This morning, the Walt Disney Company shook up the entertainment and business world with the news that it is buying Marvel Comics for a whopping $4 billion. One of the largest entertainment companies in the world, Disney will now be adding a stable of over 5,000 characters to its ranks, including popular comic book and movie heroes such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, the Avengers, Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, and many, many more.

The opportunities this merger presents to the entertainment world seem limitless, but the opportunities that will open up to voice actors are also nearly limitless.

“But,” you say, “all of Disney’s movies are headlined by big-name stars nowadays. How can this possibly help me?” Well, let’s take a look at just some of the projects that will benefit voice actors in the upcoming months.

Movies - Disney has long been the undisputed champion of animated movies, and by adding Pixar to its stable a few years ago, it cemented its status as the king of the animated realm. Marvel has been producing animated TV series for years, and has also been producing very successful animated movies that have been released via DVD for the past few years through a deal with Lionsgate Entertainment (that will now presumably switch to Disney). And while it’s true that many of Disney’s movies are headlined by big-name stars, the fact is that almost every animated film has a cast of dozens (if not hundreds) of characters, and only the top four or five are usually voiced by celebrity talent. That leaves a lot of other roles for regular voice actors to get. With Marvel’s characters added to Disney’s animation stable, the opportunities to voice characters in animated films is only going to grow as the Mouse House will surely increase the amount of animated superhero adventures Marvel produces.

Motion Comics - This is a fairly new technology, but it’s rapidly becoming quite successful. Viewed on a computer or devices such as an iPhone (whose App Store lists numerous motion comics for purchase), a motion comic takes an existing comic book, adds visual and sound effects to the panels, and utilizes voice actors to narrate the action and/or voice the dialogue from the word balloons. Since motion comics allow groups of people a chance to share in a comic book experience together in a way that traditional comic books do not (think of a family sitting around a TV and “reading” a Spider-Man comic book together), motion comics look like an innovation that is here to stay. Marvel just released their first motion comic recently (while rival comics publisher has already released several) with Spider-Woman #1, but look for the combined might of Marvel and Disney to increase that output dramatically. The best part? Of the motion comics we’ve seen so far, none are voiced by celebrity talent.

Theme Park Content - If you’ve been to Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure theme park, you’ve probably ridden the incredible Spider-Man ride. Not only does the queue area feature a large number of voice actors and animated segments that “set up” the storyline of the ride, but the ride itself utilizes quite a few voice actors. While it’s unsure if the Spider-Man ride will remain at Universal or move to a Disney theme park, what’s clear is that the Marvel universe is ripe for a theme park expansion. Might we see an entirely Marvel Disney theme park someday soon? Perhaps, and if so, I can guarantee there will be a dramatic need for voice talent.

Merchandise - Toys, games, books, and dolls based on Disney characters are typically aimed at young kids, so a lot of them talk and make noise. Marvel has already developed some children’s toys in conjunction with their more grown-up merchandise, but it’s a safe bet that Disney will “kid-ify” Marvel’s characters some more to expand that revenue stream. Talking toys = voice over work! Marvel’s characters are extremely well-merchandised, but nobody knows how to merchandise like Disney does!

There are endless other opportunities that this expanded entertainment empire will present for voice actors. The future is wide open, so go out there and grab a piece of it!

The world was saddened today with the passing of Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, who passed away on August 25, 2009.

Though best remembered for his commitment to serving the people of the United States, he was also known as a powerful voice and public speaker. What many people might not know is that Senator Kennedy even recorded some voice overs, being featured as the narrator of Aaron Copeland’s “A Lincoln Portrait” at Symphony By the Sea’s opening night concert. He also provided narration for his own life story (“Teddy: In His Own Words”) on HBO, part of an informal series of documentaries on the Kennedys.

In addition to serving in the United States senate for over 40 years, Senator Kennedy was well known for his oratorical skills. Throughout decades of speeches and debates, Senator Kennedy was one of the most respected (and feared, by his opponents) public speakers in politics. Kennedy was part of a family known for its legendary speech-making skills. Both of his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were widely praised for their oratorical skills.

One of Senator Kennedy’s most famous moments came when he gave the eulogy for his slain brother, Robert F. Kennedy, in which he said, “Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills. Yet many of the world’s great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the thirty-two-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.”

Perhaps Senator Kennedy’s outlook and speaking skills are best exemplified in the concession speech he gave in his failed bid to win the Democratic Party’s primary nomination against Jimmy Carter in 1980:

“Long after the signs come down, and the crowds stop cheering, and the bands stop playing, may it be said of our campaign that we kept the faith. For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

Thank you for a lifetime of service, Senator. Rest in Peace.