Ranking the Voices of Winx Club

Intro:

Winx Club has… a lot of English dubs. 6 of them, to be exact. 4Kids, Cinélume, Dubbing Brothers, Nickelodeon, DuArt, and 3Beep. As such, these girls have had plenty of voice actresses over the years, and today, we’re gonna discuss my personal rankings with each Winx. Because I said so.

Bloom:

Bloom unfortunately has a bad rep for being… well, a boring screenhog. And that sucks, because the definitive Bloom in a lot of our hearts is a cinnamon roll with a fiery temper, mostly thanks to… yes, my bias will show here, the 4Kids dub. We’ll get there when we get there, but different voices convey different personalities, and the issue with Bloom’s is that most of them tend to be quite generic and bland. It compounds the issue with scripts of the later seasons refusing to characterize Bloom as anything less than the perfect, flawless, totally idolized role model for little girls everywhere.

This is most evident in her worst voice: Cindy Robinson in Dubbing Brothers, who’ve dubbed all three movies. Don’t get me wrong, Cindy’s a great voice actress. I love her work as Queen Beryl in the Viz dub of Sailor Moon, and as Major Legretta in Tales of the Abyss… I’m sensing a pattern of liking her as villains. Which makes it so jarring to realize her performance as Bloom is the most boring of the bunch. There’s no personality here. It’s generic, and honestly, incredibly whiny, likely worsened by the melodramatic scripts of the films.

A little less terrible, but still bad, is Emily Cramer in the 3Beep dub of season 8. Coupled with the de-aging the Winx experienced, hers is the most juvenile of the bunch. She honestly sounds like a middle school mean girl. There’s a bit more anger to her performance, but it doesn’t make her sound fiery or sassy—it makes her sound whiny.

Then there’s Haven Paschall in the DuArt dub of season 7. Her voice isn’t aggravating like Cindy’s or Emily’s, but it’s arguably the definition of unmemorable. It’s fine, but there’s no remarkable qualities to the performance that make Bloom feel like a more defined character.

Building on that, we have Helena Evangeliou, from the first three seasons of the Cinélume dub. Much like Haven, there’s not much going on here, with a very tale, lacking performance. The only real positive note I have here is that Helena’s voice is quite cute. It works for Bloom as this innocent little cinnamon roll at the start of the series. Though for some reason by season 3, she sounds… sick. Like her nose is stuffed. Did she have a cold while recording?

Angela Galuppo, from the Cinélume dub of season 4, has… a slightly more interesting version of Haven’s performance, which matches the maturity Bloom is supposed to have by now. Unfortunately, she too is lacking in the personality department, feeling more like the host of a PSA than an actual character. And Lord knows that season 4’s script, and the beginning of Bloom becoming perfect, are not helping.

And now, we get to what I would consider the genuinely good Bloom performances… it’s sad there’s only two of them, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Molly Quinn, who voiced Bloom in the Nick dub, was one of those celebrity casting choices this dub used for marketing purposes, especially given the likeness between reality and animation.

At first, I wasn’t a big fan. Molly’s voice is quite different from every other performance of Bloom, with a much deeper, raspier voice. But over time, it’s definitely grown on me. When she’s given good material, her performance is actually quite strong, and it’s nice when she’s allowed to convey either Bloom’s cute social awkwardness, or her undying Dragon Fire rage. But once Bloom becomes “perfect” from season 4 onward… oh God, her performance is insufferable.

And now, we get to my favorite… which will surprise no one at all: Liza Jacqueline of the 4Kids dub. Look, this is the Bloom I know and love at my core. This is my Bloom. Liza does a great job at keeping Bloom an innocent, adorable character who you do not wanna piss off. She’s not some perfect role model or personality-less cinnamon roll. She’s quirky and a bit awkward, but she’s also a hothead with the best Dragon Fire yell I’ve ever heard.

Stella:

Compared to Bloom, Stella has fared very well when it comes to voice actors… arguably, the best of any Winx. I love most of her performances across the dubs. Maybe that’s because she’s a more recognizable archetype, but that too can lead to issues with her character being flanderized… especially in later seasons.

But, let’s get the worst voice outta the way—Becca Ordonez-Zagorin from Dubbing Brothers. It’s not… terrible, and you could also argue the lackluster performance is also due to the flanderization of Stella’s character in the movie scripts. But… damn, this really makes Stella feel less fabulous and iconic, and more… whiny. She just sounds like she’s trying too hard to match Stella’s energy, without actually conveying her wit.

