I Know That Voice

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.

John DiMaggio and his friends tell the story of voice acting, and nobody tells a story better than people who do funny voices. It's raucous, wild, silly, and honest. About 45 minutes in you've heard about the beginning of voice acting in cartoons and all the principals have told you how they got into the business and what it means to them. It's a complete experience, a great ride, and you're well and truly satiated. And a little exhausted by all the high-energy emoting.

But there' was still another 45 minutes to go. What, I asked, could the next 45 minutes possibly be about?

Well, actually, it's about the business of cartoon voice-overs: how you get work, what it's like to need work and the insecurity of the business, what a recording session is like, what their agents do for them, how they work with directors, and the different kinds of work that they do. The part about doing voice-overs for video games was a scream. But it was all good.

Taken all in a piece, it's too much. So here's my suggestion; especially doable if you see this on Netflix. At 45 minutes, stop the movie; you've seen Part 1. Go do something else. The next day, see the rest of the movie -- Part 2. You'll enjoy the two halves immensely -- much better than the whole. That's what I did, and I whole-heartedly recommend the movie, when watched this way.

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 documentary is all about the "secret world" of voice actors. And inside scoop if you will. They don't just make voices, they create characters. In some way, they're better than physical actors.

This flick gathers the best of the best in the business. Billy West, Mark Hamill, Seth Green, Phil LaMarr, Nolan North, Hank Azaria, June Foray, Tara Strong, Jim Cummings, Nancy Cartwright, James Arnold Taylor, Daran Norris, Rachel McFarlene, Bob Bergen, these are just a few names from the industry.

This film really does justice to the real heroes behind animation. Watching this will make you appreciate their job more as an art. I watch it every now and then just to remind me how great this is.

10/10

Voice acting. I've gotta say,great subject matter for a documentary. It's an unsung talent to a lot of people, and I KNOW THAT VOICE seeks to shed some light on who these well-known voices are. I wholeheartedly confess to the thrill of seeing an actor in an interview launch into the voice of a familiar character, bringing the character to life instantly in that very moment. It's why the Simpsons episode of INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO was my favorite; seeing the cast do those familiar voices fed right into that delight. And there is a lot of that in this movie, but it's about more than just the voices. It spotlights the legitimate acting and even physicality that go into an actor's time in the sound booth. It's not just a guy doing crazy voices - and seeing these people go from one character to another in a split second is pretty impressive.

The list of people that are featured in the movie is astounding. And it's not just side players and unknowns. We're talking Hank Azaria, Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, Fred Tatasciore, Kevin Conroy, Kevin Michael Richardson . . . these are heavy-hitters with intimidating bodies of work. And let's not forget John DiMaggio (Bender himself!) who directed the whole thing. Says a lot about the man's passion for what he does that he went out and made a movie about these anonymous faces behind the household name voices.

It's a great documentary; breezy, fun and often surprising what these guys can create with their vocal cords. There were still some people that I would've liked to hear from (Frank Welker, Jon Benjamin), but that's hardly a complaint. This is good stuff.

8/10