Poll of the Day > Do you think cartoon characters should be voiced by their ethnicity/race

(+) Yeah! (+)

Arv does not think so

Has never been an issue, why start now

It'd be really hard to find real aliens to voice the aliens

JixHedgehog posted...

Has never been an issue, why start now

Apu says hello.

Who's Arv.

And I honestly don't care as long as the acting is good and the voice fits.

Phil LaMarr was great as Samurai Jack and Aquaman

@Metalsonic66

Phil LaMarr was amazing as John Stewart/ Green Lantern. In fact, he was so good, the only Green Lantern in my mind is John Stewart.

Metalsonic66 posted...

Phil LaMarr was great as 1990~2009

Fixed

You mean 2022 and beyond?

I care but only 1/3rd

the other 2/3rds is just wanting a good voice actor

I don't think of cartoon characters as having an ethnicity/race.

Arcturusisnow posted...

Apu says goodbye.

Fixed. And I hate it. There was nothing wrong with him!

Its generally preferable, if only to get more people chances to work. Its funny that people were so mad that Apu left the Simpsons. The most vocal ones probably haven't even WATCHED the show in a decade+ as is.

DeathMagnetic80 posted...

Its generally preferable, if only to get more people chances to work. Its funny that people were so mad that Apu left the Simpsons. The most vocal ones probably haven't even WATCHED the show in a decade+ as is.

So you think shredder from the 80s cartoon should be voiced by a different guy?

No, it's stupid. As long as the portrayal isn't racist (which would be a problem regardless of the VA), it shouldn't fucking matter.

If we do get pushed into that lunacy though, I want it to be fucking consistent.
If white people can't voice minorities, no POC voicing white characters, either.

not really, but if you are gonna get a white guy to do a shitty foreign accent just hire someone who actually has the accent please.

ArvTheGreat posted...

So you think shredder from the 80s cartoon should be voiced by a different guy?

I'm talking about going forward. Still wild that Uncle Phil was Shredder though lol

All things being equal, yes. There's nothing wrong with specifically casting, say, someone of Japanese ethnicity over a White person to voice a Japanese character.

The biggest name I can think of recently is Alyson Court, who voiced Jubilee in the 90s X-Men cartoon. She's White, and when the rumors about the continuation of the series began, said flat-out she won't voiced Jubilee again, because she thinks an Asian actress should get the job.

https://twitter.com/alysontheother/status/1274088404637147140

Also, fun fact: Catherine Disher (Jean Grey in that series) and Cedric Smith (Professor X) used to be married.

I think every middle aged woman who voices a teenage or younger boy should be fired. If you aren't the exact same sex/gender/race/ethnicity/nationality/religion/fan of the same sports teams as the character you're playing, you shouldn't be allowed to play them.

I dont really think it should matter. Whoever voices the character better (regardless of race, sex, gender, etc) should get the part. I mean, there have been plenty of females who voices male characters, for example, like PO mentioned Like the original Ash Ketchum or Tommy Pickles. Some people have a voice that they want their character to have. And if a person of a different race has that voice, then it should be fine to cast them

LinkPizza posted...

I dont really think it should matter. Whoever voices the character better (regardless of race, sex, gender, etc) should get the part. I mean, there have been plenty of females who voices male characters, for example, like PO mentioned Like the original Ash Ketchum or Tommy Pickles. Some people have a voice that they want their character to have. And if a person of a different race has that voice, then it should be fine to cast them

The reason women tend to get cast as young boys is because 1, they have years or decades of experience; and 2, they can maintain the character for a long time. An actual boy is going to go through puberty and have a deeper voice (for instance, Zach Callison from Steven Universe has talked about having difficulty pitching his voice up in Season 5 to match his season 1 performance), but it ended up working because Steven was aged up for the movie and Future.

OTOH, you have The Amazing World of Gumball, which recast Gumball three times as the actors aged out of the role.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

The reason women tend to get cast as young boys is because...

