It's more interesting. It allows the reader or hearer to feel close to the action rather than distanced from it. Actually, it is no more alive than passive. It has little to do with interest, only context. It has nothing to do with perceived distance from the action.
Euphemism is more clearly a distancing strategy, for example, than passive.
In addition, passive voice causes wordiness, and it draws attention away from more important words in the sentence. Wordiness is a relative term. Passives are typically two words longer than actives if fully expressed. If the agent has been deleted, they are less wordy. Passive is simply a device for changing emphasis.