Then we have Lisa Adams, who served as an understudy for Caren Manuel in an episode of the 4Kids dub. It’s only for one episode, but… I must admit, Lisa’s performance suffers from a lot of the same things as Becca’s. It’s just lacking the wit and charm needed for Stella. Granted, a lot of that likely comes from the dissonance of going from Caren to Lisa, but there’s nothing really notable about Lisa’s performance sadly.

Next we have Rebecca Soler, credited as Jessica Paquet in the DuArt dub. Fun fact: Rebecca also plays Tecna in the 4Kids dub of season 3, and she slays as both. This was the first time I’d heard Rebecca play a character without an English accent, and she kicks ass. She really nails the sassiness and endless energy of Stella’s character. The only thing holding her back is the damn script of season 7, making her come across as overly childish.

Amy Gross of the Nick dub has a similar problem, though the fact her voice is so high-pitched doesn’t help. I will admit, Amy is great at delivering in emotional moments for Stella, especially during season 3. Unfortunately, her performance by seasons 5 and 6 really emphasizes just how flanderized Stella’s character has become.

In second place, we have Caren Manuel from the 4Kids dub. A lot of people dislike Caren’s performance, given the strong valley girl energy, but I find it iconic, especially when she says “dawling.” And like Amy, she’s great with Stella’s emotional moments. She really comes through in giving this image of a confident, cheerful, fabulous woman who has a boundless love, for herself and for the people around her. But also, she’ll chew a bitch out when needed.

And finally, Jennifer Seguin of the Cinélume dub. She’s the best at letting Stella’s emotional moments shine, but the unusually low pitch of her voice, especially compared to the other voices for Stella, really lends to the uniqueness of Jennifer’s performance.

Flora:

Flora’s voices tend to be quite… soft. Which makes sense, given she’s the group punching bag—I mean, flower child. But there’s a fine line. Generally, I prefer Flora performances that are soft, but also nurturing. Ones that showcase her maturity as the mother of the group. Kind, but ready to cut a bitch at a moment’s notice. And also, extra points if the actress is Latina, given Flora herself is Latina coded.

Which leads us to Flora’s worst voices, which makes her sound like a whiny white girl, accompanied by some of the most horrific whitewashing I have ever seen: Brittany Pressley of the 3Beep dub of season 8. This ain’t it. This is the definition of everything people think Flora is, and it drives me to the brink of madness. No maturity. No edge. Just… overly soft and airy.

It’s a similar issue with Stephanie Sheh in Dubbing Brothers. Again, I love Stephanie, especially as Usagi in Sailor Moon. But as Flora, I’m not here for it. Too soft, too high-pitched, and lacking in personality.

Eileen Stevens in the DuArt dub is a bit better. It’s one of her more mature-sounding voices, but the performance is absolutely killed by season 7’s script. She often sounds like she’s forcing herself to sound softer and younger than Flora actually would be, and it annoys me.

Holly Gauthier-Frankel in the Cinélume dub is… an odd case. Her performance actually varies wildly throughout the four seasons. She’s at her best in the first three seasons, where she does sound soft, but as the show goes on, clearly matures to show that Flora is indeed a bad bitch. It’s not all that memorable, but it’s solid… until season 4, though. In season 4, she suffers from the Eileen problem, except much worse, where her voice sounds aggressively cartoony and overly doting.

Now given how I’ve described my issues with Flora’s performances, you’re probably surprised by how highly Kerry Williams of the 4Kids dub ranks. And my explanation, aside from childhood biases, is that Kerry’s performance actually isn’t as soft as a lot of people write it off as. Yes, she has an incredibly airy, raspy voice, akin to Fluttershy. But Kerry also has a range to her performance when Flora gets angry, or when she’s trying to emotionally support her friends, and it’s that range that makes me love her performance. That, and out of all the soft voices, Kerry sounds the most genuine to me, which gives her a lot of extra points.

But now, we have our best voice: Alejandra Reynoso from the Nick dub. Now, I’ve had issues with Alejandra’s performance in the past, especially in the later seasons where she repeats the same cadence through her lines over and over. However, when she’s using her ordinary voice, her performance is fantastic. It’s soft, sweet, but still strong and mature. The perfect Flora voice, if only she’d been directed to stick with her natural voice the whole way through. And also, she’s actually Latina, which thank God for that.

