Voice actor appreciation thread

KrangPrime

Master Member
anyone follow voice actors regularly?

for many of us, they practically raised us as a kid and if they did their job believably enough, we never even knew it until we got older and started following things :).

I first noticed voice actors as a kid with tmnt. I would wonder why Bebop and Donatello had different voices at the same time, and it wasn't until later that i bothered to find out why :). after that, when i found out a person could disguise their voice so completely that you didn't know it was them, I Started to pay WAY more attention to that field and got better at identifying who was who.....sometimes through a laugh, or an odd cadence, it became a fun game :).

anyone else appreciate voice actors on here? considering most people tend to think i'm a woman on the phone, as i tend to get higher pitched when nervous with phone phobia, i admire the control these guys have over their voices..:D
 
"The voice of my childhood" or "Literal voice of a generation" I find to be reductive, hyperbolic, and idiotic statements when it comes to these guys, but I do unintentionally follow voice actors for no real reason other than just to keep track of whose voice it is I'm hearing when I hear them.

For me, it all started with Mel Blanc. I don't know how many people's families did this but my family used to record Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies shorts whenever a block of them would play. I still have these tapes today however many years I've had them (and I've had them since the beginning) and early on I noticed, even from the early days of Bugs Bunny, when he was drawn more like a rabbit, that the voice for him was similar sounding to the latter iterations of him. And even the surrounding voices, they all carried a certain pitch and cadence that was unmistakably Mel. Since then, I've got this habit of cataloging voices to names to keep in the back of my mind "just cuz", really.

I'm sure there are others out there but of the few podcasts I listen to regularly, one of them is called, "Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen". Rob Paulsen (Yakko/Pinky/Raphael/Donatello and many others) hosts and has VO guests come on and they discuss the "biz", how they started, and how they got in. If anyone is remotely interested in any of that stuff, it's pretty entertaining stuff. He's got an extensive library of shows now so for anyone just jumping in and going, "He sure takes his time making these," there's plenty to occupy your time. He's had Mark Hamill on a couple of times and it's always fun hearing Hamill talk shop.
 
With my 4yo recently discovering The Real Ghostbusters on Netflix, I wanted to throw in Lorenzo Music's work.
 
Mostly, I hate the voices of animated characters. They are so over-the-top. They grate on me.

But, I do have a keen appreciation for good narrators. Kenneth Cranham is my favorite--one of the best speaking voices I've ever heard.

The Wook
 
I appreciate voice actors, though I don't really follow any of them closely.... I will note with nonsensical pride that Ashleigh Ball and I have the exact same birthday :D

I do miss Lorenzo Music – I grew up on Garfield & The Real Ghostbusters.

Always impressed by the number of distinct voices a good actor can wield, like Hank Azaria, for example.

To paraphrase Homer Simpson, "They give so much and ask so little."


-MJ
 
I may be a bit older than some … grew up with Mel Blanc and such, but it was Edward Everett Horton on the Jay C. Ward cartoons that first comes to mind when I think of childhood voice talent. Hans Conried, Paul Frees were also familiar "voices."

I was genuinely surprised when I was older and caught Horton on camera in Astaire flicks, then started really noticing him.

When you think of the old "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Mr. Peabody" cartoons, Horton's narration seems the epitome of a dad or granddad reading a bedtime tale.


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Susan Egan who plays Gina in the English dub of Porco Rosso is one who stands out for me. IMO a lot of actors, stripped of the ability to physically gesture, tend to be too "large" when doing voice acting. The best Japanese anime don't do this so, as a rule, most English dubs sound ridiculous and, at best, tolerable.

On the other hand Susan Egan treats her part in Porco Rosso with remarkable delicacy - even as an American dubbing for an Italian character singing in French in a Japanese anime. She's one of the few voice actors who get it right.
 
Speaking of the Japanese side of things...

My favorite seiyuu are Hoshi Souichiro and Ikue Ohtani.

Hoshi-san has done a wide range of works, from shounen action heroes to the calm, collected characters. Sometimes in the same role (hello, Higurashi). At least once, even, he played both types of characters against each other, in the same scene, and I don't know if anyone else could tell it was the same, he differentiated them enough that it at least didn't sound the same (I pick up on his voice immediately, and already knew both characters were him, so I can't say for myself...) Unfortunately, he is HORRIBLE at fake crying. And I mean horrible. As in, the worst I've ever heard.

Ikue-san, on the other hand, is known worldwide as the voice of Pikachu. I've actually had the honor of meeting her and having dinner with her, and she was wonderful. There was also a voice acting demonstration, and I wore my Pikachu costume, and her demo of Pikachu was pointing me out and basically saying, in Pikachu "you're not Pikachu! I'm Pikachu!" She also asked to try on the head, and adored my costume (which, honestly, is pretty bad). Pikachu's not her only role, of course. I'm not a One Piece or Naruto fan, but I suspect many fans don't realize that Tony Chopper and Konohamaru share a voice with Pikachu. I also adored her in Haruka, a little-known title in the US, and has Hana-chan in Ojamajo Doremi. It bummed me out greatly that her voices in the Tales of the Abyss anime were changed to others (I assume because she was too busy with Pokemon and One Piece to do a weekly show).

