The Voice-Over Bracket, Round 3 -- Day 3

Halfway through the Sweet Sixteen of the Disney/Pixar voice performance bracket means we’re halfway to figuring out our Elite Eight. Today, there are two more matchups as we inch ever closer to the finale.

Who’s ready?

(1) Sterling Holloway, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh vs. (4) Anika Noni Rose, The Princess and the Frog

If I have my druthers, we’re saying goodbye to another top-seeded performance today. I mean, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is a film I’ve seen countless times from when I was a toddler. Sterling Holloway’s soft lilt of a voice fits quite perfectly with the lighthearted tone of the three short films that comprise the 1977 feature. A lovely little movie, and a lovely little performance.

But listen. You know by now that I am a fan of The Princess and the Frog. You know this. Anika Noni Rose has a hell of a voice, and proves it every second of this movie. I seeded her fourth in the overall bracket because I appreciate that my own love of this movie is not wholly shared by everyone else in the world. (We gotta work on that, world.) Today, the four seed will be taking over and joining the Elite Eight — well, I’m going to hope that she does. It’s up to you, but don’t do me and Ms. Rose wrong.

(11) Amy Poehler, Inside Out vs. (7) Auli’i Cravalho, Moana

If things shake out the way I want them to — so basically, if you vote the way I want you to — then the matchup in the Elite Eight between Anika Noni Rose and Amy Poehler will be the toughest one of all for me. As much as I love Moana, I will freely admit that I didn’t expect Auli’i Cravalho to make it this far in the bracket. Her singing voice, yes, is remarkable. “How Far I’ll Go” is more of a testament to her talent than that of songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, and her chemistry with Dwayne Johnson is quite enjoyable.

In that respect, she does more with her voice. Yet I keep coming back to Amy Poehler, who does such marvelous, three-dimensional work with a character who starts out seeming like Leslie Knope on steroids (if such a thing is possible). The speed and dexterity of her performance — the way she narrates through the early stretch is full of fast-paced and witty dialogue that she pulls off as if it’s just a natural thought she’s having — is incredible. Every once in a while, the discussion comes up about whether or not voice performances could or should ever have their day at the Oscars. They should. And this performance is the modern hallmark. Incredible work.

I vote for Amy Poehler.