xxashxx said:
It is very hard for Sarah to do his voice. I have actually seen her do it on a show on TV and I can tell that they were forcing her to do it. She wanted to do it sort of but she did not feel that she could do it and they hired her anyway. She is pretty young too and her cords are not developed well enough.
What TV show was Sarah on? Where did she say that she didn't feel she could play Ash?
xxashxx said:
PUSA even had a petition thing going as to see if they should keep the original cast. After that was over the ditched them and hired a street cast basically. They did not even give them enough time to tryout.
What are you talking about? Where are you getting your "facts"?
As far as I know, Pokemon USA
never held a petition for the fans to see if they should keep the original cast.
In fact, 4Kids used to dub the Pokemon anime. 4Kids dubbed seasons 1 through 8. But sometime around June/July of 2006, Pokemon USA got the license to dub the anime, because they wanted to be in control of the anime (since they already owned the rights to the licensing of the video games and the TCG). One of their first decisions upon getting the anime license, was to replace the entire voice cast. That's right. Pokemon USA replaced
all of the original voice actors! And the worst part is that, Pokemon USA didn't even give them a chance to continue working on the show, once season 9 came along.
Before season 9 was dubbed, Pokemon USA made a 10th Anniversary special called the Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon. This special aired on KidsWB. However, it was absolutely terrible, and all the fans hated it! And everyone emailed Pokemon USA, complaining about how bad the new voices were! Unfortunately, Pokemon USA didn't learn from their mistake. In the Mastermind special, Ash was voiced by Kayzie Rogers (aka Jamie Peacock). So, in response to the fan outcry, Pokemon USA decided to redub the special. But instead of actually listening to the fans, they kept the new voice actors (Michele Knotz, Bill Rogers, and Jimmy Zoppi - aka, Billy Beach). And, they made one change for the Mastermind redub. They got rid of Kayzie Rogers as Ash, and that's when they decided to hire Sarah Natochenny.
And I know for a fact that Veronica Taylor was never offered, nor approached, to work on the Mastermind special (or season 9). I know this, because I received emails from Veronica Taylor herself, during the time of the VA switch.
Veronica loved voicing Ash, and she definitely would have worked on the show again, if Pokemon USA would've given her that chance. But unfortunately, the company never gave her that opportunity. In fact, to this day, Pokemon USA has told Veronica that she "isn't allowed to work on the show". This makes me very upset, because I know that Veronica really wants to voice Ash again.
xxashxx said:
If they were going to replace the cast the should have started seeking a better cast while season 5 was airing that way it would have given them plenty of time to prepare for season 9 and beyond but they waited until season 8 to do that.
Yeah, but there's the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
My point is that, Pokemon USA shouldn't have replaced the original voice actors. The Pokemon anime wasn't broken, before Pokemon USA "fixed it" by replacing the original voice actors. They had no reason to make a change like this. The characters on Pokemon had the same voices and same personalities for 8 years. All Pokemon USA did, by changing the VAs, was cause fans to lose interest in the show (because they replaced the voice actors, which changed the characters on Pokemon completely). And, they did something unbelievably cruel to the original voice actors, by replacing them like this, after they had worked on the show for 8 years. And how Pokemon USA didn't even give them the chance to work on the show again, that's the part which makes me really upset.
I mean, it's obvious that Sarah Natochenny can't bring Ash to life. She just can't give him the same amount of emotion as Veronica could. And actually, the majority of fans prefer Veronica's portrayal of Ash (over Sarah Natochenny's). This makes me wonder why Pokemon USA doesn't want to allow Veronica to work on the show. They seem biased. What exactly does that this company have against her? Veronica Taylor (along with the rest of the original voice cast) worked on Pokemon for 8 years. And in my opinion, I really think Veronica deserves the chance to voice Ash again. At the very least, Pokemon USA could still offer her a chance to work on the show and regain the role that she loved. The role of Ash Ketchum.
By the way, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Sarah Natochenny (the new voice actor for Ash). I simply dislike her portrayal of Ash, because her emotion always seems so fake and forced. That, and she does a terrible job in certain Ash centered episodes (like "Pika and Goliath" and "Leading A Stray").
Veronica always did an amazing job voicing Ash. She truly made him who he was. That's why I want Veronica Taylor to voice Ash again. Because I feel like Sarah's Ash is a completely different character. But like I said, I have nothing personal against Sarah. I mean, if Pokemon USA were to give Veronica the chance to regain her role as Ash again, that's all that I want. Sarah Natochenny could still work on the show, and I wouldn't mind that at all. She's a good voice actress, and I'm sure she would do just fine in any other role. But, Sarah just isn't Ash (in my opinion). =P
And it's not like it would be impossible for Veronica to work on the show. Afterall, Rachael Lillis (the original voice of Misty and Jessie) did the voice of the gym leader Maylene, in 4 episodes of Pokemon Battle Dimension. So, because Pokemon USA allowed Rachael Lillis to return and do a minor role, it shouldn't be much of a stretch for them to allow Veronica to work on the show and regain her original role as Ash.