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2%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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8[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_clutch_cargo_vox_6276.jpg]]]]
9[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[Webcomic/NineteenSeventySevenTheComic "My old man says he's cool]], [[https://1977thecomic.com/comic/up-up-and-away but not to make fun of his mouth!"]]]]-]
10
11->''"Why's everybody got lady lips? Are those human lips? Whose lips are those?"''
12-->-- '''[[Franchise/TheIncredibles Frozone]]''', the [[InCharacterCommentaries commentary]] of ''WesternAnimation/MrIncredibleAndPals''
13
14Synchro-Vox is an extreme form of LimitedAnimation: A mostly obsolete technique in which footage of the actor's mouth is superimposed upon an otherwise non-moving image. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncro-Vox the other Wiki]]. Can look pretty [[UncannyValley unnatural]]. A few lazier productions go one step further and also animate the eye movements this way.
15
16Mentioned on the DeadUnicornTrope page because only a very small number of productions used it straight, after which everyone immediately realized it looked really, ''really'' creepy and fake; anyone using it outside of those very few examples is probably going for comedic effect, MindScrew or both. You can expect it to suddenly show up in other forms of animation as a MediumShiftGag. It has made somewhat of a resurgence on Platform/YouTube, either for deliberate comedic effect or simply because it's very easy to do.
17
18Just as primitive {{Rotoscoping}} has given way to MotionCapture, the great-great-grandson of this technique can be found in the advanced facial performance capture techniques used in works like ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' and ''VideoGame/LANoire''.
19
20Compare MediumBlending.
21
22----
23!!Examples:
24
25[[foldercontrol]]
26
27[[folder:Advertising]]
28* Edwin Gillette initially [[TropeMakers invented]] Synchro-Vox to simulate talking animals for commercials in the early 1950s. He later became a partner in Cambria Studios (see "Western Animation" below).
29* Some Advertising/{{Midas}} commercials have featured a golden hand with a face in the palm.
30* A clip advertising both ''Series/TheSteveHarveyShow'' and ''Series/TheTonightShow'' featured [[Creator/JimmyFallon the]] [[Creator/SteveHarvey hosts']] faces with their mouths switched.
31* The (no longer manufactured) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkzVPwHGORI Vertigo]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2MRTjGip8E Candy]] had commercials that did this, in the style of the below-mentioned ''Têtes à claques''. [[NightmareFuel Sweet dreams.]]
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Fan Works]]
35* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' occasionally uses this for both hilarious and creepy effect:
36** In the [=#CellGames=] short featuring [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu and Ken]], Ryu mentions how the way fighters communicate is through their fists, Cell responds by saying that they should do so with their mouths, using this effect as he says it.
37** In another [=#CellGames=] short featuring [[Manga/DeathNote Light Yagami and Ryuk]], Light begs Ryuk for help when he realizes the Death Note stopped only ''[[BizarreAlienBiology one]]'' of Cell's hearts and Cell is about to kill him. Ryuk's only response is an evil grin, but what makes it creepier is that the Synchro-Vox is not only applied to his mouth, but his ''entire face''.
38** In the first episode of ''WebAnimation/DragonShortZ'', Nappa briefly uses this effect when he tells Vegeta "Don't shake the baby", complete with unsettling music in the background as he says it.
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
42* A variation is used in "WesternAnimation/MadameTutliPutli", a Canadian short film that superimposes live-action "eyes" on to StopMotion characters using CGI. It's intended to be kinda scary.
43* The "WesternAnimation/MrIncredibleAndPals" short from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' DVD is a parody of ''WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo''.
44* Briefly used in ''Re-Animated'', the MadeForTVMovie that led to ''Series/OutOfJimmysHead''.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48* Used in ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' to mask the lips of the recent victims of Joker's toxin in order to "advertise" his BrandX.
49* Creator/SteveOedekerk has made something of a trademark of this technique (using eyes as well as a mouth), most notably with his "Thumbs!" series of parody shorts, in which Steve's thumbs play characters from ''Star Wars'', ''The Godfather'', ''Batman'', etc. It also appears as one of the primary gags in ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'', with the main character's tongue being its own character named "Tonguey".
