Animation Archives - Alan Shires

Imagine Being a Disney Voice Actor!

I’ve been in the voiceover industry for a good length of time and in that time, I think I have seen a maximum of 3 Disney voiceover scripts to date one of which I did not even fit the brief. It’s certainly one of the most popular sectors of the industry and typically a company most voice actors aspire to work with. I was fortunate enough to connect with Jennifer Trujillo who is one of the casting directors for Disney, at an in-person voiceover event called Above and BeVOND in 2019.

What Does a Disney Voiceover Artist Talk About?

What do you say when you meet a big client? Perhaps you stand awkwardly in the corner of the room or lurking in a conversation had by others whilst you try to find the courage to say hello. Or you could just say hello, that works really well I promise! Performers are surprisingly shy when it comes to breaking the ice because generally, they put people on pedestals.

The key is to be yourself, if someone doesn’t like you for who you are then it’s their loss, not yours. I conclude the fear of rejection isn’t just cemented in the pain of someone not liking you but also in the fear of potentially being blacklisted. Let me tell you this, it’s highly unlike someone won’t like you for being yourself however they may find you disingenuous for trying to be something you’re not. Moreover, if by chance you did not see eye to eye, you’re not going to be blacklisted, it’s just not how it works.

The natural organic approach is the best thing to do in voiceover and any other industry for that matter. My top tip is to do some research, maybe you’ll find some commonalities which you can talk about following your introduction. Example ‘’Hey, I am Alan, Great to meet you, I was so amused when I saw your response to the recent episode of Picard on prime, the last episode was great right?’’.

The In for the Voice Actor

If you are at an event like I was, why not try volunteering? Why do we go to events simply just to extract and not impart? It’s a different experience volunteering because you end up in scenarios and conversations that otherwise might not have presented themselves as attendees. In this instance, I volunteered and did pretty much everything I was asked, from the registration desk to untangling the LED lights. Whilst there I suggested we interview Jennifer for the magazine, and they took me up on the offer and so that is what I did.

From there, a professional relationship was built, and conversation becomes a little easier to manage. The thing is, whatever avenue you take be it professional, personal, or indifferent the key is to connect and then begin growing a relationship. Some potential clients become friends, some don’t, some become clients, and some don’t the point is we need to do our best to network and connect with people.

Being a Voice Talent That Looks at Things Differently

When interviewing Jennifer, I asked myself the question ‘’what do we talk about” fundamentally, I took myself out of the situation I was in and decided to look at what would bring value to the reader. The ten-million-dollar question on everyone’s mind is how do we end up in the casting room, right? Well, that’s exactly what I asked. Think about the magnitude of our business for a moment, one job can see a thousand auditions across a few platforms.

Imagine if that was open to every agent and the pay-to-play site you could be seeing 100,000 + in the way of auditions, and if that’s global you could be talking a million people going for one job! Casting directors will have confidence in the agents and platforms they use from years of reliability and relationship. This is a huge filtering system, the agent has trust in the talent, the casting director has trust in the agent and finally the director who ultimately chooses who books the job has trust in the casting director.

Disney Voiceover Actors Using Comedy to Their Advantage

I asked Jennifer for her top tip, and she said comedy is so vital for her shows. Got experience in stand-up? Well, the good news is, it’s transferable into voiceover! What about if you don’t have experience in stand-up? Well, improv is almost the next best thing, so get good at improv! The ability to instinctually think fast and on your feet will get you to a good place with improv. My top tip is to have a collection of cards up your sleeve for improv so for example in a heated argument change the tone in a comedic way by proposing. Humour and comedy are subjective, sure, but there is a consensus too. You can certainly read more from the pros about what’s funny and why but for now take your character, make it genuine and more importantly make it big.

Why is this important? Well, prominent characters often invite comedy, and as a species, we find surreal, slapstick, and animated behaviours humorous. Don’t be fooled when I say genuine and big, you can have both! Genuinely doesn’t mean naturalistic it means real. If you create an environment where a crazy character exists, and you deliver that with no compromise you have succeeded. You can’t half give yourself a character especially if you want to pull off animation, comedy or nearly just about any other genre which requires a larger persona from the character and voice actor. This is not used as commonly on screen as it is a theatrical behaviour, but it is one of the number one things to lean into as an actor and voiceover artist when looking to create comedic, big, and genuine animated characters.

