Only a child's voice.

One restless college night I was mindlessly browsing YouTube, and I came across an animated film that I had heard of, yet never viewed: "Cats Don't Dance". I didn't have much hope for it, but I settled down and started watching it, knowing that I could easily start watching ballet variations if it turned out to be a flop. While the animation was very "Gumby", I was entertained by the storyline and the characters.

Now, I have been watching anime for a while, so when the child diva character of "Darla Dimple" started speaking and singing, I was fascinated by a certain quality in her voice. A crisp, innocent, unmatured, ringing voice. A voice that could only be produced by a human for a relatively short amount of time.  It was a child's voice. The character was voiced by Ashley Peldon, who was about 13 at the time, with the singing provided by Lindsay Ridgeway, who was also 13.

Now, how does this tie into anime?
I've always hated how children were voiced in anime (both Japanese and English), because they use adults. And generally adults with terrible, screechy, high pitched, gratingly annoying voices. Voices that don't sound like children at all. Voices that are awful to listen to for a whole series, and can make you hate a character, even though that character doesn't deserve to be hated.

The English cast for my favorite anime, Kuroshitsuji, has been released, and of course the children will be voiced by adults.
Ciel, who is a young BOY, will be voiced by a 26 year old woman, Brina Palencia.
Lizzy will be voiced by a 21 year old from Texas, Cherami Leigh.

I won't even get started on the fact that nearly everyone in Kuroshitsuji is supposed to be BRITISH. 

 Why must boys always be voiced by women? Is it that hard to get children in the studio? I understand there are legal issues, but other animation studios have used children to play child roles.

Here is a clip from one of my all time favorite films, The Secret Garden.  Listen to these two British children speak and interact. Twenty-somethings from Texas can not imitate this, or even get close.



There is something about a child's voice that can not be imitated by adults. I wish anime studios would realize this.