Soundalikes: The secret voice behind Toy Story’s Woody

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Music, Design, Arts, Music Commentary

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Soundalikes,” also called “voice doubles,” are voice actors who perform as characters that were originally played by someone else. They’re used extensively by studios like Disney and Pixar, in order to keep their iconic characters consistent across games, rides, toys, and TV shows. In live action movies, soundalikes fill in for the leads, and record lines for the film’s many rough cuts. But being a great voice double is about much more than just being a good impressionist. Featuring Rick Dempsey, Holly Dorff, and a surprise guest… Snag a $20 super soft tee at shop.20k.org. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Watch our video shorts on YouTube, and join the discussion on Reddit and Facebook. Sign up for Twenty Thousand Hertz+ to support the show & get our entire catalog ad-free. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org Check out headspace.com/20KHERTZ and use promo code 20KHERTZ to try Headspace free for 30 days. Go to hellofresh.com/hertz60 and use code HERTZ60 for 60% off plus free shipping. Episode transcript, music, and credits can be found here: https://www.20k.org/episodes/soundalikes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Woody, and you are listening to 20,000 Hertz.
0:07.0	That's Woody from Toy Story, and in case you're wondering, no, it's not a deep fake voice.
0:13.1	Now, as we all know, in the Toy Story movies, Woody is played by the one and only Tom Hanks.
0:18.9	But a while back, I came across a YouTube clip of Tom Hanks on the Graham Norton show.
0:24.1	In it, Graham holds up a toy Woody doll and pulls the string on its back.
0:29.3	You listen to this.
0:31.3	Ha ha, boy, am I glad to see you?
0:34.3	Is that you?
0:36.0	No, it's my brother, Jim.
0:37.7	Is it really?
0:39.6	It's not so weird because we were on the internet, somebody said that and we kind of, oh, that just sounds like a load of old rock.
0:47.1	So, it turns out, that doll isn't the only place where Woody is voiced by Tom's younger brother, Jim Hanks.
1:01.0	Jim's Woody voice is so good that it gets used in video games, rides, toys, and the list goes on. There are so many computer games and video things, and Jim just, he works on those all year long.
1:07.0	And they said, you don't want to do this. You said, no, get my brother Jim, you know. He'll do it. So that's my brother Jim.
1:11.2	That's amazing.
1:11.9	That's incredible.
1:13.6	I genuinely thought that was an urban myth.
1:16.2	It's true.
1:17.1	Absolutely true.
1:19.9	When Jim Hanks plays Woody, he's acting as a so-called sound alike, also known as a voice double.
1:26.5	It's a special category of voice acting that most
1:29.2	people have probably never heard of, because when it's done well, you don't even know what's
	...

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