How Jordan Peele, Antonio Banderas and sea monsters lift these animated films
Jordan Peele is best known for writing, directing and starring in his groundbreaking hit original horror film Us. But he’s also an important animation voice talent, whose work on The Interview and Get Out have not only given hope to his future animation work but solidified his credentials as a talented voice artist. He’s the co-founder of his own production entity — The Collective: A Collective of Artists (TC:A) — which includes several other industry heavyweights as members, including renowned voice director and animator Will Vinton.
As a voice artist, Peele is known for his ability to transform both human and animal into horror and comedy masks, without having a script or voice acting credit attached. Here, he explains the importance of using an animal for certain roles in his voice over work and how he has become an authority in terms of voice acting for animation.
In recent years, the idea of animal voice over work has become more mainstream. The list includes the Oscar-nominated work from James Gunn, The Incredibles 2’s A.C.O.L in the form of Elastigirl, and of course, you’ve also got The Interview. It’s become a tool that has empowered even the least renowned animators to step into a voice acting role.
As a voice artist, you’re not just animating the voice of a single character. You’re working with multiple characters that you’re bringing to life. It’s a very specific medium.
I think we often, in animation, we don’t really know what we’re really doing. People might think, “Okay, I just want to animate and I don’t want to do any voice over,” but that’s not the case. We all have to have a vision. You have to have something that you’re working towards, and that’s what I think is often misunderstood.
I definitely had no idea of the scope of the project, let alone the amount of research that was involved in the voice over. I don’t
