10.
Hey, he was a celebrity of sorts back then, owing to his success playing Steve Urkel in Family Matters. More importantly than that, however, he was the first man to voice Sonic, and his varying takes on the character were the ones I grew up with. Of course, Sonic had always been presented as having an attitude, but White took that and, if you pardon the pun, ran with it. His Sonic was always arrogant and funny, providing more laughs than the material in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog had any right to get. However, it is his performance in SatAM that truly stands out. There, Sonic is still cocky and wisecracking, but to an extent it is a facade, hiding the inner vulnerabilities that any teenager will have when forced into a war. His teary departure from Uncle Chuck is the moment of 90s cartoons that stuck with me above all others, and it is largely because White played it so excellently.
The less said about his performance as Sonic's sister Sonia in Sonic Underground, the better.
9.
Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Rush was just one of many big names who lent their voices to this underrated film, and while they all did a decent job, his is the performance that stood out the most for me. Rush voices Ezylryb, the mentor figure to the film's protagonist Soren. The character himself is largely a combination of cliches with which we are all probably familiar, but Rush always gives the character the right tone. He's got a cruel sense of wit and sarcasm when the situation arises, brilliantly shooting down Soren's naivety on multiple occasions. It's the serious moments when he really shines, as his every word shows the weight of the character's past.
Also, I'm pretty sure this makes Ezylryb a ninja pirate owl knight, and that's just awesome.
8.
Orson Welles as Unicron in Transformers: The Movie
It's Orson freaking Welles, voicing a giant, planet-eating Transformer. The sheer difference between the two things aside, Welles actually fits the role very well. His deep, slow voice (admittedly, this was altered from the original performance, but this was not unusual for the franchise) dominates anything else in his scenes, even Frank "God of voice acting" Welker. For most of the movie, that's all that's needed to register Unicron as a threat on a scale beyond anything else the characters have dealt with. The lack of depth in the role robs this of a higher place, but Welles did all that he needed to do, and that earns him a place on this list.
7.
Yes, I suppose it's cheating to give one spot to two people, but I stand by this example. I also think it illustrates another way in which celebrity voices can be useful. Neither Goodman nor Crystal give an excellent performance in their own right, but the two have so much chemistry that it adds up to something better. Sulley and Mike contrast in so many ways, and the two actors play off each other in a similar fashion. When you need that aspect, you should do all in your power to get it, regardless of who will be playing the role. Pixar definitely made the right choice with these two, and I doubt I'm alone in looking forward to hearing them in next year's prequel, Monsters University. Even if the film manages to suck, I'm sure it will still be worth seeing for these two alone.
As a final note, if you're able to track down a copy of the movie's ending theme, "If I Didn't Have You", sung by Goodman and Crystal, then give it a listen. The movie played a blooper reel over it, cutting out much of the great double act they manage in the song.
6.
Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure in The Simpsons
Can you imagine a world without lawyers? Well, I can't, but I can certainly imagine The Simpsons without its favourite lawyer. It's called, well, The Simpsons after it jumped the shark. Okay, correlation definitely doesn't equal causation here, but it's hard to deny that the late Phil Hartman gave the show some of its best moments, as Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, and other minor characters over the years (seriously, check out his IMDB page; you're likely to find at least a few surprises in there). His characters embodied countless negative stereotypes about lawyers, actors, businessmen, government officials, and probably some other types of people... and I for one loved every last character. That ability to make the worst of characters likeable is the hallmark of a great actor, and Phil Hartman was fantastic on this show.
5.
Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio
This is actually a very interesting case. Even though animated feature films were a new thing when Pinocchio was released, the medium itself had been around for a while, and voice actors with them (Mel Blanc being perhaps the best example). Regardless, I think it is reasonable to say that there wasn't the wide and deep pool of voice acting talent that we have today, so it is thus quite understandable that Disney turned to Cliff Edwards, a popular singer of the time, to voice Jiminy Cricket. To me, his performance and the character as a whole are the film's heart, providing the simple, old-fashioned charm that ensures that people keep coming back to this film. Also, he is, unsurprisingly, a good singer, and his rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" won a well-deserved Oscar.
4.
Richard Briers as Fiver in Watership Down
Before I go any further, it would be best for me to state that Watership Down is my favourite novel. The movie is very good in its own right, but does inevitably have to compromise some elements. In particular, I think Fiver was greatly simplified, being reduced to an all-but-helpless prophet, as opposed to the stronger characterisation he had in the book. That said, Richard Briers (a prominent British actor, for those unfamiliar with him), does an absolutely fantastic job with the material, making Fiver not only sympathetic, but also incredibly creepy at the proper times. Since all an actor can really do is work with the material they have, Briers earns his spot on this list.
3.
Kelsey Grammar as Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons.
Yes, I have two examples from The Simpsons on here. When a show has that many celebrity voices, some of them are bound to be good. As the show's most noteworthy recurring villain, it stands to reason that he had to have a great voice. Grammar provides that, making the character not only evil, but playful, sophisticated, witty, pitiful and even sympathetic. As with Phil Hartman, Kelsey Grammar took a person we should logically hate, and made us love him instead. Of course, I for one loved to watch him suffer even more.
Also, he has a fantastic singing voice, as I'm sure you'll agree.
2.
John Delancie (pictured here making his initial reaction to the fandom) as Discord in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
If you knew I'm a brony, then you knew this was coming, and yet I find myself at a loss for words. How does one describe the perfect performance of the spirit of chaos and disharmony? All I can say is that Delancie's performance must be seen (well, heard) to be believed. This selection, along with my number 1, are the only two instances where I simply cannot imagine an actual voice actor doing a better job. Clearly, the stars aligned.
Has there ever been a more magnificent bastard?
Well...
1.
Scar has been amongst my favourite villains since I was a kid, and a lot of it came down to Irons' voice. It lends just the right amount of snide evil, cunning and smooth manipulation to the character. As has been a pattern in this list, he also manages to make Scar sympathetic in some ways (haven't we all felt like we're surrounded by idiots?). I'm sure most of you have seen this movie, so there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know. To the few people who haven't seen this, I simply: see it. Now. I'm sure you will agree that Scar is the most magnificent of bastards, with the best of celebrity voices.
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