in Joe Dante’s [Innerspace](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093260/) was the _least objectionable_ piece of acting by the otherwise execrable Martin Short.” Thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298.md?page=2)