Joy Lands Her First Dubbing Role, and the Character Suits Her Perfectly

Red Velvet's Joy stepped in front of a microphone in a recording booth rather than a camera for her latest acting challenge, lending her voice to the animated film Stitch Head: The Castle of Monstrous Little Things as its human heroine Arabella. The film opened in Korean theaters nationwide on September 30.

The story follows Stitch Head, a tiny monster created by a brilliantly unhinged scientist in a hidden castle, who ventures out into the wider world for the first time. Arabella is the human girl he encounters along the way: curious, warm-hearted, and completely unbothered by the fact that her new friend is a monster. She becomes the heart of his journey, pushing back against the prejudices the outside world holds toward creatures like him.

It is a role that seems to have genuinely appealed to Joy on a personal level. "Arabella is a kind friend who sees monsters without prejudice and wants to help them," she said. "That quality felt so compelling to me that it made the decision easy."

She also spoke about the specific challenge of voice work, where everything the audience feels has to come through sound alone. "I tried to express Arabella's bright energy and positive spirit purely through my voice," she said, adding that she hoped as many people as possible would come to see the film.

Joy, whose real name is Park Soo-young, has been building a parallel career as an actress alongside her work with Red Velvet, appearing in dramas and variety programming over the years. Voice acting is a distinct craft from either singing or on-screen performance, and Stitch Head marks her first time working in the format. SM Entertainment confirmed the casting, with the studio noting that her clear, lively vocal tone was well suited to bringing Arabella's bright and pure-hearted personality to life.

For fans who have followed how steadily Joy has expanded her range since her debut, this feels like a natural next step rather than a surprise detour.