These actors sound NOTHING like their animated characters. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the greatest showcases of range in animated shows from some of the best voice actors in the business.
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00:00 "I give you Bart Simpson. I was like, ladies and gentlemen."
00:04 Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest showcases
00:09 of range in animated shows from some of the best voice actors in the business.
00:14 "When I do a table read, yeah, I have to jump back and forth. It's like,
00:16 'Hey, what's going on?' 'Oh, hello, fat man.' 'Oh, Stewie, how are you?'"
00:19 Number 10. Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus
00:25 Phineas and Ferb Sometimes you don't need a lot of dialogue to get your points across.
00:30 In Dee Bradley Baker's case, you may not even need words at all.
00:34 "When I close off my nose, it gives a resonance to it that makes it feel bigger. For instance…"
00:40 This versatile voice actor is best known for his work as monsters and animals,
00:47 including Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus, Perry. It's safe to say this aquatic mammal's
00:53 signature chatter is a far cry from Baker's typical speaking voice, and yet he still makes
00:58 it look easy. "I'll never get tired of you doing that. Awesome."
01:03 Further proving his range, the actor also provides the voices of Aang's animal companions,
01:09 Momo and Appa, in Avatar The Last Airbender. This not only includes the pair's pitch-perfect
01:14 animal noises, but their all-too-short-lived turn as speaking samurai in Nightmares and Daydreams,
01:20 as well. "Guys, come on." "No, I am sick of this guy always mouthing off and telling me what to do."
01:28 "Oh, you don't like it? Well, let's go right now!"
01:31 9. Kevin Michael Richardson as Cleveland Brown Jr. - The Cleveland Show
01:36 If you need a deep, booming voice for your cartoon show,
01:39 typically Kevin Michael Richardson is the man for the job.
01:42 "Dr. Jamba Jukeba." "I was feeling a bit screw-loo, so I checked myself in."
01:49 "What is that monstrosity?"
01:52 He's frequently been heard playing bad guys like Gantoo in Lilo & Stitch or Shredder in the 2012
01:58 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. But it may come as a surprise that Richardson is also the
02:03 voice of the sensitive, rule-following son of Cleveland Brown on The Cleveland Show.
02:08 "And I love my daddy, and he helps me wipe even though I'm 14 years old."
02:12 The performance, unsurprisingly, often requires Richardson to do vocal warm-ups before recording,
02:18 requiring a much higher pitch than his natural speaking voice. Seth MacFarlane clearly appreciated
02:24 his unique range, as he'd also cast the actor in a similarly challenging role of Billy in American
02:30 Dad. "Hello, fellow babysitters." "Him too?"
02:35 8. Nick Kroll as Lola - Big Mouth
02:38 "Oh my God, Jimmy, like, I wanna go to a Pretty Little Liars meet-and-greet."
02:44 To play a convincing teenage girl as an adult man is no small feat, and yet Nick Kroll does
02:49 so effortlessly on Big Mouth. Before the animated series' conception, Kroll was best known for his
02:54 work on the sketch comedy series Kroll Show, where he regularly stretched the limits of his acting
03:00 and vocal talents. "I don't know, would you maybe wanna go check it out some Friday night?"
03:04 "What time?" "That's the beauty of points, whenever we want."
03:06 Although he didn't know it yet, it was there that he began developing the voice of Lola,
03:11 in the form of pub Liz-a-tees Liz G. Over the years, the voice has transcended its original,
03:17 purely comedic origins, with Kroll proving his ability to take Lola to serious emotional depth,
03:23 both through dialogue and in song. "Go to a cold, empty condo.
03:30 Fill the deafening silence with voices on TV."
03:40 Number 7. Mel Blanc as Bugs Bunny. Various. "And this head of the company, or head of the
03:47 voice department, kept saying, 'We have all the voices we need, we don't need anybody.'
