Top Cartoon Voices - Who are they?
Are you an animaniac? Crazy for cartoons? Well you probably have a great collection of Cartoon T-Shirts already (if not, why not?) but have you ever really thought about some of the voices behind your favourite animated characters?
Me neither, so I set off in search of some of my favourite characters and voices. Here's what I found....
Grandpa Huxtable was a Thundercat!
Between 1984 & 1992, Earle Hyman played Grandpa Russell Huxtable in The Cosby Show. Despite being a trombone playing, Hillman College graduate and a really bad buyer of sweaters in this popular sitcom he was also moonlighting as a humanoid warrior feline from outer space, Panthro.
Panthro was the resident mechanic in the cartoon Thundercats and was also the least clothed member after Snarf.
Earle talked about voicing Panthro and he says it was an easy job because he just pretended he was talking to his cats, which makes me think he probably misunderstood the plot of the series just a little bit.
Uncle Phil was a Shedder!
Actor James Avery played Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Obviously not content with just putting up with all the shenanigans caused by an annoying wannabe rapper called "Will Smith" he also voiced Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
For over 100 episodes, the man best known for playing a conservative judge also lent his voice to an Asian ninja master best known for living inside a giant mechanical eyeball and hanging out with a hideous man-hog and a disembodied brain. Avery openly admitted the relationship between him and Krang was played "like an old married couple." Check out the full interview here:
Fergie was Sally Brown!
Stacy Ann Ferguson, aka Fergie, is probably best known for being part of the 'pop sensation' The Black Eyed Peas along with Will.i.am and..... those other guys?!?! Apart from being a member of the B.E.P's, Fergie has also done some film acting (Planet Terror, Nine) and voice acting work (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa), but the highlight to her career has to be when she voiced Sally Brown, Charlie Brown's little sister in Peanuts.
Sally is remembered for her crush on Linus and for not being the brightest spark in the box. Fergie was one of the original Sallys. As Stacy Ferguson, she voiced the character in two classic Peanuts movies and The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show, starting when she was only 9. Here's what she sounded like back then:
And apparently she can still do that voice, which means that if they did a CGI remake of the Peanuts movie, casting Fergie would actually be quite a good decision.
Kelsey Grammer was Side-Show Bob!
When you think of Kelsey Grammer you probably think about Frasier Crane, the character he portrayed for 20 years on âCheersâ and then in âFrasier.â But Kelsey is also responsible for another pretty noteworthy and long-running television fixture and probably my favourite cartoon bad guy Sideshow Bob.
Sideshow Bobs tendancy to break out into song comes from Grammerâs own life. Apparently Grammer had a habit of singing during the shooting of âCheersâ and Sam Simon, who wrote and produced âCheersâ before developing âThe Simpsons,â recommended Grammer incorporate this trait into the character Sideshow Bob.
Other Sideshow Bob secrets revealed is that Bobs accent comes from the late stage actor and personal friend of Kelsey, Ellis Rabb. More confessions to come from the interview reveal Kelseys favourite Sideshow Bob line. So why not check out the interview below:
So there you have it, 4 of my favourite cartoon voices. Thankfully we have plenty of cool tees available so you can show your appreciation for these vocal genius too!!
Ladies Thundercats Characters T-Shirt
from Sticks and Stones
£19.99
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles Backpack
£44.99
Men's Blue Marl Snoopy Lets Do
Lunch T-Shirt
from Junk Food
£29.99
Ladies Snoopy The Good Life
Slub Vest from Junk Food
£24.99
Men's Cheers Where Everybody Knows
Your Name T-Shirt from Sticks & Stones
£15.99
Men's Simpsons
Duff Beer T-Shirt
£19.99