Realistic voices vs. "cartoonish" voices.

G

galway gal!

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I'm just curious as to which approach to voicing a cartoon character people seem to prefer- using a "trick" voice, or one's natural speaking voice.

Or does it depend on the character, or the cartoon's tone?
 
It depends on the show. If the show is silly then it is perfectally okay to have people with fake voices. If it is realistic, then use real voices.
 
i think it's also a matter of a show and its casting director's idea of representation vs. realism. I don't think there's anything realistic about an adult Japanese female voice coming out of a boy, man or robot but that's one of the reasons I watch subs.
 
I think it depends on the series and the character. For instance, Chowder has a mix of semi-normal voices and more cartoonish ones, yet they all fit.
 
it depends on the character and what type of show that it is. Obviously, a wacky cartoon character isn't going to have a normal sounding voice, and a sane, rational character wouldn't have a wacky voice.
 
I wonder how many voice actors have "cartoonish" voices by default? I used to know a DJ who had sort of a high, rounded voice, sort of like Rod Roddy minus the cracking.
 
Then, you might as well stop watching cartoons altogether. Cartoonish-sounding voices will be used in animation all the time, whether you like it or not, and there's nothing wrong with that depending on the character and what type of show it is.
 
I remember reading in a magazine when they first tried to make Batman, the Animated Series. They tried to use regular voice artists like Maurice LaMarche and Frank Welker and all of a sudden, they went from serious to silly voices when recording. It was then, the producers decided to get real actors to do the voices since it was a pretty serious show.
 
I think you mean "on-camera" actors. Voice acting is real acting, too. :)

I also think that the voice should match the character. I like the cartoony voices and the more realistic ones alike, but I won't appreciate an excessively cartoony voice in a more serious cartoon or an overly dramatic voice in a silly cartoon no matter how good the actual performance is.

-- Ed
 
Agreed, Ed. Speaking of voice acting being real acting, we sometimes wonder what the heck is the fuss with cartoon voice-over artists complaining about TV actors in cartoon voice-over roles. On that note, there needs to be a compromise between both professional cartoon voice-over artists and the TV actors who perfrom cartoon voice-overs, because it's just like you stated, Ed, voice acting is real acting, as long as the voice fits the cartoon character in question.
 
I'm sorry I misused my words. I didn't mean to disrespect voice artists like that. I honor and admire voice artists works like you wouldn't believe.
 
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