03:51 And I kept this up for every two weeks I'd go there, and he kept saying the same thing. I said,
03:57 'Just listen to me anyway.'" Known as the Man of a Thousand Voices, the breadth of Mel Blanc's
04:02 acting ability should come as no surprise, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be recognized for
04:07 his unique talents. Blanc is best known for his work with the Looney Tunes, where he played Bugs
04:12 Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepe Le Pew, and Tweety Bird, among others. Although all of these characters
04:19 helped to exemplify what made him such a powerhouse performer, Bugs was arguably his most famous role.
04:24 "Meh, what's up, Doc?" "Hey, we got something, Doc. Let's do it again."
04:33 It may come as a surprise to you that the voice is somewhat of an impression. The famous rabbit's
04:38 speech patterns are actually based to a degree on It Happened One Night character Oscar Shapley,
04:44 right down to calling people "Doc." "Mean anything, Doc? No offense, Doc."
04:51 Number 6. Pamela Adlon as Bobby Hill, King of the Hill.
04:55 "I was able to pay my rent, put food on my table, doing voiceover, and I wasn't getting,
05:02 I couldn't get arrested, like, on camera or any kind of acting job."
05:05 "You're definitely getting arrested now in a good way."
05:07 Even if you've never seen a single episode of King of the Hill, you've likely encountered Bobby.
05:12 The young son of the show's protagonist, Hank Hill, Bobby has lived on in memes long
05:17 after the show's untimely cancellation. "Don't be afraid to shout it. That's my purse!
05:22 Try it again. That's my purse! I don't know you!"
05:26 The character often challenges his father's preconceived notions of what's right and wrong,
05:31 making up for his lack of book smarts with a whole lot of heart.
05:34 Behind the scenes, he's voiced by New York actress, writer, and director Pamela Adlon.
05:39 Her believable performance as the teenage Texan, which is obviously a total departure
05:44 from her usual sound, has rightfully earned her an Emmy. "Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes,
05:54 I can't believe I'm on The Tonight Show. I'm in Hollywood. I got the roots in Questlove."
06:01 5. Tom Kenny as Eduardo
06:04 Foster's home for imaginary friends. Another voice actor who got his start in stand-up and
06:09 sketch comedy, Tom Kenny's comedic acting prowess knows no bounds, behind a mic or in front of a
06:15 camera. "I liked stand-up, but I didn't love it, love it. And I had always had this dream to be
06:21 an animation voiceover. That was the stuff I loved. I loved cartoons. I loved animation."
06:26 Today, he is best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants on the show of the same name. But he's
06:32 never been afraid to take on characters on the complete opposite side of the vocal spectrum.
06:37 One such example is Eduardo from Foster's home for imaginary friends. "He wanted.
06:41 I mean, we wanted. But he liked me best."
06:48 Kenny uses a gruff, heavily-accented voice to bring the monster to life,
06:52 striking a perfect balance between the character's intended role as protector
06:56 and his ironically cowardly personality. In a particularly impressive feat,
07:01 he's even able to maintain the character's cadence throughout his many fearful screams.
07:05 "It's okay, Ed."
07:07 "It was just a whizbee."
07:10 4. Seth MacFarlane as Stewie Griffin
07:16 Family guy. "You're a fucking seal, aren't I, Graham Norton?"
07:19 "You know, you're an Irishman. You think these people accept you as one of their own,
07:24 but they don't."
07:25 There's something inherently funny about a toddler who speaks fluent British English,
07:29 particularly when he's surrounded by a family of quintessential Americans.
07:33 It's likely why Stewie became one of Family Guy's most popular characters,
07:37 presenting at award shows, starring in advertisements, and even cameoing in live
07:41 action series. "And the sun shines again. Good man, Boothie. The hell's going on here?"
07:48 "You shut up and don't move. Booth, you're coming with me."
07:50 "Wait, stop!"
07:52 Voice actor Seth MacFarlane has played no small part in this runway success,
07:57 even when you ignore his multitude of other roles in the show's production.
