With Seth MacFarlane recently awarded the prestigious gig of hosting the Oscars in February 2013, he becomes one of, if not, the first person to host the Oscars that got his start primarily in voice-over work. MacFarlane voices Brian, Stewie, Quagmire, and Peter Griffin on FOX’s hit-show “Family Guy,” where he’s won an Emmy Award in the show’s near thirteen year run.
The Oscars, unbeknownst to many, have a strict rule about nominating voice-work in films. Today’s question asks which voice-over performance by an actor or actress would you reward with either an Academy Award Nomination or Win?
Technically the Academy has always considered Andy Serkis‘ work in The Lord of the Rings ineligible and while I wouldn’t necessarily name him as a voice-over actor, this question would give an opportunity to award him when he should have been among the nominated for his work especially in The Two Towers.
If we move to animated works, I’ve always been very taken by Ellen Degeneres‘ glorious and loving “Dory” in Pixar’s Finding Nemo (2004). Degeneres raised the voice profession to new levels and encompassed a talent not seen since Robin Williams in Aladdin (1992). Speaking of Williams, his work in Aladdin is also among a very élite few that’s worthy of citation as well. Williams’ work could have easily replaced Oscar-winner Gene Hackman for Unforgiven or Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross.
I leave it to you now. Comment and discuss!
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Tags: Andy Serkis, Brian Griffin, Cinema of the United States, Disney's Aladdin, Ellen DeGeneres, Entertainment, Entertainment/Culture, family guy, Film, Films, Finding Nemo, gene hackman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Glenn Quagmire, Human Interest, Peter Griffin, Robin Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Stewie Griffin, television, The Lord of the Rings, the Oscars, The Two Towers, unforgiven, Voice work
16 Comments
voice acting is just as important as any other form. How many Disney and Pixar characters do we imitate just because we liked the voice? Especially in animated musicals, would Poor Unfortunate Souls or Hellfire (any Disney song really) be such good songs without the villainous voices behind them?
I’d love to give Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel from Tangled) or Pat Carroll (Ursula) Oscars for their voice work
Terence Johnson(Quote) (Reply)
If you could give it to Serkis, I would give it Serkis over anybody else.
Douglas Durham(Quote) (Reply)
How about James earl jones in Empire? One of the most iconic voices for a character in cinema history, complete with a great performance.
I also believed serkis deserved a nomination, the scene where his two personalities argue and scheme was worthy of a nom alone.
Also Walter catlett in Pinocchio as Honest John is true screen stealing voice work at its finest. (it’s scary how amazing that entire film holds up 70 plus years later).
Jason schwartzman in mr fox is another favorite of mine.
Troy F(Quote) (Reply)
Robbie Benson as Beast and Jeremy Irons as Scar. Iconic voice work and certainly awards worthy. I’d also say Serkis and Degeneres deserve Oscar recognition as well.
Joseph Braverman(Quote) (Reply)
I don’t think an Oscar for voice work alone is ever going to happen, and in my opinion, rightly so. I do think the achievement should be cited occasionally for special Oscars (which Serkis definitely deserves) or maybe even a three-nominee category. However, if I were going to cite one voice-only performance I’d have in the running for an Oscar, it would be Douglas Rain’s work as HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Seems like an obvious choice, there…
Dean Treadway(Quote) (Reply)
BAFTAs nominated Eddie Murphy for his “supporting role” in Shrek – which I consider awesome and should have replaced
Will(Quote) (Reply)
… someone from the Oscars Best Supporting Actor
Will(Quote) (Reply)
100% agree about Degeneres. She is the heart and soul of that movie, and a major reason why it works so well. I’d have definitely nominated her. I was also a big fan of Peter O’Toole’s work in “Ratatouille.” Any serious voice-over performer will tell you that it is still a performance just as it were on camera, so it should certainly receive some kind of recognition, in my opinion.
Josh P.(Quote) (Reply)
For motion capture, Andy Serkis IS my choice for Supporting Actor for 2002. In terms of regular voice acting, Robbie Benson’s multi-layered work in Beauty and the Beast is just too powerful of a vocal performance for me to ignore. He could have easily replaced Warren Beatty’s embarassingly bad performance in Bugsy as a nominee for 1991 Best Actor. Williams in Aladdin is very comendable too, though 1992 Supporting Actor WAS a very strong lineup.
koook160 (Robert MacFarlane)(Quote) (Reply)
One that hasn’t been mentioned that I always found fantastic was Peter Ustinov in Robin Hood as Prince John. Also three guys from The Jungle Book did amazing work: Phil Harris as Baloo, Louis Prima as King Louie, and Sterling Holloway as Kaa the snake. While I’m at it I’ll also throw in Jimmy Stewart from An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella De Vil, and Charles Fleischer as Roger Rabbit as excellent voice over performances.
Robbie(Quote) (Reply)
Robin Williams in Aladdin…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
James Woods as Hades in Hercules.
Kevin(Quote) (Reply)
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen had amazing chemistry together. And let’s not forget good old Gaston. No one sings like Gaston…
Nicole(Quote) (Reply)
I absolutely think you can. It doesn’t matter whether you’re seeing the real actor or just hearing the real thing, what matters is if the performance is worthy. I think that Eddie Murphy should’ve easily got in for his hilarious performance in the first Shrek movie in 2001.
Tyler(Quote) (Reply)
Agreed with robin Williams, Ellen and Eddie. I think John Leguizamo is great in the Ice Age films.
Matthew Barker(Quote) (Reply)
Ok, I might not spell their names correctly, but here are the voice works I consider Oscar worthy:
Dory from Finding Nemo
Ezma from The Emperor’s New Groove
Grandmother from Mulan
Mushu from Mulan
Genie from Aladdin
Iago from Aladdin
Ursula from The Little Mermaid
Edna (the costume designer) from The Incredibles
Mrs. Pots from Beauty and Beast
Mufasa from The Lion King
Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas
O Jay Martinez(Quote) (Reply)