Some of the greatest voiceover in movies and ads that made us get into the Christmas spirit

Danny Elfman

Although this isn’t only a Christmas animations movie, but also a Halloween movie, it sets the scene where these two worlds meet and interact. The character that binds the two worlds of Christmas and Halloween together is Jack Skellington. This character is voiced by the musician Danny Elfman. This movie by Henry Selick is one of the most popular Disney movies. Danny Elfman, from the band Oingo Boingo, not only voiced Jack Skellington but also wrote the movie soundtrack. He wrote it before there was a single line of script to look at.

He also voiced Bonejangles from Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride” and one of the Oompa Loompas from Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. And he wrote soundtracks for movies like the four “Men in Black” movies, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and Sleepy Hollow. These are some of the scores he’s written. What a multi-artist!

We all know the famous Christmas Ads from Coca-Cola. The company that offers the famous beverage has presented us with a Christmas commercial every year. Some of them contain voiceover, and most of them don’t like this year’s commercial.

Coca-Cola started their Christmas advertising back in the 1920s. This was when they introduced Santa Claus. The depiction of the character looked very strict in the beginning. Since then, Coca-Cola has developed the depiction of Santa Claus into the character he is today. A big friendly-looking and red-dressed old man with a great white beard.

Tom Hanks

Another Christmas movie that has made its way to the hearts of many people. This movie received the Guinness World Record for being the first movie that used the Performance Capture technique in a whole movie. The famous actor, Tom Hanks, makes the voiceover for several roles in the movie like the train conductor, the hobo, and Santa Claus. He also acts some of the characters that he hasn’t made voiceover for. That’s a lot of work! But he did it, and it’s become a tradition amongst many people to watch The Polar Express every Christmas.

Tom Holland

The British company M&S has continued their annual Christmas Ads with their M&S Sweets product line. But this time they’ve put a voice on the mascot Percy Pig. The actor Tom Holland does the voiceover for the character, and although he hasn’t entered a hall of fame Christmas status yet, he has done a great job in this Ad.

You might know him from the famous Marvel movies Spiderman. But this isn’t the first time Tom Holland has done voiceover for a character. He made voiceover for the movies “Spies in Disguise”, “Dolittle”, and “Onward”. So, the actor has truly shown that he can play the voiceover game as well!

Old but gold voiceover

This animated Christmas special was produced on the 19th of December in 1958. It’s hosted by ‘Jiminy Cricket’ from the Disney animations movie “Pinocchio”. This Christmas special has aired on different occasions throughout the years in the US. But in the Nordic countries Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland the special has aired every single year depending on the country. It started airing in 1967, 1960, 1979, and 1978 respectively.

Cliff Edwards voiced Jiminy Cricket in the special and in “Pinocchio”. He was also known as “Ukulele Ike” and was an American singer, actor, and voice actor. He was especially known for his hit song “Singin’ in the Rain” and his voice acting skills in other cartoons. What a legend!

What should you focus on in a Christmas voiceover?

So, how do you choose the perfect voiceover for a Christmas Ad or other Christmas projects? Most people know the classic sounds of Santa Claus like the “Ho ho ho”-laugh and his deep joyful voice. But it’s also about balance. Guy Harris is a popular voice actor in the UK, and he shows the perfect balance between the “ho ho ho’s” and the cheerful and joyful expressions. A snowman also tends to have a deep voice amongst voice actors, but it’s important that it doesn’t sound too much like Santa’s voice. And how does a Christmas goblin sound like? Maybe a very light tone of voice?

As you can see there are many aspects to consider in a Christmas voice. But other than Santa Claus there isn’t a certain recipe on how to sound like one of the typical Christmas characters like the ones mentioned before. So, you should be very clear about what your Christmas project is about to get closer to the perfect voiceover.