Joshua Garcia Takes on His First Voice Acting Stint for the Filipino-Dubbed "Inside Out 2"

Actor Joshua Garcia marks a first in his career: a voice-acting stint in the Filipino dub of Inside Out 2. Disney and Pixar's record-breaking coming-of-age animated film premieres on the streaming platform Disney Plus Philippines on September 25. And, viewers across different age groups will feel all the feels again and experience the film anew, Filipino style. 

Joshua is a fan of animated films and anime. So he was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to lend his voice to Lance Slashblade, an anime hero whom main character Riley had a crush on when she was younger. 

Making things even more special for this voice cameo participation of Joshua is the fact that Inside Out 2 also happens to be the first Filipino-dubbed film on the platform. Inside Out 2 is likewise the first animated film to hit $1 billion globally, making it the highest-grossing animated film in history.   

Metro.Style asked what Inside Out 2 emotion/s he felt when he found out about this project. He said fear and anxiety. "Kasi hindi ko alam paano gagawin e," Joshua told us. "I had no idea e. Nakakapanood ako. Nakikita ko siya, pero dun sa mga anime na Japanese ko 'yun nakikita e, 'yung pagdu-dub nila e… Nakakatakot pero andun pa rin 'yung excitement. So, may joy pa rin."

Joshua thought the experience would be easy but it turned out to be challenging; he now has a newfound respect and appreciation for voice actors, knowing their job is hard. Of the dubbing experience, he recounted, "May kailangan kang hawakan na parang handlebar habang nilalabas mo 'yung emosyon dun sa salita mo. Para lang mas mailabas mo siya. Para lang mas maging expressive ka. Ang gandang experience niya sa'kin kasi dun ko nakita and na-value ko na hindi madali maging voice actor. Napakahirap ng trabaho nila. Pero at least, na-try ko siya once. And 'yung ginawa ko, cameo lang 'yun. Imagine kung ginawa ko 'yung buong pelikula."

Citing a specific challenge, Joshua said he was primarily focused on how to match his voice to Lance Slashblade's dramatic personality. "'Yung character ko dito, makata siya. So ang lalim nung Tagalog. Para akong nagpe-play… So mas mahirap sa'kin kasi 'yung usual ko kapag mga pelikula, parang alam ko na 'yung ibibigay ko dun. Mas subtle lang 'yung acting, so hindi malaki 'yung mga boses na ginagawa ko. Pero dito, ang laki nu'ng emosyon e so challenge talaga."

Is voice acting or dubbing something he sees himself doing again? Joshua doesn't say no to the possibility. He said, "Kung may opportunity na maganda, kung may story na maganda, and para maka-work uli ang Disney Philippines, gagawin ko 'yun."

Joshua is also fresh from the success of his reunion movie with Julia Barretto, Un/Happy for You, which achieved a worldwide gross of P390 million as of September 2.

Catch Inside Out 2 on Disney+ this September 25.

Lead photos courtesy of Disney+