Doesn't matter what they sound like, if they don't have a penis it's sexism.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

The reason women tend to get cast as young boys is because 1, they have years or decades of experience; and 2, they can maintain the character for a long time. An actual boy is going to go through puberty and have a deeper voice (for instance, Zach Callison from Steven Universe has talked about having difficulty pitching his voice up in Season 5 to match his season 1 performance), but it ended up working because Steven was aged up for the movie and Future.

OTOH, you have The Amazing World of Gumball, which recast Gumball three times as the actors aged out of the role.

Thata the whole point, though. They use women because that have a voice that works for the character. So, the same thing can be used for race. Who cares if the actor has the same color skin or not. Just cast whoever has the right voice, regardless of race They use women instead of young boys because the voices of the women whom play those roles fit. So, if some white guy has a voice that sounds exactly like you pictured a specific black character having, then it should be fine to give that roles to that white guy Give the voice actor jobs to the people who can voice the character the way you want regardless of skin tone

mostly i think it's stupid. the actor who does the best job for the role they're going for should get it. the jubilee and apu situations were especially stupid.

Nade_Duck posted...

the actor who does the best job for the role they're going for should get it. the jubilee and apu situations were especially stupid.

Personally, I'm outraged that none of the Simpsons voice actors are bright yellow in real life. That seems incredibly offensive to me.

Veronica Taylor and Sarah Natochenny come to mind as Ash Ketchum. They both did excellent work. In the case of Sarah she's still doing excellent work.

Arcturusisnow posted...

Apu says hello.

Apu was never a problem.

No.

It's called "Acting" for a reason.

I was shocked to learn and have found it Grossly offensive that Brian from family guy is Not voiced by an actual dog.

Likewise bugs bunny should be Voiced by a rabbit Daffy Duck by a duck and Garfield by a morbidly obese cat

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

The biggest name I can think of recently is Alyson Court, who voiced Jubilee in the 90s X-Men cartoon. She's White, and when the rumors about the continuation of the series began, said flat-out she won't voiced Jubilee again, because she thinks an Asian actress should get the job.

Kristen Bell did something similar recently with her new series Central Park, she transitioned to another role in the series and the new actress is doing well, the new character has yet to make an impression (if you enjoy musical comedies of course, Schmiggaadoon anyone?)

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

The reason women tend to get cast as young boys is because 1, they have years or decades of experience; and 2, they can maintain the character for a long time. An actual boy is going to go through puberty and have a deeper voice (for instance, Zach Callison from Steven Universe has talked about having difficulty pitching his voice up in Season 5 to match his season 1 performance), but it ended up working because Steven was aged up for the movie and Future.

OTOH, you have The Amazing World of Gumball, which recast Gumball three times as the actors aged out of the role.

The Adventure Time pilot actually started with the older brother of Finn's voice actor and when the series was picked up, they aged the character with the actor over the course of the series (probably one of the reasons for the weird production schedule during the series run)

LinkPizza posted...

Thata the whole point, though. They use women because that have a voice that works for the character. So, the same thing can be used for race. Who cares if the actor has the same color skin or not. Just cast whoever has the right voice, regardless of race They use women instead of young boys because the voices of the women whom play those roles fit. So, if some white guy has a voice that sounds exactly like you pictured a specific black character having, then it should be fine to give that roles to that white guy Give the voice actor jobs to the people who can voice the character the way you want regardless of skin tone

I remember a Quebecois man who was big in the nineties for his impressions, was often compared to the guy from Police Academy for his ability to recreate sounds but he could do specific accents and voices as well; I have to wonder if he is around today and what the kids would think of his act.

As a voice actor myself, I believe it should all be left in the hands of the creators and/or casting directors of whatever TV show/movie/game/whatever is being created.

Do you, as the creator, believe that a black man would best fit your main character, who also happens to be a black man? Ok. Then seek out, and cast the best, most talented black voice actor you can find, and pay him an honest wage.

