I've been meaning to comment on this for a long time...
Is it just me, or do many of the guest/celebrity voices on the Simpsons sound nothing like the person in question. Over the years there have been a number of guests who I am *very* familiar with, and their voices sound *nothing* like their real voice. I suspect there might be a lot of processing used to achieve a consistent sound - that may explain it?
I doesn't actually bother me - but I am very curious about it, and why it is so.
Cheers,
"Je�us" wrote in message news:fag30s$v4i$[email]...
I've thought the same thing. I have a pet theory that the cartoon version of the person (the visual component) tricks our brain somehow. Or you may have it right, that some processing is done before the final tracks are laid down.
I think Ron Howard is an exception to this - to me, it sounded just like him.
-- R Flowers
That has actually crossed my mind - however I don't think this is the case. The one episode that really initiated this question for me was the one with U2. I *know* these guys voices, and in all honestly if I had heard the audio alone and unidentified I would have never guessed it was U2. Especially Bono's voice.
They must be doing some form of processing, but whatever it is they do, it is most unusual.
Yes, agreed.
Je�us wrote:
There have been situations - especially with bands - where the speaking roles weren't done by the performers. (I think there's a good chance that if band is credited just by name in the closing credits rather than individually, then at least one of them had a "speaking part" voiced by someone else.)
-- Don
Off the top of my head, here is a short list of people who sounded like themselves, IMHO:
R. Lee Ermey, Willem Dafoe, Ernest Borgnine, Helen Hunt, Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, Kirk Douglas, Anne Bancroft, Glenn Close, Buzz Aldrin, Lost in Space Robot (Dick Tufeld), Alan Napier, Alex Rocco, Joe Mantegna, Dustin Hoffman
Here is a short list of people who did not sound like themselves, IMHO: Christopher Walken, Bill Clinton, GHW Bush, Gerald Ford, John Wayne, Frank Sutton, Jim Nabors, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley (he appeared in an 'Itchy and Scratchy' cartoon), Werner Klemperer, Jonathan Harris, Brace Banyon
Mr. Museum (the creator of this posting, not an OFF guest star who did not sound like himself)
Thanks for the info Don.
I believe it's because voice acting is a lot harder than it looks and is out of the realm of the average film actor or musician.
Many of the guest appearances sound extremely stiff...it is probably because it is an intimidating process that they have no experience with.
An analogy would be to take a famous athlete, who is world known by everyone, and put him, without any real experience, in front of a musical instrument or vocal microphone and then record the result and broadcast it on a national radio show.
Just because someone is famous at one thing - doesn't mean they are going to magically execute an art form that they have no experience with.
The Simpsons actors may make it seem easy - but it isn't at all - even if someone is there just to play themselves.
Yeah, remember how foolish Eric Dickerson looked on Saturday Night Live years ago? Without his football gear on he looked just like Tracy Morgan wearing a fake bald head thingy! He sounded like him, too.
Mr. Museum