STAR 'TOONS MILLION-DOLLAR VOICES SQUEEZING OUT TRADITIONAL VOICE ACTORS.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Would ``Shrek'' have become the second highest-grossing film of last year as well as the best-selling DVD of 2001 had it not featured the voices of superstars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz in the lead roles?

DreamWorks, the studio behind the animated blockbuster, obviously doesn't think so and will be shelling out millions for Myers, Murphy and Diaz to reprise their roles as a reclusive ogre, chatterbox donkey and feisty princess, respectively, in ``Shrek 2'' planned for release in 2004.

With ``Shrek'' and Disney's animated ``Monsters, Inc.'' finishing as two of the top three highest-grossing films of 2001, it is clear that animation is more popular than ever with audiences. But for the performers who work exclusively as voice actors in animated films, it is a bittersweet time. They are seeing themselves left in the shadows as studios increasingly turn to movie stars for key roles.

``Monsters, Inc.,'' for example, paired the distinctive voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman as the lead characters. The movie has grossed $239.5 million to date and still remains in the top 10.

``It was a lot of fun,'' Goodman said of playing the role Sulley, the top scream-generating monster in the film. Crystal played his trusted assistant. ``It was unusual in that Billy and I actually read our parts together, so the energy kind of zoomed up on it. It's pretty hard work. You are drained after a four-hour session.''

Other animated star turns in recent years include Mel Gibson in ``Chicken Run'' and ``Pocahontas''; Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in ``Toy Story'' and ``Toy Story 2''; Michael J. Fox in ``Stuart Little'' and its coming sequel; Woody Allen, Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone and Christopher Walken in ``Antz''; and the all-star voice cast of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock and Steve Martin, among others in ``The Prince of Egypt.''

``It's the hottest gig in show business,'' said Larry Hummel, an agent at International Creative Management Inc. ``Everybody wants to do animation voice-over. It's a great creative experience for them.''

But veteran voice actress June Foray, best known as the voice of the flying squirrel Rocky in ``The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' on television and in a recent feature film, is alarmed by this increased reliance on stars. She laments that those performers who specialize in the animated field no longer seem to even be in the running to voice the lead characters.

``We are all doing supplementary parts while Cameron Diaz is getting paid $10 million,'' said Foray, who earned her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ``The stars receive millions of dollars for doing voices for animated film and then there is the poor actor who has to struggle to make at least $15,000 a year just to keep his benefits. A lot of the young people - wonderful, good, solid voice actors - have families and are buying homes, and work is bad for them.''

Foray helped lead the decadelong fight for animated films to have their own category at the Academy Awards. (Ballots with the first-time category were sent to voters earlier this month.)

Foray and others in the field are not convinced that these superstar names need to be on the marquee to sell an animated film.

``Frankly, I don't think simply because a star's name is on it that is going to sell the film if it's not good,'' Foray said. ``You get big stars doing live-action films, and if it's a flop, their appearance doesn't alter the basic outcome.''

Among those feeling the pinch are veteran actors like Clyde Kusatsu, who has made a consistent living during his 30-year career with approximately 100 credits that are peppered with voice-over work including recent performances in ``Dr. Doolittle 2'' and ``Recess: School's Out.'' In the past decade, he has found that the choice roles in animated features are no longer really an option for him and most of his colleagues.

``It goes back to 'The Lion King' and those big movies. They got big names for that and found you could build up the marketing by attaching their names to it,'' Kusatsu said. ``So what happens is there is a whole bunch of actors who would be working but aren't working as much because (filmmakers) will go with the name. In a way, it's like there's more competition to get work.''

``I don't think some of the bigger names are aware or know the deeper story of anonymous people whose opportunities for employment are diminished,'' he added.

While animated films have historically been sprinkled with big names, the current star trend really began in earnest in 1992 with Robin Williams, who caused a sensation with his voice work as the wisecracking Genie in Disney's ``Aladdin.''

``The buzz on the Robin Williams' performance in 'Aladdin' helped put that movie over the top for all audiences,'' said animation historian and author Jerry Beck. ``As the Genie, they let him be Robin Williams. In the same way, Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are hot right now, and that made people want to see 'Shrek.' That's part of the sell.''

Williams was reportedly paid Screen Actor's Guild minimum scale of $75,000 for his work on the film, which went on to gross more than $500 million worldwide. When Williams agreed in 1995 to reprise his role for the direct-to-video sequel ``Aladdin and the King of Thieves'' he was paid nearly $1 million.

According to Beck, until the animation explosion of the past decade, the star of the film was typically the property itself such as Disney's ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``Peter Pan'' and ``Pinocchio.''

``Robin Williams didn't even get promoted in the ads for 'Aladdin,''' Beck said. ``Today, they are using it to sell the film. Who would have known what 'Shrek' was? By getting Murphy and Myers, they are using that star power to get on talk shows and really promote the film. This is the new way to make these things work. These movies, if they work, the profit ratio is tremendous.''

Beck cautions that the star formula isn't full-proof. He mentions that even the distinctively comic voice of Chris Rock couldn't draw audiences to the box office failure ``Osmosis Jones'' last year. He also notes that the year before ``Aladdin'' was released, Robin Williams did voice work on the animated film ``Ferngully: The Last Rain Forest'' which came and went with little fanfare.

From their vantage point at ICM, one of the industry's major talent agencies, Hummel and fellow agent Natanya Rose see both sides of the equation. The pair not only negotiate animated deals for the agency's superstar clients, they also handle a roster of approximately 150 animation voice-over specialists.

Rose said there is no shortage of producers who want big-name talent for the lead roles because they can also help sell a film at the box office. But she said work is still there for the lesser-known names.

``The four leads in 'Shrek' are celebrities, but there are also 20 other roles in the film that are voice talent,'' Rose said. ``They may not be the leads and getting the glory, but there is still consistent work out there.''

Rose and Hummel said one way voice performers can still land a lead feature role is if they originated it in a television series. One example is actress Elizabeth ``E.G.'' Daily, who has been the voice of Tommy Pickles on Nickelodeon's ``Rugrats'' series for a decade. She has since voiced the role in the features ``The Rugrats Movie'' and ``Rugrats in Paris'' and has finished work on a third film.

``If you are fortunate enough to get on a show that gets to the place where it becomes a movie, you are pretty lucky,'' said Daily, who was also the voice of the lovable pig in ``Babe in the City.''

Daily has been twice lucky in recent years with her role as Buttercup in the feature film version of ``Powerpuff Girls,'' also based on an animated television series.

``I sort of have my own little area, thank God, and I feel like Tommy Pickles is so identifiable,'' she said. ``Tommy is a character and a voice that I developed. On a successful show like that, they don't want to alter what works.''

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Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Above, from left are the stars of Dreamworks ``Shrek.'' Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow, Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers at the movie's premiere. At left, Woodland Hills resident June Foray, longtime voice for Rocket J. Squirrel, worries the desire for A-list actors is making animated film producers forget about talent like her.

Associated Press

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer

(3 -- 4 -- color) Mel Gibson, above, most recently took a star turn in the Claymation feature ``Chicken Run,'' while in photo at right, Bill Crystal and John Goodman voiced characters in Pixar's hugely popular ``Monsters, Inc.''

(5 -- color) no caption (Shrek)

(6 -- color) no caption (Monsters, Inc.)