She also apparently does Dot in the Japanese Animaniacs opening. I can hear it, but I'll let you guys check it out for yourself.
 
Love Tara Strong! I had my Twilight Sparkle figure signed by her from the last time I went to comic con. She's super nice.
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Also, I think we're all forgetting one of the greats...
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Goes along with Hamill, But Kevin Conroy much ? He's still THE batman reference for a few generations I would guess !
Dude, thats not a guess, thats a FACT. :D I wont play a batman game, or watch a batman cartoon if he isnt the voice. Aside from Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamil, on the female side was Jennifer Hale. She was the voice of Felicia Hardy from the old spider man cartoons, and does a lot of video game stuff now. I always thought she had the sexiest, sultry voice. I never looked up what she looked like cause I didnt want to think of something different than what she actually looked like! I did that with Peter Cullen, I wish I hadnt. His voice is awesome though, so much range. H Jon Benjamin from Archer is funny too, didnt look up him either.
 
"The voice of my childhood" or "Literal voice of a generation" I find to be reductive, hyperbolic, and idiotic statements when it comes to these guys, but I do unintentionally follow voice actors for no real reason other than just to keep track of whose voice it is I'm hearing when I hear them.

For me, it all started with Mel Blanc. I don't know how many people's families did this but my family used to record Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies shorts whenever a block of them would play. I still have these tapes today however many years I've had them (and I've had them since the beginning) and early on I noticed, even from the early days of Bugs Bunny, when he was drawn more like a rabbit, that the voice for him was similar sounding to the latter iterations of him. And even the surrounding voices, they all carried a certain pitch and cadence that was unmistakably Mel. Since then, I've got this habit of cataloging voices to names to keep in the back of my mind "just cuz", really.

I'm sure there are others out there but of the few podcasts I listen to regularly, one of them is called, "Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen". Rob Paulsen (Yakko/Pinky/Raphael/Donatello and many others) hosts and has VO guests come on and they discuss the "biz", how they started, and how they got in. If anyone is remotely interested in any of that stuff, it's pretty entertaining stuff. He's got an extensive library of shows now so for anyone just jumping in and going, "He sure takes his time making these," there's plenty to occupy your time. He's had Mark Hamill on a couple of times and it's always fun hearing Hamill talk shop.

I do find this type of attitude on this type of thing puzzling ;o) and i know it's rather popular.

Normally people who care enough to know who's who really DO appreciate that these people helped raise them through their child hood, and that is one of the reasons why we start to pay attention to who voices who ;o). I find it a bit odd that one can have passion for it, but not HAVE passion for it, if that makes any sense ;o).


But, I do agree on Talkin' Toons. I know a few other voice actors like billy west also have podcasts, but rob's came first, and is the defacto to imitate in my opinion.
My favorite story is the george jetson story, and how his voice actor sadly died doing what he loved, behind a mic voicing a character. literally.
 
"The voice of my childhood" or "Literal voice of a generation" I find to be reductive, hyperbolic, and idiotic statements when it comes to these guys, but I do unintentionally follow voice actors for no real reason other than just to keep track of whose voice it is I'm hearing when I hear them.

For me, it all started with Mel Blanc. I don't know how many people's families did this but my family used to record Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies shorts whenever a block of them would play. I still have these tapes today however many years I've had them (and I've had them since the beginning) and early on I noticed, even from the early days of Bugs Bunny, when he was drawn more like a rabbit, that the voice for him was similar sounding to the latter iterations of him. And even the surrounding voices, they all carried a certain pitch and cadence that was unmistakably Mel. Since then, I've got this habit of cataloging voices to names to keep in the back of my mind "just cuz", really.

I'm sure there are others out there but of the few podcasts I listen to regularly, one of them is called, "Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen". Rob Paulsen (Yakko/Pinky/Raphael/Donatello and many others) hosts and has VO guests come on and they discuss the "biz", how they started, and how they got in. If anyone is remotely interested in any of that stuff, it's pretty entertaining stuff. He's got an extensive library of shows now so for anyone just jumping in and going, "He sure takes his time making these," there's plenty to occupy your time. He's had Mark Hamill on a couple of times and it's always fun hearing Hamill talk shop.

I had a chance to meet Maurice LaMarche while working on a video game. He was a hoot, doing his Shatner along with The Brain in between takes for the game. Frank Welker was a very nice guy as well.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320526/?ref_=nv_sr_4
 
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