Have you ever watched an animated movie and couldn’t figure out who the voice actor was? If the voice sounded familiar to you and you still couldn’t place a face to the voice, it may be because it was by someone you’re used to hearing sing. Over the years, musicians have signed up to voice roles for animated films. Taylor Swift was in The Lorax, Rihanna was in Home, Katy Perry was in Smurfs, Beyoncé was in Epic, Selena Gomez was in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, and Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez were both in Ice Age. Animation houses DreamWorks, Illumination, Pixar and Disney Animation Studios feature at least one cameo from a star musician.
In some films, musicians explore how good their voice-acting chops are, while others contribute to the project by working on an animated film’s soundtrack. For example, one of Justin Timberlake‘s best-charting songs, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” was written for Trolls 2, in which he also starred, and took home the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2017. Now, *NSYNC is going to be featured in the upcoming Trolls Band Together with their first song in two decades. The song, titled “Better Place” is *NSYNC’s first new song since 2002. The pop group reunited for a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2013 and, in 2018, got together once again for their Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. But this is their first new song.
Keep scrolling to see which of your favorite musicians have starred in an animated film below: