I Know That Voice

One thing I really enjoyed about this show is the nostalgia. This show will make you think about the shows you watched when you were a child, doesn't matter what age. It is fascinating to see what these voice actors do and see what shows and video games they work on. It is very interesting.

When it showed the voice actors, it would say a different show every time it shows the voice actor. So it is interesting to see what else they work on.

I do wish this documentary had even sections though. The movie will spend maybe 10 minutes talking about one thing and then maybe 5 minutes talking about another. It would have been better if they were all even. It would have made the movie a bit longer, but I see nothing wrong with that. Another thing is that they really never showed any clips whenever they talked about their work. So sometimes I would have to look up a clip to get a better understanding of what they were talking about.

Despite those complaints, this is a fun documentary that shows the voices of our beloved cartoons. It isn't anything that would have been Academy Award worthy, but I Know That Voice is a great documentary that people will enjoy watching.

This is a terrific 70-minute documentary that goes on for 90 minutes. A huge cast of exceptional voice talent tells how they got to do what they do, why they like doing what they do, why they do and don't get the recognition they deserve, and other green room stories. Each and every interview is compelling and informative in and of itself, but after about an hour the aggregate doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Although the filmmakers have broken the continuity into subject areas and the online editors have done a gorgeous job creating transitions and effects that add to the storytelling, one comes away from "I Know That Voice" knowing what it's like to be a voice actor, but not how a voice actor does her or his job. The film doesn't show it. A major off-putting stylistic decision was having the interviewer sit so far off eye-line axis that the viewer feels excluded from the conversation rather than brought into it. This is a loving tribute to unsung people, pleasant but not memorable.

I've always said that if my plan to become a writer ever failed, I had a plan b: voice acting. And I'm a fan girl who pays attention to the credits to know the names of my favorites--Jim Cummings, Grey DeLisle, Clancy Brown--and I'm happy to say they are all interviewed for this film. Voice actor John DiMaggio takes us behind the scenes of his life interspersed with a history lesson about voice acting. Getting to go behind the scenes with DiMaggio for the final "Penguins of Madagascar" episode was fun and fascinating, as well as his appearance at San Diego's Comic Con. However, I felt the film could have interviewed more actors than they did (Rob Paulsen, for example) rather than spending most of its time devoted to the filmmaker's world. Overall, a great film for fans of the art of voice acting.

I hate to say it but I've never been one who watches documentaries. I mean, yes, I enjoy them, though I don't generally seek them out . In this politically heated world that we live in, to be honest, at then end of a long day I'm not in the mindset to watch one of the (what feels like a million) docs out there about how big business is slowly feeding me genetically modified corn syrup that will make me become a gluten mutant of some kind, or whatever the hot button topic of the week is. Don't get me wrong, there's a need for such films and they are important in educating the masses, but like I said, sometimes it's not what you need at the end of a rough day. Then, ever so often, you find a topic that screams 'watch me.' And I have found that documentary my friends.

I Know That Voice (2013) takes a gander at a subject that many of us never give much credence to. No, it's not about how the auto industry is using the tears killer whales to power inefficient hybrids. This film takes a personal look at what it means to be an actor who is never actually seen on screen. I speak of the voice over artists who use their gift of gab to create and bring to life some of the most iconic characters in the world of entertainment. Produced by John DiMaggio (the alcohol fueled robot Bender from the popular series Futurama), this film feels like a labor of love and what unfolds is wonderful.

The movie explains the history of voice artists from the beginning of talkies until present day, peppering in a slew of interviews from some of the most popular talent out there. Weaving a tale of both the struggles and the love of the business, I Know That Voice keeps you interested from start to finish as the actors known for being silly animated characters, show you a side of the process which makes the viewer appreciate what was once looked at as child's fair. Throughout, you meet everyone from Sponge Bob to Roger Rabbit. And these are truly actors, damn fine ones at that.

Seeing the face behind the voice of my favourite animated characters is something I've always been curious about. It's great fun to YouTube for voice acting in motion. Watching The Simpsons cast appearance on Inside The Actor's Studio when I was younger was pure magic and I've watched my DVDs of Futurama with the commentaries on several times. Fortunately both shows feature heavily in the documentary with Bender's John DiMaggio being a heavyweight presence here. There's two things that I Know That Voice wants to emphasise. A, it's a craft no less than live action acting. And B, it's way more fun. Gathering a great assortment of voice actors with names you'd recognise from the credits of the cartoons if not the faces, the way the film is brought together gives it a wonderful sense of camaraderie.

However, sometimes it can lead to it feeling like they're simply stroking their own and other's egos but the humility of some of the interviewees shines through. It is disappointing that it lacks an enormous amount of archive footage to show the voices in action. They do it often on camera, sometimes to an irritating extent, and you just wish they would provide examples. Oh well, perhaps the rights would cost an extortionate amount. They do great things with their limited budget here but it does suffer from overeager editing with a pacing that so afraid of us being bored that it instead exhausts our attention. I wouldn't say I learned much about voice actors or gained more respect than I already had, but it was fun and interesting.

7/10