Animated best actor?

[RobertScorpio]

Do you think there where ever come a time when an animated character is done so well that the voice-actor gets nominated for best actor? Or is that not possible under the current rules of the Academy Awards?

Rob

 

[Starbreaker]

I don't think it's anything we'll see anytime soon... but I was highly impressed by Zoe Saldana in Avatar.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I don't think it's anything we'll see anytime soon... but I was highly impressed by Zoe Saldana in Avatar.

Which was the inspiration of this thread...but there have been others. I thought Mathew Broderick's LION KING character did great..I KNOW it did...I cried!!! LOL

Rob

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Do you think there where ever come a time when an animated character is done so well that the voice-actor gets nominated for best actor? Or is that not possible under the current rules of the Academy Awards?

Rob

Depends on what might be included. I can see a "Best Voice-Over Performance" category becoming a reality, but it could include one of many things:

a) a voice appearing in a live-action film either as a narrator or as an otherwise unseen character (e.g. Morgan Freeman in "The War of the Worlds")

b) the voice of an animated character in an animated film (e.g. the aforementioned Matthew Broderick in "The Lion King")

c) the voice of a computer-animated character in a film heavily reliant upon "synthespians". This is probably the most contentious as in many cases the actor involved does more than the voice acting, and is often heavily involved in the character's physical performance too - the best example being Andy Serkis in "The Lord of the Rings" but this also includes the recent number of fully performance-captured, computer animated films based on an actor's physical performance such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express" - so there could be an argument for that performer to be eligible for the general acting categories, as many felt Serkis should have been back in 2002.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I am not well versed in this but i do watch a lot of cartoons, so why not throw my 2 cents in here? Simply put, it's a voice actor. Watch The Simpsons. The characters are not acting; that's the animators. And the voices? Well, it's the voice actors.

 

[cardinal biggles]

Depends on what might be included. I can see a "Best Voice-Over Performance" category becoming a reality, but it could include one of many things:

a) a voice appearing in a live-action film either as a narrator or as an otherwise unseen character (e.g. Morgan Freeman in "The War of the Worlds")

b) the voice of an animated character in an animated film (e.g. the aforementioned Matthew Broderick in "The Lion King")

c) the voice of a computer-animated character in a film heavily reliant upon "synthespians". This is probably the most contentious as in many cases the actor involved does more than the voice acting, and is often heavily involved in the character's physical performance too - the best example being Andy Serkis in "The Lord of the Rings" but this also includes the recent number of fully performance-captured, computer animated films based on an actor's physical performance such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express" - so there could be an argument for that performer to be eligible for the general acting categories, as many felt Serkis should have been back in 2002.

Going back 30 years, I guess Frank Oz as Yoda in Empire Strikes Back would fall under "C" even though it's a hand puppet rather than performance-capture + voice acting; I think it's criminal that he couldn't be nominated for an Oscar, nor could Andy Serkis for either Two Towers or Return of the King. I guess they always could have given them a special Oscar if they were so moved, but that rarely ever happens.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Depends on what might be included. I can see a "Best Voice-Over Performance" category becoming a reality, but it could include one of many things:

a) a voice appearing in a live-action film either as a narrator or as an otherwise unseen character (e.g. Morgan Freeman in "The War of the Worlds")

b) the voice of an animated character in an animated film (e.g. the aforementioned Matthew Broderick in "The Lion King")

c) the voice of a computer-animated character in a film heavily reliant upon "synthespians". This is probably the most contentious as in many cases the actor involved does more than the voice acting, and is often heavily involved in the character's physical performance too - the best example being Andy Serkis in "The Lord of the Rings" but this also includes the recent number of fully performance-captured, computer animated films based on an actor's physical performance such as Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express" - so there could be an argument for that performer to be eligible for the general acting categories, as many felt Serkis should have been back in 2002.

Going back 30 years, I guess Frank Oz as Yoda in Empire Strikes Back would fall under "C" even though it's a hand puppet rather than performance-capture + voice acting; I think it's criminal that he couldn't be nominated for an Oscar, nor could Andy Serkis for either Two Towers or Return of the King. I guess they always could have given them a special Oscar if they were so moved, but that rarely ever happens.

Frank Oz definitely would fit in that category.

This guy reckons Serkis could have a chance in the Best Actor category:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spopVKc9vMk

 

[T'Baio]

I don't know if voice acting alone will ever or should ever be nominated outside creating a category for it. But voiced and mo-capped performances should be just as legitimate in actor categories as "live" performances. Andy Serkis should have been nominated, as should Zoe Saldana.

 

[Christopher]

Voice acting is absolutely as valid and important a discipline as any other form of acting, and can indeed be more challenging in some ways. It certainly deserves a category of its own.

As for performance-capture animation, while it's true that the actor creates the majority of the performance, there's still animator intervention to tweak the details -- I think even in Avatar, to some extent. So it's kind of hard to pin down which category it belongs in.