Musa:

Musa’s best voices are the ones that bring out her snark. Ones that are a bit raspy, and tow the gender line a bit. And again, extra points if the actress is East Asian, as I’m pretty sure given her parents’ names, Musa is specifically Chinese coded. Oh, and yes, I’m still bitter that only one of her voices actually sang herself in the show.

At the very bottom, we have Anik Matern from seasons 3 and 4 of the Cinélume dub. I just… why does she sound like a 40-to-50 year-old white woman? Her performance is actually fine, but the casting is incredibly off. Musa genuinely sounds decades older than she’s supposed to be, which creates this uncanny effect that makes it impossible to take her seriously, especially as Anik struggles to sound younger.

Then we have Sarah Sido from Dubbing Brothers… yeah, nothing memorable here sadly. I’ve noticed most of the Dubbing Brothers cast for the Winx tend to sound incredibly generic and horrifically bland, to the point they tend to blend together in my mind.

Not faring much better is Sarah McCollough from the first two seasons of the Cinélume dub. She’s… fine, and has a bit of personality for Musa’s rebelliousness and stubbornness. But overall, there’s not much to work with here, her performance not feeling much more impressive than Sarah’s for the most part. At least she sounds her age?

Alyson Leigh-Rosenfeld voiced Musa in the 3Beep dub, and… her performance was fine. Very bland, but doing a bit of a better job at conveying Musa’s anger than Sarah. Kate Bristol from the DuArt dub is… a bit better, allowing Musa to sound quite mature, though it’s still quite bland. But at least her singing voice is pretty?

Now, we get to Musa’s good voices… again only two, good God almighty. Anyhow, Lisa Ortiz from the 4Kids dub. A lot of folks don’t like Lisa’s voice given the, uh… lingo this dub gave her to relate to the fellow kids of the 2000s. However, I think it adds a lot of charm to her character, and she does a great job both emoting as Musa, and emphasizing how snarky she is.

And finally, Romi Dames. Look, Romi just is Musa. She’s got the same snarkiness as Lisa, but she really cranks up the emotions, especially in that scene between Musa and her mother in season 3. Even her performance in seasons 5 and 6 is quite stellar, and those scripts are dogshit.

Tecna:

Tecna’s voices tend to be best for me when they’re raspy, showcasing her struggling with her emotions, but still clearly having emotion. Hence why Sabrina Weisz’s performance in Dubbing Brothers is at the bottom of the list. Look, it’s just… it ain’t cutting it. She kinda makes Tecna sound a bit too old, and I’m also not a fan of her cadence. The performance isn’t natural, is the best way I can put it. It’s less like she’s talking to the other girls, and more like she’s lecturing them like one of the Alfea professors. Devoid of emotion, but in a strangely over-melodic way.

Next we have a performance devoid of emotion, but in an overly robotic, monotone way: Lezlie Karls from the first season of Cinélume. There’s no clear wrestling with emotions in her performance. Instead, it makes Tecna feel cold to her core. And not faring much better, we have Saskia Maarleveld from the DuArt dub. I love how raspy her voice is, but much like Lezlie, Saskia’s performance is just so devoid of emotion.

And now we enter the land of “English accent equals smart”: Rebecca Soler from the 4Kids dub of season 3. For whatever reason, the ‘90s and 2000s thought giving a character an English accent would make them sound like the smartest person in the room, and Tecna, being the Fairy of Technology, sadly couldn’t escape that. Fortunately, these performances aren’t bad. I actually kinda like Rebecca giving Tecna a bit more sass as she tries to pull off more quips.

But the truly iconic 4Kids voice for her is Dani Schaffel from the first two seasons. Dani’s actually great at letting Tecna emote, especially when she’s angry or crying. It makes you really connect with her character and the fact she’s grappling with letting herself be vulnerable. Also, I just love how low-pitched her voice is. That combined with the accent makes Tecna sound distinct in a genuinely great way.

Runner-up, we have Morgan Decker from the Nick dub. Now, Morgan’s performance for Tecna is actually pretty great for the most part. She excels in towing the line between Tecna’s cold, professional side, and her more emotional, vulnerable side. My main issue is less with her performance, and more the fact her voice is just so similar to Molly’s Bloom. That’s honestly what put me off of them both to begin with. But that aside, Morgan does a great job letting Tecna be vulnerable.

