LOS ANGELES – Everything about the new Disney Pixar animated offering “Brave” sounds right. That’s because most of the voice talent for this tale of a wee Scottish lass who rebels against her clan’s wedding traditions was born in Scotland.
Kelly Macdonald, voice of princess Merida, is from Glasgow, as is Craig Ferguson, who is the voice of her father, Lord Macintosh. Then there’s Kevin McKidd, a native of Elgin, Scotland, who provides the voices for both Lord MacGuffin and his son. Other voice actors with Scottish roots include Billy Connolly and Robbie Coltrane.
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This attention to vocal details is a different approach. In the past, an American actor would try to imitate an accent.
“I think it’s a sign of the times,” said Ferguson. “I think the world is different than it was 20, 30 years ago when regional accents were a very exotic and odd thing. With the Internet and YouTube and all the different communication systems that exist in the world, I think people’s ears are much more attuned to authenticity in accents now.
“If you are going to make a film about Scotland, it’s probably a pretty good idea to have Scottish people.”
The search for the right person to voice the young Merida brought first-time voice actor Macdonald to the project.
The 36-year-old Emmy-nominated actress from “Boardwalk Empire” loved the project because it’s the only way she would ever be able to play a teen in a movie.
“It’s just the most fun I’ve ever had at work,” Macdonald said.
It was fun, but it was also years of work as the roles would be recorded and then re-recorded as the story changed.
The directors counted on the Scottish actors to make sure the dialogue sounded just right.
“We would say that we could say it that way, but it would be more natural, and a Scotch person would say it, more like this. It would be funnier if we said it this way,” McKidd said. “They were very open to us changing things and giving them different options.”
Pixar’s ‘Brave’ debuts at top, with $80.2 million
LOS ANGELES – A new Disney princess has ascended to the box-office throne with a No. 1 debut for Pixar Animation’s “Brave.”
The latest from the makers of “WALL-E,” “Finding Nemo” and the “Toy Story” movies opened with $66.7 million domestically, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Brave” added $13.5 million in 10 overseas markets for a worldwide start of $80.2 million.
Featuring a feisty Scottish princess, “Brave” was the first of Disney’s Pixar animations with a female protagonist.
The 20th Century Fox action tale “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” opened far back at No. 3 with $16.5 million, behind “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.”
“Brave” is the 13th-straight Pixar release to open at the top since “Toy Story” launched the computer animation age in 1995.
‘Jeopardy!’ host suffers heart attack
NEW YORK – “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek is in a Los Angeles hospital recovering from a mild heart attack.
Sony Television spokeswoman Paula Askanas said Sunday that Trebek was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday.
Askanas said that Trebek is expected to fully recover and be back giving answers when “Jeopardy!” resumes production on a new season in July.
While he was in the hospital Saturday, “Jeopardy!” won a Daytime Emmy award for best game show.
Trebek, 71, has been hosting “Jeopardy!” for 28 years.
The program — one of the longest-running game shows on U.S. television — has a unique answer-and-question format in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.
Trebek was hospitalized for an earlier heart attack in 2007.
— From news service reports
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