Should Christian Bale and Brandon Routh do voices?

[David64]

With a recent episode of "The Batman" having Brandon Routh guest star... it got me thinking. I know Bruce Timm and some others are doing these new DC DTV and obviously, they'll have nothing to do with the DCAU which means, Kevin Conroy, George Newbern (or Tim Daly) will most likely not return as Batman and Superman... So what if they decided to get Christian Bale and Brandon Routh to do the voices instead? I mean, I know there are some people who loved both "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns" and would love to see both actors team-up... and what better way to do that then having both do it for an animated movie?!

Good idead/bad idea? What do you all think?

[Livy1213]

Why wouldn't Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, or Tim Daly come back? Time Daly was the voice of Superman in Brainiac Attacks and that wasn't related the DCAU other then the animation ofcourse.

[Aldrius]

Well, it was sortof related to the DCAU. Dana Delany AND Tim Daly were both in it. :P

It might not have been in-continuity but it was still related.

[EazyV]

No! Christian Bale can't waste his time doing a voice-over, he needs to get to work and prepare for the REAL new Batman movie.

[Juu-kuchi]

I can't really judge whether or not Brandon Routh should do voices, mainly because his lines in Superman Returns were so sparse and didn't showcase much talking from him at all.

[DR.MID-NITE]

What I love about Bale. Is he really seems to love doing Batman. At the MTV movie awards he even thanked the producers of the movie for bringing the real Batman back (no nipple suit). And he also thanked the fans. :D

[Silverbolt]

Conroy is Batman so that is who I'd want.

Though I also want all DTV to be part of the DCAU and not crap like Brianiac Attacks. That one turned me off so bad that everything that isn't part of the DCAU will get a rent instead of a buy.

I wouldn't really mind Bale, but you don't fire the guy thats done the part for over a decade and done it extremely well and go with a guy that while good doesn't have nearly the resume.

I didn't really care for Routh in Superman Returns, didn't really care for the movie though so that could be part of the reason. Rather stick with what is known.

That and well Routh crying like a little girl when he got stabbed was really well un-Super.

Give me the ones that know what their doing and know the parts almost as well as they know themselves.

[tb4000]

If they offered Bale a couple roles to voiceover, I doubt he'd say no unless he was really strapped for time, as he seems like he'd be cool with doing it.

[CyborgRex]

I would prefer if they got Christian Bale to just do a guest spot on the Batman like Brandon Routh did. How cool would it be if they had Bale talk to Adam West on the show.

[Caswin]

I would prefer if they got Christian Bale to just do a guest spot on the Batman like Brandon Routh did. How cool would it be if they had Bale talk to Adam West on the show.That would be pretty cool, admittedly... but I think it would be a LOT cooler yet on the big screen.

[Cortez2301]

I would love bale to voice a villain but not batman.He is the best batman I have seen in Live action but he will never replace Conroy IMO.

[creativerealms]

If the Maxie Zeus episode was not still so recent I would say having Bale be a rival for mayor against West.

[The Weed Of Cri]

Christian Bale has already done at least one cartoon voice-over: he was the voice of Howl in the English dub of Howl's Moving Castle. But film actors don't always make good voice actors; some actors just don't have the range of nuance in their voices to act well without body language or visual cues. This is why "stunt casting" is animated feature films often falls flat. Actors like Brad Pitt and Will Smith may light up the screen in live-action roles, but as cartoon voice-overs, their performances are one-note failures.

Bale's a pretty good actor, with a textured voice; he could probably do well enough as a voice actor. But Routh has the stage presence of a tree stump, and his voice is a flat monotone. He was hired for Superman Returns more for his uncanny resemblance to the late Christopher Reeve than for his acting abilities, and he would completely disappear in an animated role.

[Livy1213]

He seemed to do alright in The Batman episode the Everywhere Man.

