The Brief

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in Moana. Antonio Banderas in Puss in Boots. Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo. Chris Pratt in The Lego Movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Garfield, and… a couple others.

All these big-name actors and comedians have lent their voices and talents to lead roles in animated features. And they’re just a handful of the many, many examples.

So when did this phenomenon start happening?

As the story often goes, the practice of casting celebrity-level actors rather than trained voice actors in animated films can be traced back to Robin Williams’ casting in the 1992 Disney hit Aladdin.  

The idea is that the popularity of the character led other producers and directors to want big-name actors in their films too — in an effort to draw in more adult viewers. The consequence, so the argument goes, is that the practice led to a decrease in opportunities for trained voice actors (similar to actors and celebrities replacing models on magazine covers.)

But according to Eric Goldberg, the supervising animator for the Genie and co-director of Pocahontas, and veteran animation casting director Mary Hidalgo (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse): that’s not exactly how it happened. (The two recently spoke with The Academy Museum Podcast host Jacqueline Stewart, for an episode focused on casting in animation.)

The history of casting celebrities in animation

Goldberg says that while many people do point to Williams’ casting in Aladdin as a turning point, “being an animation geek, I know of many other cases where they did cast famous people.”

Ed Wynn and Lucille Ball in a photo from May 18, 1953. The caption reads, "'Best young comedienne we have,' said Wynn after she made TV debut in his show."

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Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection / Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library

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A few examples:

“Cliff Edwards, the voice of Jiminy Cricket [in Pinocchio] was already a well-known recording star, known as Ukulele Ike. And everybody knew Ukulele Ike back in 1940. In the 1950s, they cast Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, respectively [in Alice in Wonderland], and they were both vaudeville and radio comedians. Very, very well known,” says Goldberg.

“So it certainly has had its history,” Goldberg says. “But I think in this particular case, because the humor was so linked to Robin's rhythms and Robin's style of delivery, I think that made it a turning point for an awful lot of people.”

How Robin Williams’ Genie did change things 

According to Goldberg, what was new in Williams’ portrayal of the Genie was his style of humor.

“Disney humor was not exactly ‘gut-buster’ humor. It could be a little bit tame,” Goldberg says.

“And truth be told, Disney films went more for the characterization than the gut-busting laugh, let's put it that way. Hopefully with a character like the Genie, we got both. And with this humor, there had never been that kind of humor in a Disney film before. So we all kind of felt a little subversive, you know, sticking this stuff in a Disney movie and just wondering if we're going to be be allowed to keep it in.”

Robin Williams recording the voice for his character in the 1996 sequel "Aladdin and the King of Thieves."

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Courtesy of the Everett Collection

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For casting director Mary Hidalgo — who didn’t work on Aladdin, but cast other Disney films like Tarzan and Finding Nemo — Williams’ casting had a wide-ranging impact in another way.

“I think that triggered something,” Hidalgo says. “That kind of set the bar — his comedy and his presence — he really, totally ‘plussed’ that character and that role. And I think from that moment there was a lot of high demand for that kind of actor. Somebody that will come in and read your words, but also really plus it, you know? That's why we go a lot of times for comedians.”

A push for “names”

But Goldberg and Hidalgo both say that there’s no denying that there has been — and still is — pressure from studios and producers to cast big big-name actors in animated films, particularly when it comes to lead roles.

Hidalgo recalls recommending actor/comedian Will Ferrell for the character of Sully in the 2001 film Monsters, Inc.

“He was so great, but they didn't know who he was. They knew like, ‘Oh, that guy on Saturday Night Live.’ But that's part of the whole job is trying to sell them on this thing that they don't know about, you know? And then they do always go kind of for the bigger star.”

The role ultimately went to actor John Goodman, who Hidalgo calls “the most perfect voice in animation.” And Ferrell was cast in The Lego Movie, which Hidalgo worked on, years later.

The drawbacks of celebrity

There are some times, Goldberg says, when casting a celebrity in a role can take something away from the magic of an animated character.

“You always want the characters to be their own characters,” Goldberg says. “You don't just want them to be a paper-thin carbon copy of who the voice actor is, for example."

In that sense, Goldberg says, casting lesser-known actors can help, because "you aren't necessarily referencing the persona of a previously known actor."

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As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.

The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.

The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”

Would it make much of a difference? 

Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.

“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”

Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.

Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.

“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”

What’s next for the proposal? 

The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.

The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.

The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.

Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.

Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.

"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.

The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.

Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.

"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.

Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.

"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."

Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.

"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.

Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.

Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.

Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.

"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."

If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.

Claudia Grisales contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR

California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.

It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.

Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.

But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.

On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.

“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”

State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.

Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.

“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.

“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”

‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’ 

In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.

“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”

Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.

“That means we can get more work done,” he said.

It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.

Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.

“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”

‘A haystack fire’

Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.

Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”

“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.

Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.

But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.

How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.

“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.