Some well-known German Twitch streamers will be heard in the upcoming animated film Transformers One. This has sparked criticism. Shouldn’t professional voice actors be doing this instead?
This is the situation: There is currently a large discussion on social media about the upcoming animated film Transformers One, which is set to explore the backstory of the famous Autobots. The film boasts a star-studded cast – at least in the original English voiceover. Because several Hollywood stars can be heard:
- Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as Optimus Prime
- Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as Sentinel Prime
- Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) as Elita
- Laurence Fishburne (Matrix) as Alpha Trion
However, for the German voice dubbing, a slightly different approach was taken. Several of the larger supporting roles have been cast with influencers. This doesn’t sit well with some people.
Are influencers ruining movies?
What is the criticism? The German casting is currently being heavily criticized on social media. The general sentiment seems to be: Leave the German voiceover to the professionals, that is, professional voice actors. Many accuse those responsible of using influencers to profit from their reach, sacrificing quality in the process.
Timm, who discusses films on the YouTube channel “Filmriss”, shared some members of the German cast on X, with the plea: “Just stop it already.” The post was seen nearly a million times.
Later, the YouTuber followed up with clips from the new German trailer and the phrase: “This is even worse than feared.” (via X)
Voice actor criticizes: Marketing takes precedence over quality
The voice actor Tom Ferenc, who also streams on Twitch, judges harshly: He can only feel ashamed. The voice performance of the influencers is “infinitely affected, read off, lacks playfulness, and ultimately prioritizes marketing over quality.”
For “real voice actors” like him, it is “a slap in the face.” Especially since these are people who haven’t learned the job, but would receive “20 times” the fee (via X).
Twitch streamers don’t think it’s a big deal
Are there also counter-voices? Yes, there are. Other content creators, in particular, seem to struggle to understand the criticism.
- The Twitch streamer Baso wonders why the comments are so mean, as it’s “such a cool opportunity to say 1 or 2 sentences in a movie.” (via X) In a separate post, she stated that she would also love to voice a small role, but in light of the hate, she would probably keep that to herself (via X).
- Papaplatte sees the problem more with the companies that make such decisions. After all, it’s clear that one would accept such a role if it were offered. And the fact that large companies use influencers to sell their products is nothing new – that’s just how the world works (via TikTok).
- The Twitch streamer MrMoregame calls for patience. After all, not all of them are automatically bad (via X).
The author explains: The blame lies with the production companies
The author of the post later clarified that his criticism was never aimed at the influencers themselves; he wishes them this opportunity. He also does not want to be the face of the hate that this situation has now brought about.
The YouTuber explains: There is nothing wrong with cameos, that is, short guest appearances, but with larger supporting roles or many small roles, the casting can ruin the film. As an example of successful dubbing by influencers, he cites Gronkh and Knossi (via X).
In Germany, there is a love-hate relationship with dubbing
Why is this a big issue? Especially in animated films, the trend in the English-speaking world has been to cast celebrities instead of trained voice actors for some time now. For example, Chris Pratt received heavy criticism for his role as “Mario”.
However, in Germany, not only animated films are dubbed, like in the USA, but practically everything. The German dubbing culture has a reputation for being among the best and most elaborate in the world. Despite all the purists who like to proclaim that they always watch everything in the original version.
Our colleagues at MoviePilot even list 10 movies and series where the German dubbing is better than the original.
Now, with such a high standard in German dubbing – in the eyes of critics – opting for influencer fame over quality seems particularly poorly received. Especially since it is not an option for every viewer to simply resort to the English original.
A bit of unintentional comedy also resonates through the whole discussion, as voice actors were a topic repeatedly last year, especially in connection with AI. Because the professionals fear that publishers might simply replace them with artificial intelligence as technology progresses, a strike was even called in the USA last week – and now the influencers are turning out to be a real threat.
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