Top 10 Cartoon Character Voices That Are Actually Impressions
#10: Yogi Bear Is Inspired by Ed Norton Various
Not to be confused with the Ed Norton from “Fight Club”; this Ed Norton is a character from “The Honeymooners”, a CBS series that ran for about a year in the fifties. When Daws Butler set out to record a voice for Yogi Bear, who was being introduced in “The Huckleberry Hound Show”, he apparently drew inspiration from Ed Norton, played by Art Carney. If you were a kid growing up in the mid-to-late fifties and early sixties, there’s a good chance you’ll have spotted the similarities in mannerisms and inflection.
#9: The Brain’s Voice Is an Impression of Orson Welles “Pinky and the Brain” (1995-98), “Animaniacs” (1993-98; 2020-)
How many of you have the theme song playing in your head after merely hearing the title? Yeah, us too! When Maurice LaMarche was asked to read for The Brain half of “Pinky and the Brain”, he thought the character’s design was meant to resemble Orson Welles. LaMarche was already accustomed to impersonating Welles, so he went ahead with the voice and – even though The Brain actually wasn’t modeled after Welles – it’s impossible not to see how well it works. There’s actually a clip in “Animaniacs” of The Brain spoofing an Orson Welles outtake and it is glorious.
#8: Zapp Brannigan’s Voice Replicates Phil Hartman’s “Futurama” (1999-2003; 2008-13)
This is one of the more intentional impressions on our list, in the sense that everyone knew what the voice should sound like: Phil Hartman. The actor was set to play the eccentric military officer, Captain Zapp Brannigan but, unfortunately, he passed before we’d ever get to hear him in the role. Billy West, who was a friend of Hartman and already voicing Fry, Professor Farnsworth, and Dr. Zoidberg, filled in his place. West has said that he worked off of Hartman’s knack for “announcer” voices and the route that he intended to take with the character. West does a great job, but we can’t help but wonder what could have been.
#7: Wakko Warner Is An Impression of John Lennon & Ringo Starr “Animaniacs” (1993-98; 2020-)
When Jess Harnell was called into a second audition for the voice of Wakko, he was asked to throw out a bunch of impressions including Elvis and The Beatles. Admittedly, Elvis wasn’t quite a fit for Wakko, but voice director Andrea Romano took a liking to Harnell’s Ringo Starr. Upon seeing a picture of the character though, and discovering that he was, in fact, rather little, Harnell pitched up his voice into more of a young-sounding John Lennon. And, thus, the voice of Wakko Warner was born! Now, on to the important stuff: do we prefer "Yakko's World" or “Wakko’s America”? Sound off in the comments!
#6: Betty Boop is Basically Helen Kane Various
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Not only was the voice of Helen Kane used as inspiration for Betty Boop, her overall likeness was too! Side-by-side, the similarities are pretty remarkable: short, curly, black hair, big doll eyes, dancing mannerisms, and even her signature catchphrase! Kane didn’t particularly appreciate the character – even after she went from anthropomorphic French poodle to human – and sued the creator. She claimed her image was being exploited and her career would suffer as a result, but the judge ultimately ruled against her. Given that “Boop-Oop-a-Doop” is so widely associated with Betty Boop and not Helen Kane, maybe she was right to be worried!
#5: SpongeBob’s Voice is Based Off an Angry Little Person “SpongeBob SqaurePants” (1999-)
Tom Kenny is a total gem in the voice acting world, and the story of how the voice of SpongeBob came to be is fitting only to him. Kenny went into an audition where the neighboring gig was for the upcoming holiday season. He overheard one of the elves, a little person, who had a rather distinct tone and speech to pair, and thought it was great. As such, he passed on the story and imitated the elf for his friend Stephen Hillenburg. Fast forward a few years, Hillenburg created “SpongeBob” and remembered Kenny’s story. The character was all ready to go and he had the perfect voice in mind!
#4: Peter Griffin’s Voice Is Inspired by Jackie Gleason, Archie Bunker, & a Security Guard “Family Guy” (1999-)
A number of “Family Guy” characters are actually imitations including Stewie, who’s an impression of Rex Harrison. There’s also Chris, who’s an impression of Buffalo Bill. You might be surprised to learn, though, that even the voice of Peter draws from some known names such as Jackie Gleason and “All in the Family’s” Archie Bunker. The main inspiration, however, seems to come from a random Rhode Island security guard Seth MacFarlane overheard at his college. The voice made him laugh and, true to that sentiment, it makes the rest of us laugh too!
#3: Homer Simpson Started Out as an Impression of Walter Matthau "The Simpsons" (1989-)
“The Simpsons” is yet another cartoon with some great characters whose voices are inspired by celebrities. Moe Szyslak, for example, is Al Pacino but more gravelly, and Gil Gunderson is based off of Shelley Levene, played by Jack Lemmon, in “Glengarry Glen Ross”. Homer himself started out as Dan Castellaneta’s best impersonation of Walter Matthau. As the series went on, though, and the character needed to yell more, Castellaneta opted for something deeper that was easier to achieve, and we got the iconic Homer Simpson voice we all know today.
#2: The Flintstones Are Based Off The Honeymooners “The Flintstones” (1960-66)
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“The Honeymooners” was such a classic sitcom, it was easy to replicate their format, at least in some way. “The Flintstones” may have taken their influence a little too far though. Not only was the show’s formula used, their characters were also incredibly comparable, from personalities to voices. The similarity between Fred and Jackie Gleason’s character, Ralph Kramden, is no accident either. His voice actor, Alan Reed, actually used to substitute for Gleason’s voice, so it’s no wonder they’re so alike! The only thing that saved “The Flintstones” from being sued or pulled off the air entirely was the fact that it was so cherished by audiences.
#1: Bugs Bunny Is an Impression of Clark Gable “Looney Tunes” franchise (1930-)
Rabbits don’t actually eat carrots. Well, they can, but it’s not as common as pop culture would have you believe. This widespread belief can actually be attributed to Bugs Bunny, whose character was based off of Clark Gable’s Peter Warne in “It Happened One Night”. There’s a clip of Gable munching on a carrot, talking at speeds faster than light, and being generally unbothered – all traits we’ve come to associate with our favorite Warner rabbit. The parallels are uncanny, and it’s pretty fascinating to witness an IRL Bugs. Incidentally, Foghorn Leghorn is yet another “Looney Tunes” character who’s an impression; in this case, of Senator Claghorn played by Kenny Delmar on “The Fred Allen Show”. You’ll recognize iconic slogans like "That's a joke, son!" and "I say!".
