Kilmer's grand voice as Moses brought an epic feel to The Prince of Egypt and is a good example of wise casting. © DreamWorks LLC. All rights reserved.

Added Value?
Many voice talent feel that kids have no idea that they are hearing a celebrity or not. One voice actor who asked to remain anonymous says, "The casting of celebrities promotes the cartoon to adults more than it does kids. A kid watching a cartoon isn't going to jump up and down and say, 'Oh boy! It's Danny De Vito doing the voice!' I read a quote from a casting person at one of the big companies that said that the days of the Mel Blancs and the Daws Butlers are gone, and that they cast well-known celebrities because they want 'real' actors, as if Mel and Daws were not 'real' actors, which of course they were."

However, some of the most financially successful films of the late '90s have been cartoons. Therefore, it is obvious that the adults are attending as well as the kids. Here again though, their draw power is questionable. Bergen doesn't think "that the average adult says to himself, 'Hey, let's go see that Val Kilmer cartoon.' But the producers would hire someone like Val because of his acting skills, as well as his box office appeal. By the way, his acting in The Prince of Egypt was outstanding."

Casting Agents
Some casting directors resist the pressure to cast celebrities. Barbara Wright is one of them. "A good actor is a good actor," she explains. "Actors bring to a role a little bit of themselves no matter what genre they were trained in, be it stage or film or both. That's something I listen for. Do they sound real? It is great to work with a celebrity if they are right for the part, but I don't cast anyone just because they are a celebrity."

"On Garfield and Friends," Evanier explains, "we employed some fine actors best known for their on-camera careers -- James Earl Jones, Harvey Korman, Tracy Scoggins, etc. -- but the spine of the show came from voice-over specialists such as Lorenzo Music, Gregg Berger and Frank Welker."

Bergen also attests that perhaps some of his fellow voice actors are over-reacting. "Not all feature animation work goes to the celebs. I've had the pleasure to have worked on A Bug's Life, Hercules, Hunchback of The Notre Dame, and Tarzan, to name a few. And I'm by no means a celeb! So, there is work for all!"

Out in the Audience
Many fans when asked say they detest the stunt casting big studios like DreamWorks and Disney do: Mel Gibson in Pocahontas, Woody Allen in Antz, or Val Kilmer in The Prince of Egypt. They have a hard time distancing themselves from the actor's personality and getting into the character. Others say some of the celebrities sound as if they are walking through the role; that they are not giving their full energies to the performance because it is only a "cartoon."

"What was worst of all was James Earl Jones as Mufasa in The Lion King. I kept thinking about Darth Vader and the, 'Luke! I am your father' line in The Empire Strikes Back. Very distracting," says Michelle Klein-Hass, creator of Animation Nerd's Paradise website.

Animation fan Beverly Martin agrees. "It's all in who and how they are used," she says. "For instance, right now my daughter and I are watching Charlotte's Web and there are several celebrity voices...charmingly done. I'd forgotten that Paul Lynde was the rat. He did a nice job since his already known irascible personality was perfect for the part." Martin continues that in well cast cartoon shows, "I can be in another room and still know what's happening on screen. The emotions from their voices come through in a fashion that has on more than one occasion brought me to tears."

Indeed, many so-called "hardened" animation fans agree they are sometimes surprised by a celebrity. "Who would have ever expected Mark Hamill (of all people!) to give us the definitive Joker?" laughs Martin.