Ocean Studios' "Dragon Ball Kai" Dub Turns 16; Still Unreleased

[NitroEX]

Well the interview I'm referencing is the podcast he did with Trevor Devall and he just mentions that he stopped because of the "yelling", that it wasn't considered by "the people who were supposed to pay" to be a line but that the union did consider it a line so they got into some sort of argument about it and he just decided to quit. I think he might have just been tired of dubbing work in general as it doesn't look like he's done any other Japanese stuff since and only sticks to prelay voice work.

[xXInfinite026Xx]

Well the interview I'm referencing is the podcast he did with Trevor Devall and he just mentions that he stopped because of the "yelling", that it wasn't considered by "the people who were supposed to pay" to be a line but that the union did consider it a line so they got into some sort of argument about it and he just decided to quit. I think he might have just been tired of dubbing work in general as it doesn't look like he's done any other Japanese stuff since and only sticks to prelay voice work.

Yes I do remember that interview, and it's a shame that he really found it tiresome and/or straining for the lack of proper payment (as he saw it). As I said, I don't blame him for the circumstances, but it's because of his lack of effort I never found his performance to be especially endearing to me.

For example, when I hear his colleagues like Scott McNeil, Michael Dobson, and (an ADR newbie with something to prove) Brian Drummond who even back then sounded engaging with their respective roles with most likely the same amount of pay, it really just shows Corlett's lack of care to the role came through in his performance. Hell even with the in-house Funimation dub, Vic Mignogna openly expressed how strenuous voicing Broly was to him and how he dreaded having to come back to record him the many times as he did for the next movies and video games, but even he struck through it. It definitely wasn't for the pay as those VA's can hardly make a living with it, but it was to continue what he had started as well as being apart of such a huge franchise. It's obvious that Corlett did not have the same in mind.

That being said, no disrespect to Corlett though; he's still a brilliant voice over artist and producer.

[ABED]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but having been a part of the DBZ fandom on the net since around 96/97, I do remember most people complaining about Kelamis as the replacement. I'm not simply basing this on research, I was there. However, I will admit that I was young and the possibility that I don't remember it correctly, but that's the impression that I got. I also seem to remember people complaining about footage that was removed, and at a certain point the complaint became about too much filler.

My only real gripe with Corlett's take on Goku is that I could never fully believe him as the character himself. Sure the same could be said for just about all the english Goku's, but Corlett always seemed more phoned in than others. He has a great young, heroic voice, however you could tell that it was only ever a paycheck to the guy. It's especially apparent whenever there is screaming or powering up. I don't blame him for the financial circumstances that ultimately led him to leave the show, but his 40% sounding effort never made a lasting impression on me.

If that's your take on English Goku, fine. However, count me among those that really like Schemmel as Goku, especially now. I love his passion for the role and he now seems to truely understand the character. I also don't agree neccessarily that he phoned it in. This may not have been a passion project for him, but he strikes me as a professional who takes pride in his work.

By the way, I found a cool youtube video of a convention panel where Scott McNeil joined the FUNi actors. I'd love to see more things like that. It was great seeing and hearing McNeil and Sabat side by side.

[xXInfinite026Xx]

If that's your take on English Goku, fine. However, count me among those that really like Schemmel as Goku, especially now. I love his passion for the role and he now seems to truely understand the character. I also don't agree neccessarily that he phoned it in. This may not have been a passion project for him, but he strikes me as a professional who takes pride in his work.

I believe out of all the english VA's for Goku, Sean Schemmel strikes me as the most passionate about his role. You can definitely hear it Funimation's Kai how much effort he put into his role and how it's improved considerably since 1999. He may not be totally perfect, but he's still my favorite english Goku.

Also, I said the "same could be said for just about all the english [Goku] va's" when it came to people believing them in their roles because most people on this forum feel that there hasn't been a perfect english Goku for an official dub. I wasn't speaking about my own opinion when I said that.

Plus I never questioned Corlett's professionalism when I was speaking about him. He is a great voice actor who I especially loved with his Beast Wars role. I was only speaking about his effort and commitment to his role in DBZ.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Well the interview I'm referencing is the podcast he did with Trevor Devall and he just mentions that he stopped because of the "yelling", that it wasn't considered by "the people who were supposed to pay" to be a line but that the union did consider it a line so they got into some sort of argument about it and he just decided to quit.