08:01 To hear the character talking to Brian, for whom MacFarlane uses his own natural voice,
08:05 is sort of surreal.
08:06 "Yeah, so Brian, would you like some Cool Whip?"
08:08 "Why are you saying it like that?"
08:10 "What am I saying? I'm saying Cool Whip."
08:12 He may not always nail the British pronunciation of certain words,
08:16 but the consistency of Stewie's well-crafted persona throughout the seasons is impressive.
08:22 3. Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson
08:25 The Simpsons
08:26 "Your attention, please. Your attention, please. I have an announcement to make. I'm bored."
08:31 Much like Stewie, The Simpsons' only son, Bart, found success far beyond the confines of his
08:36 animated series, adorning t-shirts, selling Butterfingers, and even landing the cover of
08:41 Rolling Stone. Unfortunately, his actress Nancy Cartwright didn't get to share in his success as
08:46 much as she should have, as Fox initially forbade her from giving interviews. They didn't want
08:51 people to focus on their favorite 10-year-old boy actually being an adult woman.
08:55 "My favorite one is 'Hi, I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?'"
08:58 Nowadays, Cartwright also performs as Bart's peers, Ralph, Todd, and Nelson, among others.
09:03 Bart and these other characters sound distinct from each other,
09:07 and from the actress' typical speaking voice. Needless to say,
09:10 she can often fly under the radar while out publicly. Cartwright never ceases to impress.
09:15 "It still amazes me that people don't know, because I feel like I just blah blah blah
09:19 blah blah all the time."
09:20 Number 2. Tara Strong as Terrence
09:23 Foster's home for imaginary friends.
09:25 "Once you create a character, in my experience, they like live up in my brain, and they're just
09:30 ready to come down when it's their turn, so I don't confuse them. They all are their own
09:34 entity."
09:35 You likely know Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony, or as Bubbles in The Powerpuff
09:40 Girls. Or maybe you associate her most strongly with the neglected Timmy Turner in The Fairly
09:46 Odd Parents. We could go on, but we'd be here all day. With so many iconic characters to choose
09:51 from, we wouldn't blame you if you didn't know that she voiced Terrence, Mac's older brother
09:56 in Foster's home for imaginary friends.
09:59 "Well, well, well, lookie what I got here. It's Mr. Destrucco and his evil pal,
10:06 Breakie. Mom is gonna be so mad when she sees what you two have done."
10:11 One of the show's few purely antagonistic characters, Terrence has a far harsher sound
10:16 than we're accustomed to hearing from Strong. It's indistinguishable from the voice of an
10:21 actual teenage boy, and instantly conveys his abrasive personality within just one line of
10:26 dialogue.
10:27 "Ah, the sweet laughter of victory."
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10:44 1. John Roberts as Linda Belcher - Bob's Burgers
10:51 "It's a tasting. You're supposed to swirl it around and shake the glass to open it up or
10:55 something. Like this. Hey, open up, wine! Linda's coming in!"
10:58 If you've ever done an impression of your own mother, you have that in common with John
11:02 Roberts. The only difference is that he made a career out of it.
11:06 "A lot of her inflections and like, 'Aww!'"
11:08 "Alright!"
11:10 "That's all kind of stuff that she's said for years."
11:13 Although the voice of Linda Belcher sounds nothing like Roberts' typical speaking voice,
11:17 it apparently sounds like his mom, who the actor channels for the role. The impression is clearly
11:22 done with a lot of love, making Linda intensely likable, various quirks, vices, and all.
11:28 Most impressively, Roberts also frequently sings,
11:31 and does so quite well, while performing as the Belcher matriarch.
11:34 "It's the Christmas of my dreams!"
11:40 Did any of these voice actors surprise you with their range? Let us know in the comments.
11:45 "Hello, Francine. I'm ready for my fish feeding now."
11:48 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms Mojo.
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11:58 [Music]