What's the story with Gohan/Bulma/Frieza's VA's replacements

[TVfan721]

I know Linda was let go because Sabat and Sean said why in that interview last year but I heard someone on here said she was in tears and it didn't end well. Basically she took getting replaced pretty hard. What's the story with that?

Also, why were Bulma and Gohan's VA's replaced? Again I heard Sabat got into a fight with the VA for Gohan but that can't be true can it?

[GotenDaisuki]

All I know is that they let Linda go because Sabat thought she wouldn't be able to handle the new scripts and couldn't portray Freeza like he wanted.

I have no clue why they let the other two go. But, all in all, it was a good decision.

[ohaimynameiserik]

It was probably for the same reasons as Linda.

[Puto]

Nadolny and Vollmer were replaced because they don't work at FUNimation anymore. Plain and simple.

[cloud1414]

Nadolny and Vollmer were replaced because they don't work at FUNimation anymore. Plain and simple.

They wanted to do other things. They got other jobs.

[penguintruth]

All that's important is that in all three cases, the new VAs are exponentially better in the roles than the previous ones.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Nadolny and Vollmer were replaced because they don't work at FUNimation anymore. Plain and simple.

They wanted to do other things. They got other jobs.

Neither case is true.

Unfortunately I can't say how I know--which is why I almost didn't comment--but for the sake of preventing the spreading of false rumors, I can say that it was not a case of not working at FUNimation anymore or them wanting to do other things.

PS: Technically speaking, none of the voice actors work "at" FUNimation. The technical term for voice actors would be "freelance contractors," that FUNi hires on a case-by-case basis. Legally speaking, voice actors aren't considered official employees.

[jjgp1112]

Stephanie Nadolny actually told me in a PM 3 years ago on the Funi forums that she was planning on moving to California, so that's probably why she was replaced.

[GS7X7]

I kind of feel sorry for Linda. Her Freeza voice was bad, but.... ultimately the blame lies with the directors/higher-ups who ultimately decided on that voice.

Same with "Step Into the Grand Tour." Sure, they sing like goofy retards in the song but ultimately the blame lies with the higher-ups that decided they really wanted that kind of sound for DBGT.

In any case I think Sabat was the primary director for DBZ Season 3 so it was him and/or Watson. (or whoever else was directing back then)

[JulieYBM]

Stephanie Nadolny actually told me in a PM 3 years ago on the Funi forums that she was planning on moving to California, so that's probably why she was replaced.

Eh, Hebert and other actors live in California so I'm more willing to bet it was a case of Sabat simply not wanting to work with them anymore.

[jjgp1112]

Stephanie Nadolny actually told me in a PM 3 years ago on the Funi forums that she was planning on moving to California, so that's probably why she was replaced.

Eh, Hebert and other actors live in California so I'm more willing to bet it was a case of Sabat simply not wanting to work with them anymore.

Well she said it in a way that suggested she was parting ways with Funi

[TVfan721]

I kind of feel sorry for Linda. Her Freeza voice was bad, but.... ultimately the blame lies with the directors/higher-ups who ultimately decided on that voice.

Same with "Step Into the Grand Tour." Sure, they sing like goofy retards in the song but ultimately the blame lies with the higher-ups that decided they really wanted that kind of sound for DBGT.

In any case I think Sabat was the primary director for DBZ Season 3 so it was him and/or Watson. (or whoever else was directing back then)

Why on Earth would you feel bad for her? Linda is a millionaire now thanks to her work on DBZ. I'm sure she's fine.

[SSJSteve]

I kind of feel sorry for Linda. Her Freeza voice was bad, but.... ultimately the blame lies with the directors/higher-ups who ultimately decided on that voice.

Same with "Step Into the Grand Tour." Sure, they sing like goofy retards in the song but ultimately the blame lies with the higher-ups that decided they really wanted that kind of sound for DBGT.

In any case I think Sabat was the primary director for DBZ Season 3 so it was him and/or Watson. (or whoever else was directing back then)

Why on Earth would you feel bad for her? Linda is a millionaire now thanks to her work on DBZ. I'm sure she's fine.

There's no way she made that much from FUNi/DBZ. I always thought a Voice Actors pay was quite low. If she's been involved with other projects then she could be well off, but not from DBZ.

[TheBlackPaladin]

Why on Earth would you feel bad for her? Linda is a millionaire now thanks to her work on DBZ. I'm sure she's fine.

...........What? What are you basing that on? I dunno, maybe she is and there's something I don't know. However, I can guarantee you, beyond any doubt, that if there is any anime voice actor out there that's a millionaire (which is unlikely in and of itself), there's NO WAY she's a millionaire from her work on DBZ. Being a voice actor--period--is rarely a profession that goes into the 1 million + range, and if it does, it's after many, many, many high-profile jobs, not from overdubbing an anime. Overdubbing an anime is one of the lowest-paying fields of voice acting.

I kind of feel sorry for Linda. Her Freeza voice was bad, but.... ultimately the blame lies with the directors/higher-ups who ultimately decided on that voice.

Same with "Step Into the Grand Tour." Sure, they sing like goofy retards in the song but ultimately the blame lies with the higher-ups that decided they really wanted that kind of sound for DBGT.

In any case I think Sabat was the primary director for DBZ Season 3 so it was him and/or Watson. (or whoever else was directing back then)

Agreed and then some. Yes, I do happen to prefer Chris Ayers, but I would NOT want to be the one tasked with firing Linda Young. That would have been really tough to do. One of my directors once told me that it's extremely hard on a personal level to re-cast someone, because you are essentially tasked with breaking someone's heart. And, as he put it, "It's just as much the fault of the person who cast them to begin with, if not more so."

[GS7X7]

Just to be fair to Linda if she ever reads this, I actually did like her voice prior to getting into the J. version.

It did sound really creepy and bizarro which kind of fit Freeza to me when I first saw it.

[Dark Vegeta-Sama]

The most likely reason they were replaced is that all three of those voices were terrible. Not only did they not fit the characters, they were just irritating voices to listen to in general. FUNimation has made a lot of mistakes with the property in the past, but they definitely made the right call in recasting those three characters in Dragonball Kai.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Why on Earth would you feel bad for her? Linda is a millionaire now thanks to her work on DBZ. I'm sure she's fine.

Nakao Ryusei isn't even a millionare from his voice work for Freeza.

[GS7X7]

Sadly there's usually little money in the anime dubbing business for VAs. Now, regular American cartoons? That's where the real money is. (especially Simpsons which is the king of highly-paid VAs)

[GotenDaisuki]

Well, it's definitely not hard to believe, considering the Amercian anime/manga industries have come crashing down for a few years now.

[Gaffer Tape]

Sadly there's usually little money in the anime dubbing business for VAs. Now, regular American cartoons? That's where the real money is. (especially Simpsons which is the king of highly-paid VAs)

I'd say Simpsons is the rare exception because it's, well, The Simpsons, and they've been doing those voices for twenty years, have renegotiated their contracts many times, and have plenty of clout to do so. Other than that, I wouldn't consider American cartoon voicework to be that lucrative, unless you happen to be a pretty big name like Billy West or Frank Welker.