That makes more sense, and still fits in line with the DBZ Uncensored interview.

Typically with English dubs, they'll record dialogue first and then go back and do all the screams later (so that a voice actor's voice doesn't get so damaged that they can't do the dialogue). So, "dialogue sessions," and "screaming sessions," essentially. I'm wondering now if perhaps Ocean just didn't want to compensate him for the screaming sessions. I'm not nearly as familiar with ACTRA (the Canadian union) as I am with SAG-AFTRA (the U.S. union), but one of the general concepts of labor unions is that employees don't typically work for free (and I'm tempted to replace "typically" with "never," but I don't want to make assumptions about unions I haven't worked with).

[ABED]

Plus I never questioned Corlett's professionalism when I was speaking about him. He is a great voice actor who I especially loved with his Beast Wars role. I was only speaking about his effort and commitment to his role in DBZ.

My point about Corlett's professionalism was in reference to his tie on DBZ. I do think he cared about his work in DBZ, even if it wasn't in love with the role. He has enough respect for his craft to not just go through the motions.

[eledoremassis02]

I do remember most people complaining about Kelamis as the replacement. I'm not simply basing this on research, I was there. However, I will admit that I was young and the possibility that I don't remember it correctly, but that's the impression that I got.

Sounds about right. I mean, I fell into the "there were two goku's?!" category. Kelamis said in an interview that he even received death threats because he became the new Goku. Really tells you how some things never change....

[ABED]

I do remember most people complaining about Kelamis as the replacement. I'm not simply basing this on research, I was there. However, I will admit that I was young and the possibility that I don't remember it correctly, but that's the impression that I got.

Sounds about right. I mean, I fell into the "there were two goku's?!" category. Kelamis said in an interview that he even received death threats because he became the new Goku. Really tells you how some things never change....

There were death threats? What's wrong with these people? I get being disappointed, but the lack of manners that some people show is revolting. Some of the things people have said about DBZ's cast going back to the Ocean dub day makes me cringe. You don't have to like the voices but show some humanity and respect when voicing your opinion. While not DBZ related, some fanboy reactions to Shailene Woodley's casting as MJ Watson is along the same lines. They aren't death threats but the ease that some men have in posting some of the most insulting comments about her appearance bothers me to no end.

I wonder if Paula Newstone will play Freeza again. She was never my ideal voice but it was interesting for what it was. Yeah, it was a woman, but she gave Freeza an interesting lizard like quality that's somewhat present even in Chris Ayres' performance.

[xXInfinite026Xx]

I wonder if Paula Newstone will play Freeza again. She was never my ideal voice but it was interesting for what it was. Yeah, it was a woman, but she gave Freeza an interesting lizard like quality that's somewhat present even in Chris Ayres' performance.

I believe it was stated that Lee Tockar would be recast as Freeza in Ocean's Kai, which I something I really look forward to hearing once this dub comes into fruition. It will really be interesting to hear in comparison to Ayres Freea as we will now (possibly) have two suitable English voices for Freeza. However, Chris Ayres is totally my ideal Freeza voice and will most likely remain so.

[90sDBZ]

That's what I love about Sean. He really loves being Goku and appreciates being part of such a huge franchise. He's actually a fan of the show unlike most of the other English Goku VAs.

To be fair to Kirby Morrow he wasn't really right for the part but he to seemed to appreciate having that role otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to re-audition. I get the impression he really enjoyed playing Goku and was maybe even a fan of the show.

Ian seemed not to care less about the show and only seems to talk about his other stuff like Transformers in interviews.

Peter didn't seem to be that much into the show either. Apparently the fans knew about Ocean being replaced before he did.

[dbret12]

To tell you the truth, Sean was pretty bad back in 1999, but after the Trunks Saga, he started to improve. His Buu Saga work was great and his work on Kai was excellent.

[ABED]

Sure they were green, but how much of those performances were due to having to sound like other actors, bad scripts and inexperienced directors?

I think Sean got a handle on the character towards the end of the Freeza fight and Sabat got a handle on Vegeta once he made it his own (arguably around the end of the Cell arc, but definitely by the Buu arc).

