"Never work with children or animals," a wise actor once said. The reason is simple. Once you've dipped your toe into the murky waters of the kid movie ghetto, you may never be able to escape. Getting a reputation as the kind of thespian who will caper for cheap amusement for an audience of little idiots, who don't know comedy from Backyardigans, is the kiss of death. In this feature, we'll spotlight eleven actors who killed their own career in the kid movie ghetto.
Actors Stuck In The Kid Movie Ghetto
Family movies have a place in the Hollywood ecosystem, true, but they're not good for actors. It's way too easy to find yourself in the kid movie ghetto with no means of escape. Here are eleven actors and actresses who are trapped forever making fart jokes for pre-tweens.
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By K. Thor Jensen March 5, 2012 |
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere |
Sure, Hayden Panettiere has appeared in some movies for grown-ups - most notably Scream 4 - but if you look at her filmography, you'll note a preponderance of totally horrible voice-acting jobs for kid flicks. From Scooby Doo and the Goblin King to totally weird-ass wolf movies Alpha And Omega and Hoodwinked Too, Panettiere seems to spend the majority of her time behind a microphone for low-rent animated movies. Listen, baby: it's Pixar or nothing. This is just hurting your future.
Credit: Getty Images
Source: Gallery Images
Jason Lee |
It's a strange transition from the foul-mouthed comedies of Kevin Smith to Alvin and the Chipmunks, but Jason Lee made it. The skateboarder-turned-actor first came to fame in Mallrats and Chasing Amy and had some success in the early '00s, but it wasn't long before he was seized by the kid movie ghetto. The turning point came with 2007's Underdog, where he voiced the titular computer-animated superhero canine. From there, it was a short hop to three Alvin and the Chipmunks movies and the ruination of a career.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
Jack Black |
Once you appear on Yo Gabba Gabba, you're not really going to be taken seriously as an actor (sorry, Elijah Wood). But Jack Black seems to have completely embraced life as a family-friendly entertainer. If your first exposure to Black was through Tenacious D tracks like "F--- Her Gently," you'll be shocked to see his recent filmography: Kung Fu Panda and its sequels. The Muppets. Gulliver's Travels, for God's sake! That's the kid movie ghetto if I've ever seen it.
Credit: Relativity Media
Jackie Chan |
It's sad to see what one of the greatest action stars of all time has come to, but let's face it: Jackie Chan will never be able to carry a grown-up movie in America again. Chan's films have been steadily trending younger and younger ever since Rush Hour, and starting just a few years ago, his films have been almost exclusively kid-oriented, from voice work in the Kung Fu Panda flicks to the absolutely atrocious The Spy Next Door and Karate Kid remakes.
Credit: The Smurfs
George Lopez |
George Lopez had his own sitcom, sure, but something that tends to happen to former sitcom actors is a long tenure in the kids movie ghetto. After 2005, his movie choices have skewed almost entirely towards the juvenile audience. From voice roles in both Beverly Hills Chihuahua flicks to appearing in kids' movies as diverse as The Smurfs and Marmaduke, Lopez seems willing to take just about any family movie role that comes his way with no compunctions.
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