It is time for the “I Am Groot” Award. This does not necessarily have to be an award for voice over animation only. We have awarded those who may have performed in motion capture suits as well. If your main way of getting your character across is through your voice, this is the award for you.

“I am Groot” Voice Acting Award

Previous Winners:  Robin Williams (Aladdin- honorary), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes),  Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Ryan Reynolds (Detective Pikachu), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Jeffrey Wright and Chadwick Boseman (What If…?)

Honorary Mention: Truthfully, I almost gave this award as a tie. We did that last year, but, at the last moment, I decided to single out one performance. That meant that the other performance that ALMOST tied the winner was Ewan McGregor from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. McGregor was the Cricket and narrator of the film and he was sensational. Also from that Netflix film was Gregory Mann, who voiced the puppet and did a great job of bringing the little wooden boy to life. Dwayne Johnson was Superman’s best friend, Krypto, in the DC League of Super Pets. Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the top positives in Disney’s Strange World. Lightyear was also not a huge success for Disney/Pixar, but Chris Evans was great in the title role. Turning Red featured a typically strong voice performance from Sandra Oh, but the star of that film was Rosalie Chiang. One of the top surprise characters came in The Book of Boba Fett when Corey Burton brought Cad Bane into the world of the live action Star Wars canon. Vin Diesel returned to the role that this award was named after in a series of animated shorts on Disney + called I Am Groot.

The performer who will be awarded the I Am Groot Voice Acting Award will be…

Antonio Banderas

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

I specifically waited to give this award until after I saw Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and I am glad that I did. Antonio Banderas was masterful in this action/comedy giving a voice to the legendary gato.