Ian McKellen as Zebedee in The Magic Roundabout
Zebedee is a red jack-in-the-box-like creature, who everyone at the Magic Roundabout asks help for and is a fire wizard. Ian McKellen's voice as Zebedee is booming and raspy and too old for the character. His performance, however, is dramatic, wise and good-hearted. He used a David Niven approach and he has a Modern Received Pronunciation (RP)/BBC English/The Queen's English accent. He should be recast with Jared Harris instead. However, all voice actors who have wide vocal ranges and multiple vocal registers should use that voice as inspiration for their characters' voices. For instance, Richard Newman for his voice as the Toymaker in Joker & Friends: A Nutcracker Tale and Scott McNeil for his voice as Randolph in A Christmas Tale. Ian McKellen, however, can use his Zebedee voice for his voice as the Wiseman of Lions in Joker & Friends. Ian McKellen is a wonderful actor, but he would be better off in other roles like the Toad in Flushed Away and Magneto in X-Men. His replacement, Jared Harris, would use his voice as Lord Portley-Rind in The Boxtrolls, which would make Zebedee sound less old and more mature. We will, however, honor Ian McKellen's voice as Zebedee as soon as his version of Zebedee would be released as a bonus feature along with Richard O'Brien's, who was replaced by Ian McKellen. The male members of Monty Python Junior, the acting troupe I’m creating, will try to impersonate the voice.
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