Maybe there could be a combined "Best Performance-Capture or Vocal Performance" category.

 

[zakkrusz]

Voice acting is absolutely as valid and important a discipline as any other form of acting, and can indeed be more challenging in some ways. It certainly deserves a category of its own.

I have to agree.

I'd probabally nominate the likes of Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, Wendee Lee, Michelle Ruff, Johny Young Bosch, Steven Jay Blum, and Laura Bailey.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Gromit should win all these awards

 

[RobertScorpio]

Gromit should win all these awards

Good point..I hadn't thought of it!!!

Rob

 

[Christopher]

Voice acting is absolutely as valid and important a discipline as any other form of acting, and can indeed be more challenging in some ways. It certainly deserves a category of its own.

I have to agree.

I'd probabally nominate the likes of Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, Wendee Lee, Michelle Ruff, Johny Young Bosch, Steven Jay Blum, and Laura Bailey.

Weren't we talking about the Academy Awards? There are already the Annie Awards that cover animation on TV and film, and they do have categories for voice acting in both. The topic is whether there should be an Oscar category for voice or digitally captured performances. Have any of those actors done much feature work?

 

[KirkSpockTOSFan]

I don't think it's anything we'll see anytime soon... but I was highly impressed by Zoe Saldana in Avatar.

Which was the inspiration of this thread...but there have been others. I thought Mathew Broderick's LION KING character did great..I KNOW it did...I cried!!! LOL

Rob

I agree, Matthrew Broderick did a good job as Simba in Lion King. I thought Irene Bedard who voiced Pocahontas was great, she just capture the charcter on the spot. I also thought Mel Gibson who did John Smith in the same film did amazing job as well his singing, I was amazed by it. I know in the 10th Aniverery edition of Pocahontas which was released to two disc set back in 05', the song If I Never Knew You was put back in the film. I absoutly loved the song and was thrilled they put that missing scene back in. There are some more actors that did voices of charcters I like, for instance Lighting McQueen who was voiced by Owen Willson. I think he nailed the charcter of Lighting McQueen,he was amzing.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I don't think it's anything we'll see anytime soon... but I was highly impressed by Zoe Saldana in Avatar.

Which was the inspiration of this thread...but there have been others. I thought Mathew Broderick's LION KING character did great..I KNOW it did...I cried!!! LOL

Rob

I agree, Matthrew Broderick did a good job as Simba in Lion King. I thought Irene Bedard who voiced Pocahontas was great, she just capture the charcter on the spot. I also thought Mel Gibson who did John Smith in the same film did amazing job as well his singing, I was amazed by it. I know in the 10th Aniverery edition of Pocahontas which was released to two disc set back in 05', the song If I Never Knew You was put back in the film. I absoutly loved the song and was thrilled they put that missing scene back in. There are some more actors that did voices of charcters I like, for instance Lighting McQueen who was voiced by Owen Willson. I think he nailed the charcter of Lighting McQueen,he was amzing.

I thought Harry Connick Jr was great in IRON GIANT, as was Vin Desil....there are so many great animated performances out there, heck..Robin William's powerhouse Genie? Or Hanks/Allen Toy Story? or Albert Brooks from Nemo???

Maybe they do need their own catagory...Pixar should just have their own catagory LOL...Pixar has been around long enough where I think the statement could be made that they are the most consistant movie company...ever. Not one flop..IMO

Rob

 

[shivkala]

I'd nominate Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Who hasn't read a Batman comic without hearing Kevin as Bats and Mark as the Joker?

 

[Christopher]

Conroy had an Annie nomination for voice acting in 2001 for Batman Beyond: "Out of the Past," though he lost to John DiMaggio for Futurama: "Bendless Love." Hamill has had Annie nominations for voice acting for Batman in general in 1994 and for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker in 2001. In '94 he lost to Jeremy Irons for The Lion King and in '01 he lost to Eddie Murphy for Shrek.

 

[exodus]

James Earl Jones has never won any awards for his voice work?

If anybody deserves an Academy Award for vocal work, he should be the first.

 

[zakkrusz]

Weren't we talking about the Academy Awards? There are already the Annie Awards that cover animation on TV and film, and they do have categories for voice acting in both. The topic is whether there should be an Oscar category for voice or digitally captured performances. Have any of those actors done much feature work?

I'd guess they've all been in a few films in addition to series. However, the sheer number of series outweighs the movies they've been in. I thought we were discussing the relative respect a VA should receive when compared with real actors though in addition to that. I've never heard of the Annie Awards though. I just put those guys (ald girls) down there as examples of VAs I find consistently good really with voices I like and recognize when I hear them.

 

[Christopher]

^No, the original post was specifically asking whether there could ever be an Academy Awards category for the actors who perform animated characters. And the Academy Awards don't cover television.