But reigning supreme, we have Jodie Resther from seasons 2 through 4 of the Cinélume dub, the queen of that ultimate balance of logic and emotion. Raspy, cold at first, but great at conveying emotion. She just is Tecna to me, and no, I will not be taking notes on this.

Aisha:

When it comes to Aisha, she actually has some of the better sets of voices compared to the other Winx. I tend to prefer voices which showcase her maturity, while also giving her the emotional range and depth needed for… the fucking spectrum of pain she is put through across this entire series.

At the bottom is Mela Lee from Dubbing Brothers… a.k.a. The actress I didn’t even realize had already played Aisha when I did my old recasting videos. Why didn’t I recognize her? Cuz for the longest time I hadn’t actually checked the movies’ voice casts, and when I came across Mela Lee’s work, I loved her natural voice. It sounded completely different from the voice she puts on in the movies, and I wish she went with that instead. This accent for Aisha is just… no. She sounds aggressively southern… and I mean, cartoonishly southern, and you can tell it’s an affect she’s putting on.

Then we have Alysha Deslorieux from the DuArt dub, Aisha’s most boring voice. Look, the tone of her performance is nice, but there’s no personality to be heard here. Elinor Vanderburg from the 3Beep dub is a bit similar, but she’s at least able to convey Aisha’s attitude and anger a bit more.

Next another of Nickelodeon’s celebrity casting choices: Keke Palmer. Now I love Keke, and I actually really like her performance as Aisha for the most part. She has a lovely voice, and when she’s using her normal voice, she’s able to convey Aisha’s go-getter attitude quite well. Where she suffers though is… emoting. Whenever there’s a moment of sorrow, Keke’s performance becomes comically theatrical and melodramatic. The worst offender is Nabu’s death, which… just does not sound natural in this dub whatsoever.

Runner-up is Lucinda Davis from the Cinélume dub. It’s incredibly different from the rest of Aisha’s voices, being much higher-pitched, raspier, and at times more feminine. However, I kinda like the performance for that reason, coupled with Lucinda’s excellence when it comes to conveying Aisha’s emotions, and even making her sound quite petty or annoyed during season 2 when she’s kinda anti-social as she’s still getting used to being part of the Winx Club. Her performance is a highlight of season 4, especially in that aforementioned scene. Nabu’s death was bullshit, but Lucinda was doing her damnedest to pull it off.

And finally, we have Vasthy Mompoint from the 4Kids dub. I absolutely LOVE her voice. It’s deep and strong, yet has this soft quality I can’t quite articulate. She’s not quite as good at conveying emotion as Lucinda, but she does a pretty damn good job, and her voice feels like a much more natural fit for Aisha’s character.

Roxy:

Now, Roxy doesn’t have nearly as many voices to compare as the others… mostly because she’s still not technically a Winx, but in my heart she is, so she’s on the damn list. Generally, I enjoy Roxy voices that make her sound cute, but rebellious.

At the bottom is Sarah Camacho from the Cinélume dub. Her performance isn’t bad, not at all. But she more often sounds whiny than she does rebellious. It does work, considering this is Roxy at her most inexperienced when it comes to magic and near-death experiences, but it’s not my cup of tea.

Suzy Myers in the DuArt dub fares a bit better. She doesn’t get much to work with, given season 7 also hates Roxy despite being all about animals, but I do enjoy that by this point, Suzy portrays Roxy as a bit more mature at this point, but still wanting to prove herself to the Winx. I wish she got a bit more emotional scenes to work with. Fun fact: Suzy also voiced Stormy in the 4Kids dub. I know, wild, right?

And then, we have Liliana Mumy of the Nick dub. Liliana’s voice is so fucking cute, and yet has this raspy edge to it that makes Roxy sound like she will cut you if you cross her, and I am fucking here for it.

Conclusion & Outro:

So all in all… yeah, kinda funny how weirdly equal it wound up among the dubs I consider to be a bit better. Two favorites are from 4Kids, two from Cinélume, and three from Nickelodeon if you count Roxy. Ultimately, I think a lot of this comes down to both casting and direction. If you’re given a shit script, and your voice direction doesn’t help you fully understand and convey what the scene requires, your performance will suffer, and sadly, I think that’s true for most of these dubs, especially Dubbing Brothers, DuArt, and 3Beep.