Shrek 2 voice changes

S

Sandradee W

New member
Why did they have to change 2 of the voices for the UK release of Shrek 2?

In the U.S. version the ugly stepsister/barman is voiced by talk-show host Larry King (in U.K. Johnathan Ross) and the red carpet reporter is voiced by Joan Rivers (in U.K. Kate Thornton??).

Now, revoicing the ugly sister is mostly ok as everyone knows Rossy and may not know Larry King.

However, the animators of the reporter quite clearly modelled the character on Joan Rivers (who is now well known for her red-carpet reports) so why on earth would they get an almost unknown B-list "celebrity" to re-voice the character??
 
That is what I couldn't understand when i watched the movie - i could see that it was clearly Joan on screen but it wasn't her voice - even though the end credits said it was. Apparently there are extra credits at the very end though - for the UK dubs.
From what I've read they are doing this in other countries as well - using local celebs
 
I could understand this if not for the fact that most of the main cast are English. John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Jennifer Saunders and Rupert Everett.
 
Yes, I saw them. There's about one or two pages of them which was quite surprising. I think there were 3 voice changes and the rest was full of the names of the British producers that had to edit the film with the UK voices! They were very quick and only lasted about 10 secs...
 
Totally pointless and weird. Like the other poster it was obvious to me that it was supposed to be Joan Rivers, who is a lot more famous in the UK than Kate Thingy. Really strange deicision, hope they don't do it for the DVD.
 
My brother said during the movie that the barman was voiced by Jonathan Ross but the credits showed different, maybe they were not updated but I would be annoyed if my name was not featured.
 
well ive seen the pirate version of this film (shok horror, etc, etc,) which had the american voices, the film is still just as good, and basically what was the point ?, dubbing a film which is already in english, seems like a waste of time and money !
 
The film is a kid's film, and most kid's won't know who the hell Joan Rivers is (me included :o ), or Larry King. And although they might not know who Kate Thornton is, they probably will recognise her voice more than Joan Rivers's.
 
As mentioned, the ugly sister was voiced by Johnathon Ross ad the British credits were straight after the American credits. Please read the thread!
 
Me too, and thought it sounded better with the peoper voices. Andi Peters did have a bit on Toy Story 2, but his name was not in the cast list. He was credited but in a seperate list of 'other voices' which appeared almost at the end of the credits when everynoe has probably left the cinema or turned the DVD off!

Padzter :D
 
Yes he is, although the international versions of Toy Story 2 have a scene with Buzz Lightyear in front of an American flag replaced with Buzz in front of a spinning toy globe.
 
Kate Thornton. How depressing. This woman used to inerview celebs for the print media, and somehow lucked into a UK tv career. I don' t know how. She asks inane questions in an annoying chirpy voice and has the ugliest facial bone structure of any woman on British TV. It's true, her brow and cheekbones are like Rondo Hatton's and I swear she's developing acromegaly. Of course, if that's the case, all credit to her for continuing to work even when she is suffering from a hideously deforming disease.

A better choice to ensure across the board recognition by UK audiences would have been Anne Robinson. At least her voice is distinctive and authoritative, even though her appearance changes from week to week depending on where she's had the latest facial tuck or botox injection.

The only other truly ubiquitous female presenter on UK TV is Davina McCall who, like Kate Thornton, is a gargoyle-faced harpy with little talent, but her voice is similarly bland and undistinctive, and wouldn't score high on the recognition stakes without Davina's beak-like nose, lardy butt and lazy, round-shouldered posture on screen to remind viewers who they are listening to.

All in all, a fairly pathetic, pointless, and even insulting exercise in 'customising' the product for local markets. Not putting up the names of the 'performers' who revoiced characters for the UK market as part of the primary cast list was very, very cheap.
 
......and of course, Joan Rivers is an absolute stunner isn't she. I've never read such a load of mindless drivel in all my time on these boarRAB. No doubt you'll come back at me on that but don't expect a reply as I've expressed my opinion already and can't be arsed to get into a protracted slanging match. Fair play to Thornton for making much out of very little.

I think the addition of a couple of UK voiceovers for the British market is a nice touch. I can't believe so much space has been wasted on slagging it when the movie is fantastic.
 
Are you trying to be ironic by emphasising distinguishable physical appearances, when the film requires nothing more than vocal expression? Anne Robinson would have worked universally just like Joan Rivers (who has featured in both The simpsons and Family Guy, if I remember correctly). I've never even heard of this Kate.
 
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