Gen 5 news announced- setting sail for 2021 and new cast!

[LadyMoondancer]

I was just thinking that if the new movie is supposed to have both the new and the old main characters, then won't the style for the new characters have to be similar to G4?

I don't think so . . . I mean, Pony Life isn't in the usual G4 style but people still understand they're meant to be the same characters.

I'm curious if they'll have the same voices, because recently Hasbro has been eschewing Canadian VAs in favor of . . . like . . . random people they found off Youtube.  Even for really big productions, like their Transformers Netflix series.  (Some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard in a professionally produced cartoon, I was dying.)  I hope they continue to use 'real' (professional) VAs for MLP . . .

[Leave a Whisper]

I was just thinking that if the new movie is supposed to have both the new and the old main characters, then won't the style for the new characters have to be similar to G4?

I don't think so . . . I mean, Pony Life isn't in the usual G4 style but people still understand they're meant to be the same characters.

I'm curious if they'll have the same voices, because recently Hasbro has been eschewing Canadian VAs in favor of . . . like . . . random people they found off Youtube.  Even for really big productions, like their Transformers Netflix series.  (Some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard in a professionally produced cartoon, I was dying.)  I hope they continue to use 'real' (professional) VAs for MLP . . .

That does not sound charming.

[Nemesis]

I'm curious if they'll have the same voices, because recently Hasbro has been eschewing Canadian VAs in favor of . . . like . . . random people they found off Youtube.  Even for really big productions, like their Transformers Netflix series.  (Some of the worst voice acting I have ever heard in a professionally produced cartoon, I was dying.)  I hope they continue to use 'real' (professional) VAs for MLP . . .

Wait... Do you mean they ACTUALLY  scouted the VAs from Youtube? If so, that’s a horrifying prospect for future Hasbro projects. I figured the fresh VA cast had to do with what studios were involved, like what happened when the Pokemon dub changed hands.

[LadyMoondancer]

I'm not sure if they all were, but I'm pretty sure I heard that the guy playing Optimus Prime in the Netflix series was "discovered" from his Youtube channel and I'm pretty sure that was also the case for Shockwave and some others.  Yeah, it seems like an extremely unprofessional way to go about it--especially for a Netflix show, like wouldn't you want that to be as polished as possible??

They were soooo bad, especially Optimus and Jetfire.

[Taffeta]

And an artist from the fandom as well for G5, right?

Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, I just wonder if this is part of their arsenal to keep the fandom alive while changing it entirely. Like they tried to hook Lauren Faust to the G1 bandwagon for continuity.

[Zapper]

I am still optimistic about the new characters and voice actresses. "New year, new luck", as we say.

They were soooo bad, especially Optimus and Jetfire.

Dang, they better "discover" me next. Men are voicing female cartoon characters left and right, it's finally time for transisters to voice some brobots

[Taffeta]

I am still optimistic about the new characters and voice actresses. "New year, new luck", as we say.

They were soooo bad, especially Optimus and Jetfire.

Dang, they better "discover" me next. Men are voicing female cartoon characters left and right, it's finally time for transisters to voice some brobots

Well, in Japan it's super common for women to voice male roles so why not in the West?

[Leave a Whisper]

I am still optimistic about the new characters and voice actresses. "New year, new luck", as we say.

They were soooo bad, especially Optimus and Jetfire.

Dang, they better "discover" me next. Men are voicing female cartoon characters left and right, it's finally time for transisters to voice some brobots

Well, in Japan it's super common for women to voice male roles so why not in the West?

Nancy Cartwright and the English VA of Naruto immediately come to mind. 

[Taffeta]

I am still optimistic about the new characters and voice actresses. "New year, new luck", as we say.

They were soooo bad, especially Optimus and Jetfire.

Dang, they better "discover" me next. Men are voicing female cartoon characters left and right, it's finally time for transisters to voice some brobots

Well, in Japan it's super common for women to voice male roles so why not in the West?

Nancy Cartwright and the English VA of Naruto immediately come to mind. 

Ah well, yeah, Gusty Simpson is a great precedent.

[Nemesis]

None of the VAs from WfC actually stood out to me as terrible, just... not as good as what I was expecting. I’m curious as to why there are no returning actors from previous series. It seems like a high-profile project, so that surprised me.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

None of the VAs from WfC actually stood out to me as terrible, just... not as good as what I was expecting. I’m curious as to why there are no returning actors from previous series. It seems like a high-profile project, so that surprised me.

But then they would have to pay SAG/ACTRA pay rates and contracts.  It's so much easier when they can poach from young creatives who don't understand their rights yet.

[lalalei2001]

Interesting! I wonder what ponies will be featured, and what any villains will be like!

[Primaltimediamond]

I just hope the ponies look nice, I've not been a huge fan of the g4 look, minus the princesses and saddle arabia ponies, and ponies like trouble shoes.

[Motion-Paradox]

There are other reasons for Hasbro to want to cast independent actors instead of ACTRA ones besides wanting to take advantage.

ACTRA's a union, so while it sets standards for things like how long an actor can work before they need to be paid over time, mandatory breaks, and minimum pay rate, it also has some really questionable practices, including the union fees regardless of if a member gets any jobs or not, or how they aren't allowed to work on non-ACTRA sets without getting special permission (or if they manage to sneak it in and are just credited under a different name, which is easier to do with voice acting, but still comes with the risk of penalties if they're caught).

It can be really unfair to the production teams as well; if you have an ACTRA set it has to be all ACTRA, I believe the exception is extras, but most of them still have to be ACTRA, while any principal characters will need a temporary pass. I'm not sure if they're still doing this, but they used to have a policy where you could get away with not using them for the first couple of features you made, but then it was mandatory. My local branch also has a program aimed at people starting out where they'll give you a discount on the rates, but in exchange own part of the finished feature, which wouldn't impact Hasbro, but is still kind of obnoxious.

So yes, it's probably less being able to over work people found on the internet and more an effort to try and show ACTRA they aren't the only option anymore and break the stranglehold they have on everyone

[lovesbabysquirmy]

There are other reasons for Hasbro to want to cast independent actors instead of ACTRA ones besides wanting to take advantage.

ACTRA's a union, so while it sets standards for things like how long an actor can work before they need to be paid over time, mandatory breaks, and minimum pay rate, it also has some really questionable practices, including the union fees regardless of if a member gets any jobs or not, or how they aren't allowed to work on non-ACTRA sets without getting special permission (or if they manage to sneak it in and are just credited under a different name, which is easier to do with voice acting, but still comes with the risk of penalties if they're caught).

It can be really unfair to the production teams as well; if you have an ACTRA set it has to be all ACTRA, I believe the exception is extras, but most of them still have to be ACTRA, while any principal characters will need a temporary pass. I'm not sure if they're still doing this, but they used to have a policy where you could get away with not using them for the first couple of features you made, but then it was mandatory. My local branch also has a program aimed at people starting out where they'll give you a discount on the rates, but in exchange own part of the finished feature, which wouldn't impact Hasbro, but is still kind of obnoxious.

So yes, it's probably less being able to over work people found on the internet and more an effort to try and show ACTRA they aren't the only option anymore and break the stranglehold they have on everyone

*ding* we have another person who understands how this works in the industry then   COVID19 has thrown even more curveballs at production especially when your talent and staff are traditionally in-person.  What if they don't have to be?  What a brilliant idea to save money! *facepalm*