Gilbert Gottfried. Rosie O'Donnel. Drew Barrymore. Many associate these names with characters, with faces, perhaps even with fond memories. Jeff Bennett. Tress MacNeille. Mel Blanc. To the average person, these names mean nothing. To voice chasers, a relatively small group of fans of voice actors, these names are as recognizable, if not more so, as those of well-known celebrities. Unfortunately, voice actors are becoming increasingly more difficult to hear as animation studios cast more celebrities in their productions with each new movie.

Voice actors are performers who make their livings providing the voices for characters in animated television shows and movies. These actors specialize in vocal performance and are quite adept at manipulating their voices in order to create a variety of timbres and accents. Jim Cummings, often referred to as The Voice of Disney due to the staggering number of Disney productions on his résumé, has provided the voices for such diverse characters as Darkwing Duck, "TaleSpin"'s Don Karnage, and Ed the Hyena in The Lion King, as well as characters from several other studios. June Foray, whose career has spanned five decades, was Rocky and Natasha of "Rocky and Bullwinkle," Looney Tunes' Granny, and, more recently, Grandmother Fa of Disney's Mulan. Frank Welker, best known for his animal characters, such as Aladdin's Abu and Altivo of DreamWorks' The Road to El Dorado, has also had many speaking roles, including Fred in the many incarnations of "Scooby Doo" and Dr. Claw of "Inspector Gadget." These are only a few of the many highly versatile voice actors who make their careers out of lending their talents to animated characters and who live in obscurity.

A screen actor, on the other hand, is a performer who appears primarily in prime-time sitcoms or popular feature films. Their names are well-known, their faces widely recognized. Casting directors of live action and animation alike depend on these advantages to promote their movies, often regardless of the individual's acting ability. Voice director Mark Evanier reflects, "I once had a producer tell me he wanted his show cast with 'names,' even if it meant an inferior voice track. He thought it gave his show…an air of prestige….he liked the idea of being able to go to parties and say, 'I hired Ed Asner'" (Bevilacqua 4).

In the past, only the occasional hero or villain was voiced by a celebrity; the target audience, generally considered to be young children, showed no preference to Bernard of "The Rescuers" (voiced by Bob Newhart) over the Beast (voiced by stage actor Robby Benson). These days, even supporting characters, such as Chief Tanibuk of The Road to El Dorado or Anastasia's Vlad, are voiced by screen actors. The trend is spreading from the theater to Saturday morning cartoons, as well. "Hercules: The Animated Series," hardly a prime-time blockbuster, nevertheless holds the record for the most guest appearances in a single season - over 160. Shows such as Disney's "Kim Possible" employ cast members from the Disney Channel's plethora of live action series. Since the mid-nineties, animation studios have been favouring celebrities over established voice actors.

So, what is the problem? Animation studios often rely on the names of the celebrities they cast to promote their films. This technique tends to lead to sub-par performances. Don Pitts, an acting agent, says, "[Voice actors] have the background in this area that movie stars could never achieve. It is a great disservice to the true voice actor. An actor trained in audio knows how to caress the microphone, how to get the most out of their voice" (Bevilacqua 4). Screen actors, while generally quite talented in their own right, rarely have the vocal abilities of their voice-acting counterparts. This is not always true - many celebrities, such as Robin Williams or Mike Myers, are surprisingly adept at altering their voices and add to the quality of the films to which they contribute their talents - but a majority do not bother to change their voices at all.

Voice actor Corey Burton points out another problem that arises in the use of celebrities in voice work: "[Studio executives] gravitate towards celebrities so that they have actors who have already developed a persona they can draw from to fill out the character, whereas a multi-voiced person is waiting for their idea to produce a particular voice" (Bevilacqua 2). By developing a character by first choosing a celebrity voice and then creating personality traits for the character using the celebrity as a model, animators and writers produce animated versions of characters already in existence. Unique and interesting characters are developed first, then an appropriate voice is found in the final stages of production.

In addition to decreasing the quality of the characters, casting celebrities also decreases the demand for voice acting talent. Screen actors who are already in constant demand leave professional voice actors with only a few extra roles to compete for in animated feature films, and are beginning to encroach upon the roles in animated television shows, as well. "[Voice actors] feel threatened by this trend," says Evanier. "It's got to be disconcerting to learn your craft and then to lose out, not because the other guy's better but because he was once in a sitcom" (Bevilacqua 7). Highly qualified voice actors who depend on these increasingly more scarce roles for their livelihoods are being relegated to bit parts in crowd scenes so that animation studios can promote their movies with nothing more than a celebrity name.

Would the MLB create a major league baseball team made up of Tiger Woods, Michelle Kwan, Wayne Gretzki, and other celebrity athletes and force the less well-known but more talented professional baseball players into the minor league? While stunt casting, as the technique is sometimes called, is occasionally both effective and entertaining, it should be used sparingly. Casting directors should be concerned with the quality of the final product rather than the fringe benefits associated with casting any given actor.