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Dub Voice Actor Guesses/Discussion

Where was Megan Hollingshead as Cassidy??? I wasn't planning on watching this episode dubbed but I miiiiiight have if they'd had her reprise her role. I'm so annoyed, wtf :mad:

That’s exactly how I feel.

Like someone previously mentioned, it appears TPCi has an unofficial rule where the person who previously voiced a character gets offered to voice the role again. Even if the previous VA only voiced the character for only 2 episodes more than a decade ago, and hasn’t been an active cast member for more than a decade.

Whereas her original VA is a currently active cast member in the current series.
 
The Episode featured a female Pikachu and Swablu or Cramer and Landa likely voiced one of them
Wait, what female Pikachu? You mean the female Meowth?
Like someone previously mentioned, it appears TPCi has an unofficial rule where the person who previously voiced a character gets offered to voice the role again. Even if the previous VA only voiced the character for only 2 episodes more than a decade ago, and hasn’t been an active cast member for more than a decade.
Technically it's been slightly less than a decade, since she was in the dub of the Keldeo movie.
 
There is also a recent interview with James Carter Cathcart.

Nice find! Some interesting things I learned...
  • Back in the early 4Kids days, for promos and commercials, the voice cast would be able to record together.
  • He was genuinely emotional when recording AG147 (Sweet Baby James, aka Chimecho's deparature episode). Makes sense as I think that's one of his best performances as James in the series.
  • He wasn't a fan of Team Rocket's BW characterization, just like how their Japanese voice actors weren't.
  • Writing the dub script for SM021 (the episode where Stoutland dies) was a challenge due to TPCi's regulations on how the subject of death is discussed. M22 was also cited as difficult to adapt due to the more elaborate lip movements.
 
I have to wonder how's it like writing and acting for the dub at the same time. Especially for someone as old as Cathcart, not many could do that. Plus, yeah I imagine episodes such as SM021 and even Jn083 were difficult to handle due to the more deathly subject matter. They did do their best though, could've just banned them like that.
 
I have to wonder how's it like writing and acting for the dub at the same time. Especially for someone as old as Cathcart, not many could do that. Plus, yeah I imagine episodes such as SM021 and even Jn083 were difficult to handle due to the more deathly subject matter. They did do their best though, could've just banned them like that.
I mean, it'd be pretty weird to skip SM021 since there would be no further explanation for Stoutland's disappearance and why Litten is suddenly on Ash's team (at least not for a while). Then again, that didn't stop the episode where Ash catches 30 Tauros from being banned.
 
I don't think that they'd ban episodes for dealing with death. It wasn't like other episodes or movies alluded to or mentioned death either. As weird as it was when they suddenly brought up Ash's Tauros, that was easier to work around since they didn't become a prominent member of Ash's Kanto team like Litten did for his SM team. Plus, banning an episode for featuring guns aimed at kids seems more reasonable to me than banning episodes for dealing with death and grief.
 
Nice find! Some interesting things I learned...
  • Back in the early 4Kids days, for promos and commercials, the voice cast would be able to record together.
  • He was genuinely emotional when recording AG147 (Sweet Baby James, aka Chimecho's deparature episode). Makes sense as I think that's one of his best performances as James in the series.
  • He wasn't a fan of Team Rocket's BW characterization, just like how their Japanese voice actors weren't.
  • Writing the dub script for SM021 (the episode where Stoutland dies) was a challenge due to TPCi's regulations on how the subject of death is discussed. M22 was also cited as difficult to adapt due to the more elaborate lip movements.
Can you check out the Michael haigney one too!
 
I don't think that they'd ban episodes for dealing with death. It wasn't like other episodes or movies alluded to or mentioned death either. As weird as it was when they suddenly brought up Ash's Tauros, that was easier to work around since they didn't become a prominent member of Ash's Kanto team like Litten did for his SM team. Plus, banning an episode for featuring guns aimed at kids seems more reasonable to me than banning episodes for dealing with death and grief.
Say what you will about 4kids, but back in the days when they dubbed the Pokemon anime, they used the word "die" and "death" all the time. Really not sure what TPCi's problem is considering bringing it up. Kids find out about sooner or later anyway; it's a part of of life after all. Hell, when I was a kid, I watched stuff where the concept of death was slapped right in my face, like The Land Before Time (or hell, even Pokemon 4ever and Pokemon Heroes too,) and it didn't traumatize me for life or anything like that. It simply taught me of the cruel finality of death. If TPCi thinks kids can't handle the subject of death, or simply the word "death", then they're ignorant for one, and two, are just contributing to tbe wussification of the world at large.
 
