Current Events > "That celebrity is voicing a character in a movie? I gotta see it!"

(+) Yeah! (+)

Said no one ever.

'Let's give more coverage and publicity to this movie with famous people in it than we would to a movie with some anonymous VAs'.

Said every media outlet ever.

It's rarely if ever been a selling point on its own, but it can often nudge someone who's on the fence.

For instance, I was starting to fall off with Pixar movies around the time Inside Out came out and was dragging my feet over seeing it, but the thought of Lewis Black playing the literal personification of Anger was definitely a motivating factor that ultimately convinced me to watch it.

masterpug53 posted...

It's rarely if ever been a selling point on its own, but it can often nudge someone who's on the fence.

For instance, I was starting to fall off with Pixar movies around the time Inside Out came out and was dragging my feet over seeing it, but the thought of Lewis Black playing the literal personification of Anger was definitely a motivating factor that ultimately convinced me to watch it.

That's....actually pretty fair.

Ivynn posted...

That's....actually pretty fair.

Lewis Black being a Voice in Inside Out was 100% the lone reason I watched it.

So, at least one person said it.

Names draw attention. I agree that it shouldn't be the main selling point like it was for that one Daisy Ridley-voiced game from a few years back, but celebrities get more media attention which means more consumers hear about the product and re-hear about it, which reinforces the liklihood of seeing or playing or listening to something.

Same for directors or companies or musicians or what have you. If you like someone's work, even if it's just their acting ability, voice or otherwise, you're more likely to consume it than something entirely new by parties you've never heard of.

I saw a trailer for Paw Patrol, and all it did the entire time was talk about all of the celebrities they got to voice act.
It didn't even show the main characters.

Turbam posted...

I saw a trailer for Paw Patrol, and all it did the entire time was talk about all of the celebrities they got to voice act.
It didn't even show the main characters.

To be fair, that's them trying to convince parents to take their kids to watch.

K181 posted...

Names draw attention. I agree that it shouldn't be the main selling point like it was for that one Daisy Ridley-voiced game from a few years back, but celebrities get more media attention which means more consumers hear about the product and re-hear about it, which reinforces the liklihood of seeing or playing or listening to something.

Same for directors or companies or musicians or what have you. If you like someone's work, even if it's just their acting ability, voice or otherwise, you're more likely to consume it than something entirely new by parties you've never heard of.

Like, I get the idea behind it. But how many butts in seats does simply a celebrity's voice get? Not as much as actually seeing the celebrity perform, I imagine. It only really works when a character is MADE for that celebrity like Robin Williams' Genie.

Literally me. Never understood why they don't get good VAs instead of actors who might just phone it in.

Jackie Chan dubbing Jackie Chan gets me in there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq_MBc0DAas

ironman2009 posted...

Jackie Chan dubbing Jackie Chan gets me in there.

It wasn't even him.

This happens all the time in live action flicks too.

Will Smith has gotten people to watch some real stinkers. Folks need to look into directors/writers more than just the name or performing talent.

K181 posted...

Names draw attention. I agree that it shouldn't be the main selling point like it was for that one Daisy Ridley-voiced game from a few years back, but celebrities get more media attention which means more consumers hear about the product and re-hear about it, which reinforces the liklihood of seeing or playing or listening to something.

Same for directors or companies or musicians or what have you. If you like someone's work, even if it's just their acting ability, voice or otherwise, you're more likely to consume it than something entirely new by parties you've never heard of.

This, the whole point is to give the product/movie your making some more marketing awareness and having a or many big names attached to it helps with it. Or else you're relying on other factors to get people to talk about your product/movie.

Ivynn posted...

Like, I get the idea behind it. But how many butts in seats does simply a celebrity's voice get? Not as much as actually seeing the celebrity perform, I imagine. It only really works when a character is MADE for that celebrity like Robin Williams' Genie.

When was the last time you bought something because of a commercial?

Now, when was the last time you bought something and, oh by the way, you saw a commercial or an ad for it relatively recently?

Willing to bet the latter was far more recent than the former, but the latter assuredly played a role in your buying habits even if you're not cognizant of it.

Same concept here. Think of announced acting roles as commercials. You may very well not watch something because someone is in it, but there's a pretty good chance that you're watching something because you heard about it possibly in connection to a casting being talked about.

Believe me, if there was no correlation between high profile actors and studios making money, studios would go for no namers making minimum pay every time.

Presented without context, here's a handful of animated movies with star-studded casts that no one ever seems to take issue with for some reason:

The Lion King:
Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Rowan Atkinson, Jonathan Taylor-Thomas

Hunchback of Notre Dame:
Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Jason Alexander, Tom Hulce

Hercules:
James Woods, Danny DeVito, Rip Torn, Wayne Knight, Paul Schaffer, Bobcat Goldthwait

Finding Nemo:
Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Alison Janney, Stephen Root

The Incredibles:
Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn

Wreck-It Ralph:
John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, Mindy Kaling, Ed O'Neill, Jack McBrayer, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz (not counting Alan Tudyk as he's arguably more popular nowadays as a dedicated VA)

Why should voice actors be distinct from other actors in this regard?

Keith David does this in reverse for me. I'll watch anything he's acting in as a real human man because I love his VA work.