Did you know ? Katak, the brave gray beluga, hero of the Quebec animated film of the same name, now hitting the big screen, has something in common with Spider-Man.
His voice.
Or rather, his voice from Quebec.
Alexandre Bacon, the actor who lends Katak his vocal traits, is also the one who has doubled the voice of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man since actor Tom Holland inherited the commission to portray Spider-Man on the big screen in 2016. in Captain America: Civil War.
In addition to all the films in which Spider-Man appears, this dubbing specialist has also taken the lines of characters from films such as The Fabelmans, Scream 5, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Space Jam: A New Legacy in French. Dunkirk, Sing Street, The Hangover 2 and dozens more.
“Dubbing is a passion. I started when I was a kid. It was more of a game then. Over time, I started to like it,” reveals the man who recently appeared on TV in several series, including US and Stat.
Image provided by 10th Ave Productions
Alexandre Bacon voices Katak in the animated film Katak, the Brave Beluga.
A first
Despite his vast experience in dubbing, Alexandre Bacon faced an unprecedented challenge when he was recruited to work on the film Katak, the Brave Beluga.
It was his first original voice. He had never created a voice from scratch before.
Also, as is usual in the animation world, the first shots took place before the images of the characters in the film were available.
“We just had the script and I had an idea of the character sketch that would be in a production document. The big difference with dubbing is that the animation is created from the vocal model we produce. It’s an extraordinary freedom,” he explains.
Photo Didier Debusschere
But how do you do that, a beluga voice?
“With the drawings, I had an overall idea of the essence of the character. I understood that he is a character who looks younger than he really is. It needed a young voice, but not too much. We can put more energy into animation. We are looking for youth and naivety. »
instinct
Should we look to other animated films for inspiration when creating a voice like Katak’s, or do we go there instinctively?
“I went there instinctively,” replies Alexandre Bacon, but when I was young I saw a lot of animated films. I’ve seen all of Disney, all of Pixar. It’s a big part of my life. Maybe there was subconscious inspiration from certain characters, but I didn’t do any specific research. »
In addition to Alexandre Bacon, in Katak, le brave béluga we hear the voices of Ludivine Reding, Mario Saint-Amand, Ginette Reno, Yves Jacques, Martin Drainville, Émilie Josset, Guylaine Tremblay and Marie-Thérèse Fortin is currently in cinemas.