But if we have a "Samurai Jack" situation, where we have no need to be entirely accurate between the actor, their voice, and the character...then all that we need to focus on is the sound, and the talent, right? Right. The correct choice in this scenerio is to cast whomever delivers the performance that best fits the "vision" of the project being created. Whether that's a white man playing a white man, a white man playing a black man, an elderly asian woman playing a buff monkey man with golden hair, a black man playing a time-traveling Japanese samurai warrior who wields a magic sword, and etc. and etc.

Voice acting is a wonderful, magical medium where characters can be brought to life in ways that are not possible in other formats, such as live action. Why would anyone try to limit or police such gifts? Art? Freedom of creativity? When has that ever lead to an improvement for society as a whole?

I understand the concern. The injustices. PoC, and other minorities can and have been discriminated against in the past. Whether it was in Hollwwood, or other places. More job opportunities should be created on their behalf, in order to combat future cases of discrimination.

But incidents like what happened with Jubilee, or Laura Bailey and Uncharted 4 just don't make any sense to me. There's plenty of room for "all of the above." Wheb your project puts politics first over creativity, I believe you've gotten things a little mixed up. Relax, people! And let the medium breath. Voice acting is incredible! Filled with incredible people. Now let people do what they were born to do, in every way possible.

Hell Arv still only accepts Jaleel white voicing sonic

ArvTheGreat posted...

Hell Arv still only accepts Jaleel white voicing sonic

That's offensive. He's not even a blue hedgehog. It's completely unacceptable.

I have a question, do yall prefer sub or dubbed anime(PO need not apply, I know his answer)?

EvilMegas posted...

I have a question, do yall prefer sub or dubbed anime(PO need not apply, I know his answer)?

Hey now, I'm mildly offended by that.

And I'm also curious what you think my answer actually is.

EvilMegas posted...

I have a question, do yall prefer sub or dubbed anime(PO need not apply, I know his answer)?

I prefer the dub if it's at least decent. Would rather not have to read subtitles on the bottom while watching something.
If the dub is bad, I'll watch subbed. Or if subbed is the only option, it's not a major issue that'd deter me from watching. Or if the dubbed version is censored or something, I'll watch subbed.

I prefer subbed to hear the differences in the speech from what the English script is written to. Most modern dubs are fine and I'll watch but I just prefer watching the subs.

Bonus points for watching it dubbed while watching with the English transcription from the Japanese audio.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Hey now, I'm mildly offended by that.

And I'm also curious what you think my answer actually is.

Your serious answer would be: You don't mind dubs. I just cannot imagine you liking subbed.

The PO answer is that all anime is a mistake.

EvilMegas posted...

I have a question, do yall prefer sub or dubbed anime(PO need not apply, I know his answer)?

I think I prefer subbed. But Ill continue to watch it in whichever language I started it in. But I definitely play Danganronpa dubbed

KodyKeir posted...

Bonus points for watching it dubbed while watching with the English transcription from the Japanese audio.

I do this quite often, as well

Arcturusisnow posted...

Apu says hello.

APu went nearly 30 years without being an issue of note, until the blight that is Twitter randomly decided to make it such. And even then, the "issue" was that he's using a cliche Indian accent and mannerisms, which is all about writing, not casting. See Indian actor Karan Soni playing Dopinder in the Deadpool movies, yet playing a cliche Indian immigrant all the same. Casting the correct race changed zero about what was "offensive."

Last I checked, the whole point of acting was playing someone you *aren't*, and voice casting specifically on race is doubly stupid when the ethnicity, gender, etc. of the voice actor can be easily detached from their depiction.

That said, it's a moot point, since Hollywood has absolutely been tripping over itself to enforce affirmative action ever since the bogus OscarsSoWhite nonsense. So making sure everything conforms and matches is the new zeitgheist.

CyborgSage00x0 posted...

