Since the creation of animated films, the use of actors to provide voices has been invaluable. Behind the personality of every famous cartoon character is the actor who stands in the recording booth and stretches his way of speaking in unrecognizable ways, all for the sake of entertainment. For some of these artists, the voices they’ve given have far surpassed them as humans in both recognition and adoration, and while the general consensus among voice actors is to be proud of their work no matter what, much of the recognition is too much. thanks to those whose work continues to impress generations later.
When you look at voice acting from the outside, it seems relatively simple compared to the art of on-screen acting. Just having to use your voice instead of their bodies, movements, mannerisms, etc. seems like easy work for actors who may already be known for their visual performances. However, as with any type of acting, there are those who understand how to get the most out of their character vocally, and those who don’t. These skills, often taken for granted, may never have been showcased more exceptionally than with veterans Looney Tunes voice actor, Mel Blanco.
The man with 1000 votes
For over 60 years, Mel Blanc’s voice has been heard by the world, either on the radio or in the hugely popular series of animated shorts, The Looney Tunes. Until his death in 1989, Mel happily voiced almost every major Looney Tunes character (except Elmer Fudd, until original voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan died, at which point Blanc took over) and became the all-too-rare example of a voice actor who became famous for his work. Never before has his kind of vocal range been seen in animated photos, and probably never has been.
Labeled ‘The Man of 1,000 Voices’, Mel Blanc became legendary among voice actors as a sort of grandfather, inspiring a new generation to pick up the trade and help entertain people for years to come. Many recognizable or popular voice actors of our modern age have Blanc to thank for their start, all of whom hope to reach his level of unparalleled expertise by bringing countless characters to life like no one else can.
Big Hitters from the VO Booth
After Mel Blanc’s wildly remarkable career, there have been countless successful and beloved voice actors to follow suit. They’ve given their voice to so many projects that savvy fans can point to them as soon as they hear them, or in some cases be excited to hear a character was voiced by someone they know but didn’t recognize when they heard them.
Popular animated sitcoms owe much of their identity to their voice cast, which not only give the characters their own unique inflections and sounds, but are also able to do so naturally and with striking tonalities. From Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh, Tigger) to John Dimaggio (Bender, Jake the Dog), there’s an inimitable charm to getting just the right voice for the job.
.jpg)
The role of the voice actor, which is exhausting and repetitive, can be vastly underestimated by those who may be hired for the first time, and by others with a more on-screen acting background. It’s not uncommon for a very intense line, one of which may be screamed, to be repeated multiple times to get the shot just right, leading to hours of work that has you screaming to the top of your lungs. Tom Hanks highlights the unforeseen difficulties of voice acting in an interview on The Graham Norton Show below:
Hazards of the job
Western animation is not the only kind that is difficult for the voice actors to absorb. In addition to having to fine-tune the timing when dubbing a project originally shot in another language, some actors have the arduous and sometimes dangerous task of recreating a very intense moment by screaming as loud as possible. A popular example of when the track can go south is when fan favorite Dragon Ball Z voice actor Sean Schemmel passed out in the recording booth while performing a scream during his character’s transformation. Schemmel described the moment at the London Film & Comic-Con 2012:
… it was during the Super Saiyan 4 transformation and I was very tired … and I had been working, not sleeping well. And I miscalculated the amount of air you need for a Kamehameha, I think — or maybe it was a power-up — and I lowered the voice. So, if you go lower when you act, the opening of your vocal cords widens, and I was totally wrong.
.jpg)
Despite all the sore throats and damaged vocal cords, the animated characters we all love wouldn’t be where they are in the public eye without those giving them a voice. From Blanc’s pioneering techniques and range to the modern era of esteemed and talented emerging voice actors making a name for themselves, it’s clear to see what separates the good from the great as long as they stay conscious.