Rocketsheep Studios, the production team behind the Filipino animated film “Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story” recently spoke up amid criticism that celebrity voice actors are not performing up to par to elevate the Pinoy animation industry.
This came amid an observation by voice actress Inka Magnaye about the casting of well-known celebrities in lead roles for recently released Pinoy-made animation features.
According to Magnaye, there are many talented voice actors in the Philippines who deserve opportunities to be cast in groundbreaking projects. She said that while the television and film actors are also talented, they already have more than enough opportunities to appear on different platforms. She said voice actors should be given a chance for Pinoy anime projects because this is their realm.
According to Rocketsheep, while casting voice actors would be ideal, the Filipino animation industry is still at its early stages and as such, still need the power of celebrities to sell the projects.
“The hot take that our local animations should cast Voice Actors instead of Celebs is incredibly ignorant to the reality of the state of Pinoy Animation. The reason why we have to cast Celebs is simple, money… you know that elusive thing people need to make art?” the post said.
“That is why Hayop Ka!, Baranggay 143 & Trese cast celebs. In regard to quality of performance, voice acting goes hand in hand with directing. Performance quality is subjective & is not the point of this post. We are simply explaining the NECESSITY of celebs. Even the great Makoto Shinkai casts idols & actors for his films because his name alone is not yet a guarantee for return of investment to the money people,” Rocketsheep explained.
At some point in the future, the studio said that the industry and the characters reach global recognition, they could do away with celebrity voices.
“Someday when our homegrown characters reach the popularity of Hello Kitty, Goku or
Mickey Mouse, Celeb voices will be unnecessary. We yearn for that too. We yearn for a
wide sustainable industry. But for now we need celebs to create a future for Pinoy animation
that more of us can be a part of,” the post concluded.
Read full post from Rocketsheep Studios:
https://www.facebook.com/RocketsheepStudio/photos/a.890048677721155/4903377989721517
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