See Indian actor Karan Soni

He is really great in the series Miracle Workers with Steve Buscemi

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

All things being equal, yes. There's nothing wrong with specifically casting, say, someone of Japanese ethnicity over a White person to voice a Japanese character.

The biggest name I can think of recently is Alyson Court, who voiced Jubilee in the 90s X-Men cartoon. She's White, and when the rumors about the continuation of the series began, said flat-out she won't voiced Jubilee again, because she thinks an Asian actress should get the job.

https://twitter.com/alysontheother/status/1274088404637147140

Also, fun fact: Catherine Disher (Jean Grey in that series) and Cedric Smith (Professor X) used to be married.

I never knew that Jubilee was supposed to be Asian.

lihlih posted...

I never knew that Jubilee was supposed to be Asian.

The more recent art makes it more apparent but I can understand where you're coming from.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_(Marvel_Comics)

huh, she was a vampire for a while.

No, in the future we will all love each other and share each other's voices. We need to start now.

EvilMegas posted...

Your serious answer would be: You don't mind dubs. I just cannot imagine you liking subbed.

The PO answer is that all anime is a mistake.

Okay, to be fair, that's pretty close to my actual opinion (both versions).

But it's slightly more nuanced. If a dub is absolutely terrible (and some are, especially older ones), I might be more inclined to watch a sub instead. And like Kody mentioned, I'll sometimes watch it with both on at once (DVDs with switchable audio/subtitle tracks are great). And for stuff like Excel Saga, I watched it that way with the cultural subtitles on just to understand 90% of the references.

But I'll generally go with dub over sub just because I'm not a weeb, and I don't think we need to maintain the purity of the original sound/meaning/etc to absolute perfection to a fault. I find it perfectly acceptable to have characters use English idioms rather than Japanese ones that most Westerners won't understand, or change localized references (like having Sailor Moon called "meatball head" instead of "dumpling head"), or generally make the story/dialogue more accessible to Westerners. Worst case I'll just watch the dub with the subtitles on and compare the two to see what the differences are.

On the other hand, if the dub is absolutely butchered (like 80s Voltron), or the voices are utterly annoying or incredibly awkward, or if no dub is available, I'm perfectly fine watching the sub (and I did back in the late 90s when I got some tape-trading shows that only had fan translations).

I don't really like anime now, but I definitely went through my phase in the 90's/early 2000's (and I've still got a fondness for older stuff like Lodoss War or Ronin Warrors or Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers for the weebs).

I didn't feel like typing it all but that is almost exactly what I thought you'd say lol

I don't really have a preference either way, except when it comes to old favorites/long runners (Pokemon, DBZ, FMA, etc.) in which case I stick with what I know. I just can't take Goku's original voice seriously..

Other than that I'm perfectly happy to watch a show in either language. If I feel like a dub is taking away from the quality in some way I'll try the sub, and if I hear good things about a dub or if I feel like a sub is too bland in dialogue (which happens fairly often) then I'll try the dub.

keyblader1985 posted...

I just can't take Goku's original voice seriously..

Grandma Goku is a very specific flavour that can really polarize people.

I enjoy it but it gets weird when I go back and watch in English after hours of Grandma Goku and all of a sudden its Sean's tenor and I remember that Goku's balls dropped during his journey to the west.

EvilMegas posted...

I have a question, do yall prefer sub or dubbed anime(PO need not apply, I know his answer)?

Most dubs are fine voice wise now but sub will almost always be better. Voices aside, because of really shitty script changes it's just far better to watch subbed instead.

lihlih posted...

I never knew that Jubilee was supposed to be Asian.

She wasn't. At least the original version and art style.

Revelation34 posted...

Most dubs are fine voice wise now but sub will almost always be better. Voices aside, because of really shitty script changes it's just far better to watch subbed instead.

She wasn't. At least the original version and art style.

Just goes to show that even the some popular VAs are ignorant as fuck. Kinda sad she was the voice of Claire Redfield now.