If there’s one thing I know about animation, it’s that it ain’t easy. It takes a hell of a lot of time, patience, people, coffee, aspirin, money, and modesty to find Nemo or tell a Toy Story. Dozens of pre-viz whiz kids and graphic designers, animators and art directors help sculpt each and every character in a CG- or traditionally animated feature; hundreds of hands touch every one of them before they’re seen on screen, and yet the only person with whom audiences will ultimately associate that character is the actor voicing it!
The casting of an A-lister like Will Smith in an animated movie is a great marketing tool used to sell some tickets. A great actor can potentially take the art to the next level by infusing his own creativity and charisma with a terrifically rendered character to make it his own. With the release of Planet 51 — which happens to boast some crowd-tested, box-office-approved vocal talent like Justin Long (Alvin & The Chipmunks) and John Cleese (Shrek 2 & 3, Charlotte’s Web) — we take a look back at some of the best performances by actors in animated roles.
Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien (Madagascar)
King Julien was the perfect character to deflower the often debaucherous Baron Cohen in the field of animation. His spastic portrayal of the narcississtic self-proclaimed Lord of the Lemurs was as wild and unpredictable as the work he’d done with his Ali G Show regulars.
Robin Williams as Genie (Aladdin)
What better character to keep up with the neverending high-speed imagination of Williams? A genie in a bottle with infinite cosmic power and a first-class sense of humor! The casting director on this classic Disney adventure should be awarded a medal of genius for putting Williams’ brain and voice inside that special blue specter.
Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots & Eddie Murphy as Donkey
(Shrek 2 & Shrek the Third)
They are the R2-D2 and C-3PO of this story. I couldn’t decide which performance was better, so I included them as a pair, since together they’ve provided a lot of mischief and a little morality to the billion-dollar franchise. I’ve often thought that the films would be funnier with more of them and less of Shrek and Fiona (and none of Justin Timberlake).
Ellen DeGeneres as Dory (Finding Nemo)
There are plenty of fish in the sea, but there’s only one Dory! As Marlin’s forgetful sidekick, DeGeneres brought warmth and innocence to her adorable aquatic character, and though she may have caused more problems than she solved, Marlin wouldn’t have gotten very far in the open water without her.
Robert De Niro as Don Lino (Shark Tale)
DreamWorks was apparently eager to cash in on Nemo fever and put its own fish story together in ‘04. Shark Tale couldn’t match the stellar success of Pixar’s oceanic opus, but it did give us a riotous performance from an animated De Niro — as a gangster fish, no less.
John Cleese as The King (Shrek 2 & Shrek the Third)
With a career spanning more than 40 years and numerous awards to go with it, it’s clear that Cleese is Hollywood royalty, and to be honest, I don’t think you could ask for a funnier leader. British accent? Check. Outstanding sense of humor? Check. The irony of a guy known for lambasting figures of authority playing a king? Priceless. He gets to take monarchy to various levels of absurdity as King Harold, the stern ruler of Far Far Away. He is first unsympathetic to Fiona’s wishes to marry the green ogre — but eventually lightens up and proves himself worthy of his title.
Ralph Fiennes as Rameses (The Prince of Egypt)
Stepping into a role previously portrayed by the inimitable Yul Brynner is no duck walk. Ralph Fiennes was lucky enough just to be commisioned to voice the jealous, power-hungry Egyptian Pharaoh, yet he gave such a poweful performance, I often mix up his dialogue with images of Brynner in costume. The finality and determination he emits with his tone and pitch is textbook bad-guy stuff and should be a required lesson in Villainy 101.
Seth Rogen as B.O.B (Monsters vs. Aliens)
Rogen’s done almost as much voice work as he has live action, and thanks to roles in Shrek the Third, Horton Hears a Who, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Kung Fu Panda, he’s easily recognizable behind his cartoony characters. We’re giving him kudos here for his turn as B.O.B. (Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate), a gelatinous mass of muck without a brain. He’s stupid, really likeable and he ended up being a favorite character. In a monster mash that included comedy greats Stephen Colbert, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson and Jeffrey Tambor, Rogen came through with a surprising win (not to mention the eventual sequel).
Jeremy Irons as Scar (The Lion King)
The animators of this Disney classic were so impressed with Jeremy Irons’ performance that they worked his features into Scar’s face. Eat that, Jonathan Taylor Thomas! A hero is only as great as the villain he must defeat, and Irons set the bar very high for the other actors in the cast (not exactly lightweights themselves, with James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane and Whoopi Goldberg rounding out the roster).
Dustin Hoffman as Shifu (Kung Fu Panda)
Jack Black and Angelina Jolie brought the star power to this animated martial arts romp, but Hoffman, in an Obi-Wan Kenobi-styled turn, really delivers as Master Shifu. He’s so reserved and disciplined, which makes it all the more comical to see him match wits with the mindless Po. Or maybe it’s just really funny hearing Hoffman’s voice over images of a tiny red panda. Either way, it’s a blessing that the 72-year-old Oscar winner found the time to lend his grace to this film.
