Voice Compare » Lion King » Shenzi
Comparision of the voice over actors who have been the voice of Shenzi with sound clips and images.
EDITOR'S OPINION
Well folks its been a little while since the last time I did this but we will be having a new Disney VC and this time its from the Lion King and it will be the leader of the 3 Hyenas namely SHENZI!In the 1994 classic movie Lion King she was voiced by known comedic actress Whoopi Goldberg. Like I said before Shenzi whom is the only female of the trio is the leader because as for actual Hyenas the Females are actually the dominant gender and Shenzi is also the "Smart One" of the group. (Though of course that's not exactly saying much...) While Shenzi is the leader of a trio of vicious carnivorous Hyenas those 3 are still at heart Comedy Relief, granted Evil Comedy Relief but Comedy Relief nevertheless anyways Whoopi's voicework certainly did fit the role overall. Whoopi's performance did certainly suit Shenzi's overall persona well and had good chemistry with Cheech "Banzai" Marin, not one of the best "Celebrity Performances" in a Animated Disney Film but a good example nevertheless.
In the Hyena's other voice-acted appearances Shenzi was voiced by VA Tress MacNeille and "Stand-In" Voices for Animated Disney characters are usually lukewarm at best and this is no exception. Now don't get me wrong Tress is by all means a fine VA and this performance is not really bad but it was kind of uneven. How so you ask, well sometimes as you can tell here Tress has done fairly good attempts at trying to make her performance in spirit with Whoopi's but also Tress did occasionally slip into her usual "Evil Grandma" voice as Shenzi before as well. But in Tress' defense when it comes to "Stand-in" voices of characters whom were originally voiced by Celebrities I have heard much worse. But still while Tress' work as Shenzi was OK but its by no means one of the best examples of her handiwork.
So overall yeah I admit I am going with Whoopi on this one for sure.
Pokejedservo
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antonithenimenerd said at 7:28 AM on Sun Apr 21 2013
As far as I'm concerned, Whoopi Goldberg was Shenzi. She was able to make Shenzi not only a villainous sidekick, but she was able to make her sexy, vicious and darn threatening. Plus it is always great to hear actors who have done live-action venture themselves into the world of animation.
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JayGirl10 said at 12:05 PM on Fri Jun 1 2012
I like both but of course Whoopi was the best. I liked Tress' voice a lot though. "I'm there!"
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Torak said at 4:18 PM on Fri Mar 30 2012
Once again the voice casting for the Lion king was impeccable here, Whoopi was hilarious as Shenzi, pretty much gave her that personality!
Tress was commendable as well, no complaints here.
ReplyTress was commendable as well, no complaints here.
MatthewC17 said at 9:38 PM on Wed Aug 31 2011
Tress actually has improved her work with Shenzi why in Kingdom Hearts II you couldn't even tell it was her
ReplyMatthewC17 said at 3:58 PM on Fri Jun 3 2011
Whoopi is better hands down
Not to mention Shenzi is modeled after her
ReplyNot to mention Shenzi is modeled after her
LadyRose said at 6:58 PM on Wed Feb 9 2011
OMG, Tress would kill me but I voted for Whoopi. She nailed it and she is one of my favorite characters from movie. (The reason I said Tress will kill me is because She is my favorite voice actor.)
Replytwye (Guest)
said at 8:40 PM on Sun Dec 19 2010
said at 8:40 PM on Sun Dec 19 2010
Whoopi was better.
lucien (Guest)
said at 9:40 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
said at 9:40 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
It's not that I don't think you should be able to give your opinions, but rather that they shouldn't be put up as the 'official lead in' for the voice compare itself. They should be posted here, along with everyone else.
Pokejedservo (Moderator) said at 7:52 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
I understand where your coming from but are you saying that administrators such as Jackson and I should keep our opinions to ourselves? If that is what you mean I am not certain whether if I agree whether if administrators should never give their opinions on the VCs. I mean the point about VCs are that everyone can give their opinion on them. But I will speak with site owner Foxwolf about this to see what we will do.
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Jackson_H (Admin) said at 3:45 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
hmm interesting point. I sort of agree with you and I'll update my VC right now. :)
I'll still leave in the basic info like who voiced the character when and some character background info. :)
Also we never know when a character might get a new VA in the future. It would save trouble from constantly updating the description. :D
ReplyI'll still leave in the basic info like who voiced the character when and some character background info. :)
Also we never know when a character might get a new VA in the future. It would save trouble from constantly updating the description. :D
lucien (Guest)
said at 3:07 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
said at 3:07 PM on Mon Jan 4 2010
This is just my opinion, but I'd rather if the voice compares didn't have headers written from the personal opinion of the author. The point is for the general public to make their own observations based on the clips provided, and it seems like having an official heading for the character stating the author's preference undermines that.
said at 4:21 PM on Thu May 16 2013