50* Briefly used in ''Film/ForbiddenZone'' during a musical number: It turns out this is because the first-time actor they hired to lip-sync was so nervous he froze up and just stood there, but the film itself has such a strange visual style that the effect fits in perfectly. To this day, Danny Elfman plays the scene for new actors as a warning to learn their lines.
51* ''Film/TheGingerweedMan'': The titular protagonist's mouth is animated via this to some extent.
52* A motion-capture version is used in ''Film/GoldenWinter'' to animate the jaws of the dogs as they speak.
53* In the trailer for ''Film/ShockTreatment'', has Dr. Cosmo's image from the movie's poster and edits Creator/RichardOBrien's moving mouth onto it.
54* Creator/DavidLynch employs this technique in his short film ''Film/WhatDidJackDo'' for Jack, a talking monkey. It's actually fairly neatly done, with the mouth matching Jack's head movements quite well.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58* Rory Bremner used this with photographs of politicians he was imitating back in the late 1990s.
59* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' uses this in Paige's dream sequence in "Sand Francisco Dreaming", superimposing human lips onto an otherwise inanimate clown doll. As if the clown doll itself wasn't creepy enough.
60* The old Comedy Channel (predecessor to Creator/ComedyCentral) aired ''WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo'' as part of The Higgins Boys and Gruber show.[[note]]One of the first shows to air on The Comedy Channel.[[/note]] In a reference to the show itself, this technique was used to introduce the show as well as to lead back to the main Higgins Boys and Gruber show. Notably, it incorporated a frame from the show with someone acting as Clutch.[[note]]"This is Clutch Cargo signing off. Now back to the Higgins Boys and Gruber."[[/note]]
61* Used to simultaneously terrifying and heartrending effect in Abed's student film in ''Series/{{Community}}''.
62* ''Series/DickAndDomInDaBungalow'' regularly had an animated mouth over an image of newsreader Huw Edwards, mimicking an exaggerated Welsh accent.
63* Used in an episode of ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'' when the family makes a short, comedic "interview" with the titular child -- who can barely speak -- using a deliberate English accent.
64* ''Series/Goosebumps1995'':
65** In "[[Recap/Goosebumps1995S1E1E2TheHauntedMask The Haunted Mask]]", whenever the plaster bust of Carly Beth's head appears to speak, live eyes and a mouth are superimposed onto the bust.
66** "[[Recap/Goosebumps1995S3E2MyBestFriendIsInvisible My Best Friend Is Invisible]]" uses this technique during TheReveal at the end; depicting [[spoiler: the protagonist, Sammy, and his entire family, as aliens with faces on the back of their heads]].
67* ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' had a category called "History Speaks!" in a 2003 episode. It involved portraits of historic people with superimposed lips to make it look like they were talking.
68* Robot head 790 in ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' is a variation. The robot head's eyes and mouth are small TV screens that display a mouth played by a live actor; the eyes are fake, but are props with a camera pointed at them, not CGI. The effect was actually done live on the set; the TV screens on the prop are actual TV screens.
69* The intro to the 1988-89 version of ''Series/TheNewlywedGame'' used this on early 20th-century wedding photos, the lips moving in synch to "The Book of Love" by The Monotones.
70* Creator/ConanOBrien has used it quite a bit. Which is likewise spoofed during one segment of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken Franchise/StarWars''.
71* Creator/SteveOedekerk's ''Thumbs!'' series of specials have eyes and mouths superimposed onto decorated thumbs.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Music Videos]]
75* Music/{{Alphaville}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jkq0MQa18c video]] for ''Song For No One'' features a chorus of drag queens(?) with old [=TVs=] for heads. The screens display the singer's lips singing the refrain. Looks cheap and dated, just like the rest of the video.
76* The infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9BqFY0Pog "It's Raping Time"]] song, with an Ao Oni demon's face as the overlay.