[Frank Castle]

Kevin Conroy = Animated Batman

Christian Bale = Movie Batman

Christian Bale =/= Animated Batman

[Ruffian]

Christian Bale has already done at least one cartoon voice-over: he was the voice of Howl in the English dub of Howl's Moving Castle.

Before Howl and Batman, Christian also voiced Thomas, a supporting role in Disney's Pocahontas. I think he did a better job in that one than Howl, but they weren't memorable performances. I'm sure if given a better part, he could do a really good voiceover. For the DC stuff, I think I'd rather he do guest spots than actually voice Batman himself. Same goes for Brandon Routh.

And I had no idea Brandon voiced last week's The Batman. I wish I hadn't deleted the episode from my DVR now to review it.

[DR.MID-NITE]

Before Howl and Batman, Christian also voiced Thomas, a supporting role in Disney's Pocahontas.

Phew! I read that real quick. And when I saw Thomas. I though it was this Thomas.......
http://www.worldofbubble.com/images/thomas_tank_engine.jpg

:D

[Cortez2301]

Phew! I read that real quick. And when I saw Thomas. I though it was this Thomas.......
http://www.worldofbubble.com/images/thomas_tank_engine.jpg

:DOh thank GOD NO !

[SilentBat18]

hmmmm i love christian bale (as you can tell from my profile) and i think he is really talented, so i think he could pull it off as a VA for Batman. but substituting Conroy.... ouch, it'll take me a while to get over that :crying:.

[Bishop]

No.

While I enjoyed both Bale and Routh's performances, I wouldn't want either of them to do the animated voices for Batman/Superman. I feel the same way about Hugh Jackman who I thought made an excellent Wolerine, but I wouldn't want him to voice Logan. This works in reverse too - while Kevin Conroy is, IMO, the quentissential voice of Batman, for all we know he could be terrible at playing Bruce/Batman on screen. Most people assume that if an actor can play a role live action, that they can play it animated too, but that's far from the case as there's a difference between the two mediums that goes far beyond the obvious.

Live action comic films almost always tone down everything to make them more "real" and logical. You can see this effect in everything from the costumes and settings to weapons and sometimes even the character itself, so actors usually need not be over-the-top in delivering their dialogue, but animated adaptations require a more visceral, almost primal, voice. Something that perfectly matches the larger than life spectacle of what's taking place onscreen. Even the best, most faithful comic adaptations usually deviate a bit from the comic version in some form. What works fantastically in one medium doesn't necessarily translate well to another. With the rare exception, I hold the opinion that voices are among them.

[David64]

No.

While I enjoyed both Bale and Routh's performances, I wouldn't want either of them to do the animated voices for Batman/Superman. I feel the same way about Hugh Jackman who I thought made an excellent Wolerine, but I wouldn't want him to voice Logan. This works in reverse too - while Kevin Conroy is, IMO, the quentissential voice of Batman, for all we know he could be terrible at playing Bruce/Batman on screen. Most people assume that if an actor can play a role live action, that they can play it animated too, but that's far from the case as there's a difference between the two mediums that goes far beyond the obvious.

Live action comic films almost always tone down everything to make them more "real" and logical. You can see this effect in everything from the costumes and settings to weapons and sometimes even the character itself, so actors usually need not be over-the-top in delivering their dialogue, but animated adaptations require a more visceral, almost primal, voice. Something that perfectly matches the larger than life spectacle of what's taking place onscreen. Even the best, most faithful comic adaptations usually deviate a bit from the comic version in some form. What works fantastically in one medium doesn't necessarily translate well to another. With the rare exception, I hold the opinion that voices are among them.




When you put it that way, I guess it does make sense... :(

Christian Bale/Brandon Routh = Live Action
Kevin Conroy/George Newbern/Tim Daly = Animated

[Caswin]

Bah. Conroy still deserves a cameo somewhere. I'm sure he can do that. I mean, he had a few live-action roles, right?

Priority on West, though.