Voices not the stars?

The above link is to a Baltimore Sun column where the author (Chris Kaltenbach) makes the claim that the animaters not the voices are the stars of animated pictures.

You want to know what I think? All you need do is: I halfway agree with this. While I don't think that an animated picture needs to be full of big name voices to pack them in to the theater, I hope you're reading Dreamworks! I won't go so far the other way as to downplay the role of a good voice. I can't picture anyone other than Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible but he's not a box office headliner either. If you find the perfect voice for a character, you'll be one giant step closer to having a good movie. Get the wrong voice, and well you might have another Doogal on your hands.

I don't think who provides the voice of a character is a driving force behind why people go see animated pictures. I think people went to see Toy Story because it was the first film of its kind and they kept going back because it had a good story. I don't think people decided to go see it just because of the voices of Tom Hanks or Tim Allen. I know for sure that nobody went to the Incredibles because of Craig T. Nelson or Sara Vowell, but I wouldn't have those characters done by anyone else.

The lead in Finding Nemo was veteran actor and voice over artist Albert Brooks, why? Because he fit the role that Pixar had in mind for the father.

I don't know anyone going to Open Season next month because of the voices of: MartinLawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, Billy Connolly and Gary Sinise. Now I like a fair number of the people I just listed, but that's not why I'm going to see this movie. Of course, I'm not a fair representation either as I tend to go see as many animated pictures as I can just because I am a fan of the art form.

The correct answer to the question of who is the star, as they are quite fond of saying on audio commentaries for The Simpsons, is that it is a total team effort.

Often times Animaters get the voice tracks and animate based on the work of the actor and even give that character some of the voice over artist's characteristics and mannerisms. Other times it is the way a certain character moves about on screen or his distinct look that attracts an audience and makes that character memorable.

So for me its not the big name, its the right name. Sure, sometimes the big name is also the right name as was the case in Toy Story and is in Shrek as well. The original voice for the dad in Finding Nemo? William H. Macy. The original voice of Shrek? Chris Farley who would've perminently been the voice of Shrek if not for his untimely death. But now, just try and close your eyes and imagine Billy Crystal's voice coming out of Buzz Lightyear (another original choice, Crystal turned down the role, he would not make the same mistake when Monsters Inc. came calling) or anyone other than Mike Myers doing Shrek.

The point is that it takes a lot of hard work on all ends to make a good animated motion picture, there's a reason that these things take 3-years or more.

Article Via: The Animation Guild Blog & Animated News