77* Creator/JeffFoxworthy's "Party All Night", created out of one of his comedy sketches with a chorus sung by Little Texas, has two instances of synchro-vox in its music video (directed by Music/WeirdAlYankovic).
78* Parodied in Alan Jackson's video for "That'd Be Alright", where a crew trying to film a music video without Jackson himself tries doing this to a photo of him, and later tries digitally overlaying a different mouth over [[CallBack clips from previous Alan Jackson videos.]]
79* Music/{{Kraftwerk}} used it for the Russian-speaking portions of the video for [[http://youtu.be/VXa9tXcMhXQ The Robots]] from ''Music/TheManMachine''.
80* Utilized to equally hilarious and unsettling extent in the music video for Mechanical Bull's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hitf3VJhzqo "Can Jesus's Advice to Strippers Save the Economy?"]]
81* Music/TheOffspring's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwRL1LNVTLI "Hit That"]] offers a variant, adding digital eyes and mouth to a man in a costume.
82* Music/PepeDeluxe used this in their "Pussy Cat Rock" and "The Mischief of Cloud Six" videos. In the case of the former, the lips are superimposed over live-action footage of a robot cat doll.
83* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvIAyxpjEuc Timbuk3's]] video for "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" this is used.
84* In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's music video for the song "Music/DareToBeStupid", during the 5th verse, there's a part where Weird Al's lips are synchro-voxed onto a cat clock's face.
85** It's also used in the video for "Bedrock Anthem", where Weird Al's lips are synchro-voxed onto Fred Flintstone at one point.
86* This was used in Music/TheWiggles for "The Banana Boat Song", where the boy has an adult mouth (Anthony stated that it's his son with his mouth plastered over). Unlike most examples, the edit is much smoother, though it can look dodgy at times.
87* Music/HankWilliamsJr: The video for "There's a Tear in My Beer" features Hank Jr. entering an old live performance of [[Music/HankWilliams his father]], with another person's mouth synchro-voxed onto Hank Sr. to have him "singing" the song.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
91* On the August 10, 2015 episode of [[Wrestling/{{WWERAW}} Monday Night Raw]]: "Wrestling/JohnCena" talks to Wrestling/SethRollins [[https://youtu.be/BuwF8Opc0F4?t=2m19s this way]].
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Video Games]]
95* Among all the other bizarre imagery, ''VideoGame/LetItDie'' features a few uses of this in the cutscenes before and after fighting [[EliteFour the Dons]], with live-action mouths superimposed over cardboard cutouts of the bosses.
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Visual Novels]]
99* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' has a version [[spoiler: that is [[NightmareFuel completely unnerving.]] When Yuri pulls you into the closet on the second or third day, her eyes become [[UncannyValley disturbingly realistic.]] Also, when Natsuki walks in, there's a chance that her mouth will also become [[UncannyValley realistic as she spouts nonsense words]]]].
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Web Animation]]
103* ''WebAnimation/BadDays'' portrays the title characters of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'' with live-action human mouths.
104* In the ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' between WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants and the WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}} iteration of Aquaman, Aquaman briefly veers into this territory upon seeing [=SpongeBob=] replicate himself.
105--> '''Aquaman''': '''''GREAT NEPTUNE!'''''
106* ''WebAnimation/EVTVWeather'' uses this for all the characters.
107* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' has an example played for sheer cringe in the Strong Bad Email "too cool". After watching a video tape made by [[RealityWarper Senor Cardgage]], the characters are all "cursed for life". Rather than being haunted by a spirit or some such, they discover that whenever they say the word "tertiary", their lips become creepy photo-realistic animated lips that are clearly an attempt to invoke Synchrovox, their hands involuntarily go to their hips, and they pronounce the word in a bizarre, sassy metallic voice while wiggling from side to side. Like everything else about the episode (and some would say, the site), it MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext.
108* ''WebAnimation/HowItShouldHaveEnded'':
109** Used in the ''[[Film/{{Twilight}} Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2]]'' episode to make fun of the CGI.
110** Also at the beginning of the ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' episode with Superman, to mock the poor mustache-removal effect.
111* Nicktendo's SML animations look a lot like this,though they are not actually synchro-vox.
