# Why do studios remake cartoons with live actors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391 "2005-04-27T16:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/21 "2005-04-28T07:07:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Jennifer Tilly, and James Coburn aren’t big stars? IMO, they’re more of second- and third-tier talents, at least in terms of name recognition (the “Q rating”). I’d wager more people know who Antonio Banderas is than James Coburn, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/22 "2005-04-28T07:32:08Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > For instance, when I heard that John Goodman was going to play Fred Flintstone, I thought that he would be perfect in that role. So I ponied up my 7 bucks. Well, he wasn’t perfect, but he was very, very good. Be fair though. Fred Flinstone is a complex, multifaceted character, difficult for any actor to portray perfectly. In fact, many actors when discussing challenging roles rank Fred Flinstone as a close second to Hamlet. Too bad Jackie Gleason couldn’t have taken the part. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/23 "2005-04-28T07:52:20Z")
Hard to spell too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/24 "2005-04-28T11:23:57Z")
I think Pixar did a good job of not using their stars to pimp the film so much, though. They didn’t show the actors performing on the DVD extras, and I think that was to preserve the image of that voice with that character as much as possible. Of course, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson are such distinctive voices that it’s impossible to not picture them upon hearing them (YMMV, of course). But to answer the OP, it’s the excitement of seeing “how’d they do that?”. You want to see how they bring a two-dimensional character into three dimensions. It’s a fascinating challenge. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/25 "2005-04-28T15:11:36Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Didn’t realize how time-consuming animation is…does that apply to TV as well? Because the Simpsons and their cohorts seem to produce at the same rate as live-action sitcoms. “Very few animated shows are broadcast live anymore. It’s a terrible strain on the animators arms.” -The Simpsons ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/26 "2005-04-28T15:57:59Z")
> [@Greg Charles](#): > > Be fair though. Fred Flinstone is a complex, multifaceted character, difficult for any actor to portray perfectly. In fact, many actors when discussing challenging roles rank Fred Flinstone as a close second to Hamlet. > > Too bad Jackie Gleason couldn’t have taken the part. I wish Olivier, in his prime, had had a go at playing Flintstone. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/27 "2005-04-28T16:18:01Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Bah! I like _Buffy_ and all, but SMG is nowhere near as smokin’ as Daphne. pfui! Linda Cardellini’s Velma had some serious hotness going on. Odd, given Velma’s reputation… ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/28 "2005-04-28T16:27:56Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > While Walt still lived, Peggy Lee voiced three characters in _Lady and the Tramp_. Of Course Peggy eventually had to sue to get her rightful monies for co-writing a lot of the songs, so maybe that’s where the no-stars rule came from. The no-stars rule was in place from the very beginning; it was established so that the audience would identify only with the character the actor was playing, and not bring over any baggage from the actor’s previous roles. Peggy Lee was a famous singer, true, but she never established a viable acting career and was not a “movie star” by any means. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391/29 "2005-04-28T17:29:45Z")
> [@](#): > > The no-stars rule was in place from the very beginning; If that’s the case they violated it themselves long before today. **Jerry Collona** was an extremely well-known and popular performer before he played The March Hare in **Alice in Wonderland**. Hans Conreid starred in his own movies, but he’s had plenty of Disney roles, including the Father and Captain Hook in **Peter Pan**. And what about **Ukulele Ike** (the original Cliff Edwards, not the SDMB’s character) who played Jiminy Cricket in **Pinocchio**? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-studios-remake-cartoons-with-live-actors/301391.md?page=1)