[Attitudefan]

Actually, out of all the actors, all I heard is that Corlett was the one that didn't enjoy it. I hear it in the voice. He sounds phoney. I dislike his Goku a lot. It does sound "phoned in". His screams and the voice are uninspired. Kelamis sounded like he liked playing the role, especially in the movies. He sounds great there. Corlett shouldn't get the love and respect he gets for playing Goku. He was not a good Goku compared to the others.

And yes, Tockar, unless the twitter remark changed things but I doubt it, will be playing Freeza.

[ABED]

Actually, out of all the actors, all I heard is that Corlett was the one that didn't enjoy it. I hear it in the voice. He sounds phoney. I dislike his Goku a lot. It does sound "phoned in". His screams and the voice are uninspired. Kelamis sounded like he liked playing the role, especially in the movies. He sounds great there. Corlett shouldn't get the love and respect he gets for playing Goku. He was not a good Goku compared to the others.

And yes, Tockar, unless the twitter remark changed things but I doubt it, will be playing Freeza.

I don't hear what you hear. Even if it was phoned in, Kelamis sounds way too unnatural for my tastes. Kelamis sounds mildly better in the movies, but not by much in my estimation. Will he be returning to play Goku for Kai?

[VegettoEX]

Will he be returning to play Goku for Kai?

It's very unlikely to be a previously-cast voice of Goku.

[penguintruth]

I always loved the bit in Ocean's dub when Goku takes down Recoome, and it seemed to me like Kelamis was having a lot of fun with his lines at the end of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2dH-VD0aQw

He brought out that sweet, folksy charm that was lacking in Corlett and came too hard to Schemmel.

Unfortunately, he degenerated into this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eyPAzyC0us

Granted, these are two pretty different scenes, but still you can tell Kelamis was struggling to even act in the latter, like he lost the magic. But I guess you get rusty if you don't play the character for so long. It's not like he was in countless video games and had time to improve like Schemmel did.

Schemmel didn't "get a handle" on Goku until Kai. He was pretty awful until the the dub for Kai started. He's pretty decent now, but he's no Nozawa.

Sabat didn't "get a handle" on Vegeta until the redub of the first two "seasons" of Z.

[ABED]

Granted, these are two pretty different scenes, but still you can tell Kelamis was struggling to even act in the latter, like he lost the magic. But I guess you get rusty if you don't play the character for so long. It's not like he was in countless video games and had time to improve like Schemmel did.

Schemmel didn't "get a handle" on Goku until Kai. He was pretty awful until the the dub for Kai started. He's pretty decent now, but he's no Nozawa.

Sabat didn't "get a handle" on Vegeta until the redub of the first two "seasons" of Z.

We could go back and forth, so I'll just say I disagree with your assesment of when both actors got good in their respective roles. Also, no one is Nozawa, she stands alone, but I still really like Schemmel in the part.

[KingofWisdom]

Schemmel gave Goku a pretty generic adult male voice up until Kai. Watching through the uncut movie dubs by Ocean for the first time in years, I really do like what Kelamis did there. Has a sort of Dragon Ball sound to the voice, while Schemmel's Goku is like an entirely different entity from the character's earlier years.

[TheBlackPaladin]

I always loved the bit in Ocean's dub when Goku takes down Recoome, and it seemed to me like Kelamis was having a lot of fun with his lines at the end of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2dH-VD0aQw

That scene escaped my memory. Watching it now, I particularly liked his delivery of the "So, I did" line.

Rumor has it that Kelamis decided to step down so that he could focus more on his stand-up career. I don't know if that's true or not, but I did find his stand-up routine quite funny.

[ABED]

Schemmel gave Goku a pretty generic adult male voice up until Kai. Watching through the uncut movie dubs by Ocean for the first time in years, I really do like what Kelamis did there. Has a sort of Dragon Ball sound to the voice, while Schemmel's Goku is like an entirely different entity from the character's earlier years.

That's not entirely on him. He can usually only do what's asked of him either in the writing or the direction. He figured out the character well before Kai. I'm not sure what's meant by "Dragon Ball" voice, but I do know that I'm not overly fond of either the "so I did" or Kelamis' delivery. I'm also unsure what you mean by the last sentence. He definitely understood Goku's innocence and naivete by the season 1 and 2 redub.