112* In the fourth episode of ''WebAnimation/ObjectTerror'', Stapler's eyes and mouth are rendered from a live person when [[spoiler:everyone correctly guesses her to be the murderer of Paint]].
113* WebAnimation/{{Pamtri}} uses this in some of his more surreal videos, usually combined with demonic black eyes.
114* [=YouTuber=] Mutant Museum's DramaticReading of ''Literature/TheEyeOfArgon'' uses this technique for StylisticSuck. All the character models are made in Heroforge, a program for designing tabletop gaming miniatures, and then his mouth is awkwardly pasted onto their faces, which means that every speaking character -- including the princess -- has a mustache.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Web Videos]]
118* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'':
119** Uncle Crunch in Cinemassacre's ''Film/TheWizardOfOz [[FanSequel 3: Dorothy Goes To Hell]]''.
120** The Nerd also used it for the possessed ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' cartridge.
121* ''WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange'' uses the "with eyes" variation. Though it isn't as odd-looking since the characters are mostly real pictures of household food and items.
122* ''WebVideo/AutotuneTheNews'' uses this once for one of the member of ''Series/TheView'' in an early episode.
123* Hamster 65's mouth in ''[[Music/DoctorSteel The Dr. Steel Show]]'' Episode 2 is animated this way.
124-->"God, you're weird."
125* The Barbie Liberation Organization, an anonymous group of people who switched the voice boxes of Franchise/{{Barbie}} dolls and Franchise/GIJoe figures, used this in their VHS press release to have a Barbie doll explain the organization's mission of weakening the prevalence of gender stereotypes in children's media.
126* ''WebVideo/CrashCourse'': John & Hank will occasionally superimpose their lips onto the mouths of famous scientists and historical figures.
127* The videos for Creator/{{DeStorm}}'s "The Annoyed Objects" series use this.
128* The final episode of ''WebVideo/FeedDump'' used a weird live-action variant, superimposing Ian's mouth on Beej's face.
129* On Platform/TikTok, the creator iFluent uses this with ''countries'', who talk to each other about the quirks of their languages.
130* In the ''WebVideo/{{Jacksfilms}}'' video "Kermit Sings", the animation on Kermit abruptly shifts into this whenever he decides to berate "Billy" ([[MaliciousMisnaming a child whose real name is Jason]]).
131* The intro to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsX23WuqP2U this episode]] of the ''WebVideo/KentuckyBallistics'' [=YouTube=] channel parodies this, superimposing cutouts of the host's eyes and mouth over his shoulder and wrist, complaining about the weapons he's considering using in the video. The intro ends with a similar cutout over his foot, crying after he remembers to bring along an eggplant.[[labelnote:Background]]The channel features the host, a former Kentucky state trooper, using a wide variety of firearms, very often high-powered. As for eggplant, the host frequently uses it as a target; when announcing that he'll shoot eggplant, he yells "nobody likes eggplant!" and kicks an eggplant.[[/labelnote]]
132* Markiplier plays this for especially comical effect by attaching this technique to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndsaoMFz9J4 cats]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MujRLvZ61jE dogs of all things.]] You can add [[https://youtu.be/I4Q3YDezqcM cows]] to the list.
133* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' unleashes Synchro-Vox on the trains of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' to criticize the fact that the mouths of the trains don't move.
134-->'''Critic:''' AND THAT'S SOMEHOW STILL LESS CREEPY THAN WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!
135* ''WebVideo/StacheBros'': In "Yoshi The Good Dinosaur", this effect is used in a zoom-in on Luigi's mouth after Yoshi suggests that scientists should get their research of him by examining his droppings.
136* A series of educational VHS tapes called "Standard Deviants" use this in some of their animated clips.
137* For the episode ending animation in their LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'', WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay depicted Pat like this.
138* ''Têtes à claques'' (a.k.a. ''CLAC''), in a fashion almost identical to ''The Annoying Orange'', though it predates it.
139* Used by ''[[WebVideo/{{Underknown}} What If?]]'' in "What If Presents: The Solar System Song".