Say what you will about 4kids, but back in the days when they dubbed the Pokemon anime, they used the word "die" and "death" all the time. Really not sure what TPCi's problem is considering bringing it up. Kids find out about sooner or later anyway; it's a part of of life after all. Hell, when I was a kid, I watched stuff where the concept of death was slapped right in my face, like The Land Before Time (or hell, even Pokemon 4ever and Pokemon Heroes too,) and it didn't traumatize me for life or anything like that. It simply taught me of the cruel finality of death. If TPCi thinks kids can't handle the subject of death, or simply the word "death", then they're ignorant for one, and two, are just contributing to tbe wussification of the world at large.
4Kids was pretty infamous for sugar coating death too. That was pretty apparent with most of their dubs. Stuff like the Shadow Realm and Nami's mother being locked away are probably some of the most famous examples of that. I can only recall a couple of times they actually mentioned death in the first season off the top of my head and afterwards, I think it was only mentioned in a couple of the movies, particularly the Celebi and Lucario movies. That might be more times than what TPCI is willing to say specifically, but if 4Kids was somehow still around and still dubbing Pokemon by the time SM, they probably have said that Stoutland was sent to the stars or something like that. They would not be more willing to approach a serious topic like death than TPCI is.

To give TPCI some credit, I thought that Professor Kukui's dialogue during the scene where Litten was looking for Stoutland alluded to Stoutland's death more so than the original version did. I recall someone said that he originally said "Who knows?" when Ash asked him where Stoutland went, but he said "I'm sorry" in the dub, which more heavily implies that it had passed away. Saying that TPCI is ignorant and contributing to the "wussification" of the world at large just seems really weird to me when 4Kids were far more willing to make up stuff to get around characters dying in their dubs all the time.
 
4Kids was pretty infamous for sugar coating death too. That was pretty apparent with most of their dubs. Stuff like the Shadow Realm and Nami's mother being locked away are probably some of the most famous examples of that. I can only recall a couple of times they actually mentioned death in the first season off the top of my head and afterwards, I think it was only mentioned in a couple of the movies, particularly the Celebi and Lucario movies. That might be more times than what TPCI is willing to say specifically, but if 4Kids was somehow still around and still dubbing Pokemon by the time SM, they probably have said that Stoutland was sent to the stars or something like that. They would not be more willing to approach a serious topic like death than TPCI is.

To give TPCI some credit, I thought that Professor Kukui's dialogue during the scene where Litten was looking for Stoutland alluded to Stoutland's death more so than the original version did. I recall someone said that he originally said "Who knows?" when Ash asked him where Stoutland went, but he said "I'm sorry" in the dub, which more heavily implies that it had passed away. Saying that TPCI is ignorant and contributing to the "wussification" of the world at large just seems really weird to me when 4Kids were far more willing to make up stuff to get around characters dying in their dubs all the time.
Yes, but I meant more the usage of the words "death" or "die" themselves, something that TPCi seems to avoid like the plague. To be fair, I've only seen a few shows that 4kids dubbed, Pokemon chief among them, so maybe I can't say I know their track record that well. (Actually, they mention death twice in Pokemon Heroes, specifically when talking about Latios and Latias's father; Ash even explicitly says "So Latios died to protect the town, and his children became orphans." The second time was at the end, in regards to the main character Latios, when Lorenzo says "He gave his life.")


Yeah, I'll agree with you though, I did like Professor Kukui's dialouge in the Stoutland episode more than the original Japanese version. And I will admit, TPCi did do the Stoutland episode rather well-for them. Still, I'd say it was more of an exception than the rule. Could just be my nostalgia talking, but I distinctly remember more character mentioning the words "died" or "death" before TPCi took over the dubbing. The dub (the show itself?) seems to have gotten ever more dumbed-down and kid-friendly over the years.
 
Yes, but I meant more the usage of the words "death" or "die" themselves, something that TPCi seems to avoid like the plague. To be fair, I've only seen a few shows that 4kids dubbed, Pokemon chief among them, so maybe I can't say I know their track record that well. (Actually, they mention death twice in Pokemon Heroes, specifically when talking about Latios and Latias's father; Ash even explicitly says "So Latios died to protect the town, and his children became orphans." The second time was at the end, in regards to the main character Latios, when Lorenzo says "He gave his life.")
I saw a good portion of 4Kids' dubs, particularly their Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, and their track record regarding death was not good. Even my comment about Stoutland being sent to the stars in their hypothetical SM dub was based on how they handled death in the third season of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Sugar coating death for kids was one of the most common complaint about 4Kids back in the day, although it usually applied to their non-Pokemon dubs more so than to Pokemon itself.

