Good news for kids content producers with ongoing voiceover work scheduled for basic cable and TV animation: You can keep working. Amid industry-wide uncertainty over what is allowed during the strikes, LA-based National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA), a non-profit that represents voice actors, has released some definitive guidelines.

To support the American actors’ union SAG-AFTRA strike, voice actors—whether they belong to SAG-AFTRA or not— are being told they shouldn’t work on or audition for feature-length films, narration for features, voiceover work on trailers, additional dialogue recording (commonly called ADR) or looping (where actors record background sounds).

But there are a lot of projects that voice actors can still move forward with, offering real relief to producers and actors unsure of what’s permitted under the strikes, according to NAVA.

Most importantly, voiceover for TV/basic cable animation, as well as in-show narration for cable shows, is permitted. Numerous types of voice acting for projects that are typical work for service studios are also unrestricted. These include commercials, promos, video games, dubbing, audiobooks and podcasts, as well as not-for-broadcast explainers for corporations.

There’s so much confusion that animation studios with productions in the works are communicating directly with clients and partners such as Disney and Netflix to find out if they’re violating rules by recording voice lines. Disney tells Kidscreen that it is in compliance with NAVA’s guidelines.

Around 18% of voice actors in the industry are in the SAG-AFTRA union, according to NAVA’s State of Voiceover in 2022 Survey, which tallied more than 1,200 responses from voice actors. Most voice actors (around 64%) aren’t union members.

SAG-AFTRA declared a strike on July 14 in pursuit of higher wages, an increase in residuals and protections from AI. The Writer’s Guild of America also took strike action back in May, and the combined work stoppage is paralyzing the US film industry, in particular. The strikes are delaying production on some of the biggest-budget feature films for kids and families, including Disney’s new live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, DC Studios’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Beetlejuice 2.

Photo courtesy of Jacek Dylag via Unsplash