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Western Animation]]
143* The only company to seriously use the technique, Cambria Productions, used it to produce three "animated" series: ''WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo'' (1959-60), ''Space Angel'' (1962) and ''Captain Fathom'' (1965). Eventually, even they abandoned the technique: their final project, the cartoon segments of ''[[Film/TheThreeStooges The New Three Stooges]]'' (1965-66), did not use it, with the studio shutting down shortly after.
144* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'':
145** In "The Club", the Reject Club made a fake video of Gumball confessing to a bunch of embarrassing things. It consists of a poorly drawn picture of Gumball with a superimposed, live-action mouth wearing braces.
146** "The Treasure" had live-action eyes superimposed on Gumball's face when he suddenly realizes he was a hypnotist in a past life.
147* The children's show ''WesternAnimation/{{Dirtgirlworld}}'' uses this technique combined with CG imagery.
148* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'', the principal of Clarence's school is depicted this way with only the lower half of his face visible.
149* Used in the ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' episode "Nothin' to It But to Do It" in the music video "Clean Up".
150* This technique has been used in ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'', though unlike some of the other examples here "comedic" [[NightmareFuel isn't what they were going for]]. For example, the Magic Tree of Nowhere.
151* Parodied mercilessly in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/EekTheCat'', where a 'customized' video of the Squishy Bearz uses this to insert Eek's name in the characters' dialogue (in the least-convincing way). Eek is enchanted nevertheless.
152* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Seahorse Seashell Party", Brian uses psychedelic mushrooms and has terrifying images. When Stewie tries to comfort him, Brian then hallucinates Stewie having this styled mouth.
153* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' briefly used this on Mandy. It also applied this to Billy's new eyes at the end of the episode "My Peeps".
154* ''WesternAnimation/{{Knuckleheads}}'' practically [=RUNS=] on this trope, with pretty much every character's mouth and eyes being synchro voxed in.
155* In the 1992 ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "WesternAnimation/InvasionOfTheBunnySnatchers", [[spoiler:clone!]]Daffy has this for a brief moment. It's ''extremely'' creepy. [[NightmareFuel/LooneyTunes In fact, it may be one of the creepiest Looney Tunes cartoons.]]
156* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' did a similar take with a late-night host making fun of [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]]. Suffice to say, [[EarthShatteringKaboom the Emperor doesn't have much of a sense of humor]].
157* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Marge", Marge is declared insane. On the "Krusty the Clown Show" Krusty does Conan O'Brien's bit with an image of Marge with Sideshow Mel's mouth crudely superimposed. "She" responds to Krusty's question of who her favorite Native American warrior is with "Crazy Horse". Krusty realizes the bit is getting old and calls for the Mad Marge dancers[[note]]cf. the "Judge Ito dancers" on ''Series/TheTonightShow'' during the OJ Simpson trial[[/note]].
158* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
159** Used in the opening with "Painty the Pirate", who starts the theme song. Noteworthy in that the still image is a painting of a realistic human being, which greatly reduces the UnintentionalUncannyValley effect which normally plagues instances of this trope.
160** Also used in the episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture", where [=SpongeBob=] was discussing actors in the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie.
161** The hot sauce drop in "Karate Choppers", which is the whole face instead of just the mouth.
162** In "Moving Bubble Bass", when [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick find out that Bubble Bass ate the free lunches he promised to give to them for moving his stuff while they were doing said task, [[BewareTheSillyOnes Patrick]] angrily walks up to Bubble Bass, and this happens:
163--->'''Patrick''': If my friend [=SpongeBob=] doesn't get his free lunch, ''([[ArtShift sudden live-action face closeup]])'' '''''THINGS ARE GONNA GET CRAZY'''''.
164* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' has "Secrets of Eternity" which had the Titans hamming up soap opera tropes while their lips have the same hairy mustache man.
165* The facial animations of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tigtone}}'' use a SpiritualSuccessor to this process, warping 2D digital art around motion capture of the voice actors' faces. Played for all the StylisticSuck it's worth.
166[[/folder]]

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