Yeah, I'll agree with you though, I did like Professor Kukui's dialouge in the Stoutland episode more than the original Japanese version. And I will admit, TPCi did do the Stoutland episode rather well-for them. Still, I'd say it was more of an exception than the rule. Could just be my nostalgia talking, but I distinctly remember more character mentioning the words "died" or "death" before TPCi took over the dubbing. The dub (the show itself?) seems to have gotten ever more dumbed-down and kid-friendly over the years.
I haven't rewatched the original series or AG for awhile, but I really don't recall death being mentioned all that often outside of the first season. It seemed like the movies bringing up death were more exceptions than anything else. I'm pretty sure that TPCI mentioned or alluded to death prior to the Stoutland episode too. They brought up death in XY. The Espurr episode ended with it going to the grave of the old woman who played with it before and the scientist that was Chesnaught's trainer passed away before he could restore the land in that other filler episode. They may not say death or die directly, but this idea that TPCI is unwilling to tackle death while giving 4Kids more credit seems really weird to me. 4Kids would rather say that a character is locked away in a prison that is constantly changing location so that they could never be found as opposed to just saying that they were killed. This is also a real example from their Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's dub.

That isn't to say that TPCI is free from criticism since there are plenty of problems with its dub too. I just don't think it's fair or accurate to give 4Kids credit when it comes to handling death.
 
I saw a good portion of 4Kids' dubs, particularly their Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, and their track record regarding death was not good. Even my comment about Stoutland being sent to the stars in their hypothetical SM dub was based on how they handled death in the third season of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Sugar coating death for kids was one of the most common complaint about 4Kids back in the day, although it usually applied to their non-Pokemon dubs more so than to Pokemon itself.
Oh yeah, as someone who's watched nearly all of Yu-Gi-Oh, I wholeheartedly agree with you on the whole Yu-Gi-Oh GX thing. For some reason, they really were allergic as all hell to use the word "death". It was just so......bizarre. They would go to any lengths to avoid the word, like you said before, using such nonsense as, "sent to the stars". They really did sugar coat death waaaaay too much.
 
4Kids' handling of death in their shows, as with a lot of things, was inconsistent. Of course, more notoriously, some of their shows like Yu-Gi-Oh, Sonic X and One Piece frequently censored deaths entirely. But on Pokémon, the few times permanent deaths did happen, 4Kids not only kept them in but they were more explicit in terms of wording regarding them then TPCi has ever been. So in a way, I think you're both right.

If I had to guess, I'd say TPCi's current policy seems to be "avoid the subject unless it's a major part of the plot, and even then, only imply it or use euphemisms instead of outright saying 'kill' or 'die'". To give an example of TPCi normally preferring to avoid the subject entirely, there have been several instances in episodes where the original dialogue was something like "(Name of a Pokémon) could die!" but the dub changed it to "(Name of a Pokémon) is in big trouble!" or something similar. And to be fair, yes, 4Kids sometimes did this as well, but I still find it strange that either way, the mere possibility of death in this series is more likely to be danced around than actual deaths.
 
4Kids' handling of death in their shows, as with a lot of things, was inconsistent. Of course, more notoriously, some of their shows like Yu-Gi-Oh, Sonic X and One Piece frequently censored deaths entirely. But on Pokémon, the few times permanent deaths did happen, 4Kids not only kept them in but they were more explicit in terms of wording regarding them then TPCi has ever been. So in a way, I think you're both right.

If I had to guess, I'd say TPCi's current policy seems to be "avoid the subject unless it's a major part of the plot, and even then, only imply it or use euphemisms instead of outright saying 'kill' or 'die'". To give an example of TPCi normally preferring to avoid the subject entirely, there have been several instances in episodes where the original dialogue was something like "(Name of a Pokémon) could die!" but the dub changed it to "(Name of a Pokémon) is in big trouble!" or something similar. And to be fair, yes, 4Kids sometimes did this as well, but I still find it strange that either way, the mere possibility of death in this series is more likely to be danced around than actual deaths.
It does amaze me that they had Brock's mum dead if they were against death
 
Sophocles and cuddly little Togedemaru return this week (Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld and Emily Cramer) joined by Ellery voiced by Fajer Al-Kaisi, a NY based VA who voiced a few characters on Warner's Jellystone.

In addition you'll get to hear Billy Bob Thompson as some scientists and Emily as a female staff member.
 
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