"I did this VA work so I could do something for my kids"

[Jacky Lawliet]

I often hear this from actors in the industry that do voiceover work for animated movies, that they want to do something so their kids or whatever will have something to watch, but that whole reason always struck me as somewhat condescending, like it's just phoning the whole thing in. There are some A-list actors that genuinely love to do VA work for movies or cartoons because it's just challenging or fun to them, but some just see it as something for the "kids." Any thoughts on this mindset?

 

[wild_legs76]

I think Claire Danes signed on to Mononoke in hopes of it being something "for kids."

Then she saw the movie.

 

[dellreyna1984]

Rofl, thats smarts for ya'

 

[yagotabfnkidnme]

I don't think it's always intended to be condescending, or that it means the actors are just phoning it in. For instance, Chris Rock's stand-up comedy is not material for kids, so when he says that he took the role in Madagascar so he would have something his kids could watch, I think he really means just that.

If the performance isn't any good, then it really doesn't matter if the actor did it for the paycheck, for the challenge, out of love for animation, or for his/her kids. If the performance works, it's only a matter for movie trivia buffs to care why the actor took the role.