Animation Voice Over: Finding the Right Voice for Every Kind of Project
I’ve spent more than nine years bringing hundreds of animated characters to life, from mischievous sidekicks, to pre-school loveable characters to heroic leads! Animation is one of my favorite genres of voice over.
Every animated project lives or dies a little on casting. The wrong voice can make a character feel flat, off-brand, or forgettable — the right one makes an audience fall in love in six seconds. If you’re producing an animated project and trying to figure out what kind of voice talent you actually need, here’s a breakdown by genre, along with how I approach each one.
My sweet spot is warm, character-driven reads for kids’ content and eLearning with range into quirky sidekicks and commercial spots!
Feature Film Animation
Big-screen animation needs voices with real depth — emotional range, strong acting instincts, and the ability to hold a character’s authenticity across a two-hour arc. It’s less about doing “a voice” and more about full performance: pacing, timing, and taking direction while keeping things natural.
TV & Streaming Animated Series
Series work is a different muscle than film. You’re not wrapping a character up in two hours — you’re sustaining their voice, energy, and comedic timing across dozens of episodes, sometimes years. Consistency is everything, and often you’re voicing multiple characters in the same show.
I’ve worked on various Streaming Animated roles including Barbie Adventures playing three various Barbie character roles.
Animation Videos
Anime Dubbing
Dubbing is its own craft: matching performance to existing animation and lip-syncing precisely to mouth movements, while still hitting the exaggerated emotion and fast-paced delivery anime fans expect. It’s demanding — you’re serving someone else’s original performance while making it land naturally in a new language.
Video Game Animation
Game VO is unpredictable in the best way — deep character work, dozens of emotional variations per line, and often almost no visual reference to work from. You’re building a character from imagination and direction alone, whether that’s a whispering stealth NPC or a battle cry that needs to hit fifteen times without sounding stale.
I’m currently the voice of Amber in the popular kids mobile game Brawl Stars created by Supercell. Amber has a very popular fan base and I’ve worked on three separate occasions with Super Cell creating three different skins for Amber’s character.
I’ve also played Roxy in Power Rangers for a talking head doll!
Animated Commercials & Advertisements
Commercial animation needs a voice that’s instantly likable and does its job in seconds — friendly, energetic, and memorable enough that people still hum the jingle years later. It’s fast, punchy, and unforgiving of a flat read.
I’ve played various commercial animation roles including the voice of an alien in Earth Link internet commercials on the radio and television.
Children's Animation & Educational Content
This is all warmth, clarity, and imagination. Whether it’s a preschool ABCs show or an adventure-driven educational series, the read has to be enunciated, welcoming, and genuinely fun — kids notice when a voice isn’t having a good time.
I’ve worked on many animation educational roles playing a variety of characters in a variety of accents including Tilly the Trout for Western Canada’s kids educational series. I’ve also played a Barbie in a kids online educational game hunting for various treasures.
Stop-Motion Animation
Stop-motion has a handmade charm, and it demands a voice that can hold a character’s quirks consistently across a long production timeline — sometimes months between sessions. The performance has to balance whimsy with real, grounded emotion.
Motion Capture & 3D Animation
Mo-cap blends voice with physical performance — animators use your movement alongside your line reads, so the dialogue has to complement body language in a way that feels fully immersive. It’s some of the most physically engaged voice work out there.
Web & Social Media Animation
Short-form animated content for YouTube, TikTok, and social platforms needs quick, high-energy, relatable delivery — casual but polished, and produced on a fast turnaround. This is where adaptability and quick improvisation really pay off.
My home studio is always broadcast ready complete with a -60dB recording studio, a Neumann TLM 103 mic and state of the art technology to provide the best quality voice overs always!
I’ve also played a multitude of characters for companies who require voices for educational content including the Pharmaceutical Tech, and Insurance industries.
Experimental & Indie Animation
Indie projects push boundaries — surreal creatures, abstract narrators, or emotion-driven performances that lean on sound and expression as much as words. This is where a distinctive voice actor gets to take real creative risks alongside the animator’s vision.
I have played various characters in independent video game and other passion projects from producers, creators and influencers. I have the versatility to be able to create characters on the dime.
Ready to Cast Your Project?
Every animated genre asks something different of a voice — but the throughline is the same: the right performance makes your character (and your project) unforgettable, and the wrong one costs you the audience’s trust.
Send me your script or character brief and I’ll send back a custom audition, no obligation. You can reach me anytime through my website contact page or leahvoiceover@outlook.com
contact LEAH
Looking forward to working with you!