22.05.2019 | In conversation with Alexandra Neldel
Drink plenty of fluids and don't catch a cold: When you work as a voice actress, there are a few things to bear in mind. Alexandra Neldel lends her voice to the fluffy detective cat "Marnie" in the new animated film "The Legendary Four". Here she reveals how the actress got the job and what it's like to work in the voice booth.
I didn't catch any mice or drink milk to prepare myself (laughs). You have to make sure you don't catch a cold just beforehand - but apart from that, there's not much else you can do. I had two great Directors who knew exactly what Marnie should be like - and I just hope that I did a good job with my voice.
It took us about a day to record Marnie. Each Speaker was in the recording booth individually. You can see the Directors and the editor through the glass, who make sure that you speak in sync with the picture and don't move too much - because you can hear that later on the recording. Also important: drink a lot! Otherwise there will be little smacking noises in the film later. Dubbing is a lot of fun, but it's also very exhausting. That's why I'm glad that I have a change with acting.
I didn't have that. But I have already spoken several other Speaker roles - my first in 2000 in the animated film "Titan A.E." and I've also had great offers in recent years - I particularly liked the role of Rapunzel in the last Disney film.
The two of them have created something really great and it was just lovely to be part of this project. Marnie is a really great cat and it was a lot of fun to slip into the role.
I found it a challenge that I couldn't speak Marnie in my normal voice pitch - because the little cat speaks a little higher. And when you're in the middle of recording, it happens from time to time that you unconsciously slip back into your normal voice pitch. Then, during the recordings, it was often: "Can we do that again?"
I was sent the trailer and they asked me what I thought of the film. Of course, I was immediately enthusiastic and told them the same. I thought I would have to send in a demo next or go to the casting - but nothing like that happened. Wolfgang and Christoph said straight away: "Okay, then we'll go into the studio soon". I was a bit overwhelmed at that moment - but sometimes spontaneous things like that are just the best.
Because it's made with so much love - and there's a lot going on. We have a road movie, we have animals that are adorable and we have great dubbing actors who are really into their roles. And for the parents, there are always some really good jokes. A film for young and old.