The Evolution of Animation Voiceover

I remember the day I went to have my animation voiceover reels recorded. The session director was phenomenal, and as a Northern voiceover artist, she had great fun with my voice. The session started with her asking me a question that I distinctly remember: ’’what cartoons did you grow up with?’’. This invited a flow of happy memories as I began listing; Dexter’s Laboratory, Recess, Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Power Puff Girls, All Grown Up, Rugrats, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Simpsons, and many more. She went on to say ‘’forget them”. I was like, what! Why? And her response changed my perspective of the industry because “the style, the art, the humour, and the content has all changed since you were a kid’’.

As a 25-year-old, I thought to myself; surely it has not changed that much in the last 10-15 years? The director went on to show me that it had changed dramatically! So, what does this mean from a voiceover artist’s perspective? It simply means we must stay hot with the trends, keep an eye on which actor is booking what, train regularly, and give different takes in auditions. As the weeks and months went on, I learned that what I was used to was not dead, it still cropped up, and some of these programs have a great legacy and are still aired today. The only difference was it now has more diversity. The new stuff did not make sense to me all that much but HEY! Seemingly the kids today love it.

Today’s Animation for the Typical Voice Talent

My daughter enjoys all sorts of content, from Moana to Micky Mouse Club House to Peppa Pig. There is a vast diversity in these programs. First, Peppa Pig is mainly voiced by kids, not adults. Moana is a hardcore Disney story about survival. Then we have Micky Mouse! The ever-iconic voice of him and his friends holds a legacy. So just in my daughter’s daily viewing, I am impressed by the massive variety of content.

As a kid, I remember the characters being either heightened, annoying, or given an accent. The Powerpuff Girls were all a heightened performance with squeaky voices. Characters like DeeDee from Dexter’s Laboratory were annoying beyond comprehension. Finally, characters like Dexter from the same show were given an accent. So, what is the theme amid these unique styles? Well, they all tell a story, entertain, and offer a slightly different performance style to the viewer. Does that mean animation appeals to different age ranges? I do not imagine a 14-year-old watching Pepper Pig or a 2-year-old watching The Simpsons to fully understand what’s happening.

Past and Present Voice Actors

But with that said, what I can say is as a thirty-something male voiceover artist, I find elements of my daughter’s viewing very amusing. They have been strategically written, comedically drawn, and wonderfully performed in an entertaining way for their primary target audience (kids) whilst giving the parent something of a comedy. I undoubtedly praised these phenomenal voiceover artists who do an excellent job ticking both boxes. Finally, on animations standing the test of time, we only need to look at Pokémon to see how something from one era lasts for decades. Perhaps Pokémon isn’t the best example as it crosses the thin line between animation and anime. However, dozens of others, such as Looney Tunes and the Simpsons, fit the bill.

Animation Voiceover Gigs

I have had the honour of working on a few projects, some of which have a regularly growing series on YouTube. Others are on streaming platforms, and some have entered a film festival. Being a Northern voiceover artist working in animation, I was pleased that a casting director invited me in to read for the role of a villain and the role of a soldier in the same production. Both characters valued my slightly less polished accent to complement their slightly less polished persona. I love animation because it is fun – it’s as simple as that! I have no deep insight into my love of it, just that it makes me happy. In another project, I had the privilege of playing the character on a journey from being sad to trying new things and ultimately becoming an absolute rockstar!

In that one character, I had to portray three different things considering tone, pitch, tempo, and many other elements of my character development process. Concerning the auditions, I always found the process to be swift, but I guess, like everything else, it’s subjective. I remember speaking with Jamie Sparer Roberts, the casting director for Frozen. She told me it once took her 18 months of searching before finding the perfect actor for one particular role. In other instances, she’s known from the first second of seeing a performer act.

A Whole New World of Voiceover – The Full Story