# Who has given the best voice performance in a Pixar film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298 "2009-11-29T02:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/1 "2009-11-29T02:17:58Z")
Inspired by the ranking of Pixar films thread, who gave the best performance in one of those films? Let’s limit it to main characters. Otherwise John Ratzenberger wins bny default. The nominees in order of the film in which they appeared: Tom Hanks- Woody in TS Tim Allen- Buzz in TS Dave Foley- Flik in Bugs Julie-Louis Dreyfus- Atta in Bugs Joan Cusack- Jessie in TS2 Billy Crystal- Mike in Monsters John Goodman- Sully in Monsters Albert Brooks- Marlin in Nemo Ellen DeGeneres- Dory in Nemo Alexander Gould- Nemo in Nemo Willem Dafoe- Gill in Nemo Craig T. Nelson- Mr. Incredible in Incredibles Holly Hunter- Elastigirl in Incredibles Sarah Vowell- Violet in Incredibles Spencer Fox- Dash in Incredibles Jason Lee- Buddy in Incredibles Owen Wilson- Lightning McQueen in Cars Bonnie Hunt- Sally in Cars Larry the Cable Guy- Mater in Cars Paul Newman- Doc in Cars Patton Oswalt- Remi in Ratat. Lou Romano- Linguini in Ratat. Jeanine Garafolo- Collette in Ratat. Ed Asner- Carl in Up Jordan Nagai- Russell in Up Bob Peterson- Dug in Up ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/2 "2009-11-29T02:20:26Z")
My top five: Ellen DeGeneres- Dory in Nemo Larry the Cable Guy- Mater in Cars Albert Brooks- Marlin in Nemo Tim Allen- Buzz in TS Billy Crystal- Mike in Monsters ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/3 "2009-11-29T02:34:45Z")
1. Tom Hanks - Woody in Toy Story (Cite: “YOU. ARE. A. TOY!! You’re aren’t the real Buzz Lightyear! You’re- oh, you’re an _action figure!_ You… are a _child’s plaything!_”) 2. Ellen DeGeneres - Dory in Nemo (Cite: “I remember it, I do! It’s there, I know it is, because when I look at you… I can feel it. And-and I look at you, and I… I’m home.”) 3. Ben Burtt - Wall-E, MO, and many others in Wall-E (cite: the whole damn movie) 4. Ed Asner - Carl in Up Runners up (in no particular order): Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story Elissa Knight - EVE in Wall-E Patton Oswalt - Remy in Ratatouille Jordan Nagai - Russell in Up Bob Peterson - Dug in Up John Goodman - Sully in Monsters Albert Brooks - Marlin in Nemo Overall, though, the vocal performances in Pixar movies are universally fabulous. Their habit of hiring voice actors based on their talent rather than name recognition (_cough_ Dreamworks _cough_) has a lot to do with this. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/4 "2009-11-29T05:29:31Z")
It’s really tough, but my initial desire is to go with Ellen DeGeneres. Dory was such a unique and well-developed personality. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/5 "2009-11-29T05:42:57Z")
My vote was for Ellen as soon as I saw the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/6 "2009-11-29T06:20:26Z")
No love for Brad Bird as Edna Mode? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/7 "2009-11-29T06:21:45Z")
Mary Gibbs for Boo in Monsters 😛 > [@](#): > > Her age at the time made it difficult for her to record dialogue while confined in a sound booth, so the recording crew followed her around the studio for several days and recorded the baby-talk sounds she made. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/8 "2009-11-29T06:26:18Z")
I’ll vote Ellen too, except I haven’t seen all of the movies (missed _Cars_ and _Ratatouie_). I really don’t remember much about _Nemo_ except Ellen, so I assume she’s stood out the most for me of all the films! ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/9 "2009-11-29T06:27:56Z")
Ellen’s a great choice. I’d say she’s just under Holly Hunter as my favorite vocal performance, with Brad Bird’s Edna _very_ close as third. Heck, Jason Lee was pretty freakin’ awesome too. (Okay, _The Incredibles_ is one of my favorite films ever.) Holly just made Elastigirl / Helen such a vibrant, believable, capable, funny, down-to-earth, even sexy character. You buy her completely as content suburban mom and daring superhero. The scene in the jet as she tries to evade the missiles while protecting her kids is a tour-de-force. Ellen was, well, Ellen, but as others have said, Dory was so touching and sweet and funny. She showed a lot more acting ability than I would’ve expected from Ellen. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/10 "2009-11-29T06:58:30Z")
John Ratzenberger in all of 'em! ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/11 "2009-11-29T11:04:20Z")
I actually loved Tom Hanks in Toy Story…which is really saying something, because I can’t stand him in normal movies. I think he was perfectly cast for the role though, and honestly can’t imagine anyone doing better at it than he did. It’s a source of some conflict for me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/12 "2009-11-29T13:05:02Z")
Sarah Vowell- Violet in Incredibles—squeaky cute!! 🙂 Holly Hunter- Elastigirl in Incredibles–perfect voice choice ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/13 "2009-11-29T13:40:45Z")
For me? 3-way tie between Holly Hunter, Ellen DeGeneres and Tim Allen. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/14 "2009-11-29T16:06:21Z")
> [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](#): > > I actually loved Tom Hanks in Toy Story…which is really saying something, because I can’t stand him in normal movies. I think he was perfectly cast for the role though, and honestly can’t imagine anyone doing better at it than he did. > > It’s a source of some conflict for me. 😉 I ranked him as number one in my list above because, when you think about it, his role in the first “Toy Story” is pretty astounding. He is written as a leader who leads more because of what he is than actual leadership ability (which isn’t to say that he’s a _bad_ leader, just a flawed one), and once Buzz enters the picture he becomes downright petty and jealous. In other words, in the hands of a lesser actor, Woody could very easily have been extremely unlikeable. After all, he spends a significant chunk of the movie whining about losing Andy, making snide comments about/ yelling insults at Buzz, and generally acting like a complete coward. It’s a testament to Hanks’s skill that Woody’s turnaround into heroism in the third act feels natural, and even moreso that he’s still a remarkably sympathetic character throughout the film. Think about how many movies you’ve seen where the main character’s “flaws” and “conflict” end up being so unappetizing that you end up rooting for the villain. “Toy Story” is a triumph of writing and acting because its protagonists are so well-realized as _people_ that you understand every moment of Woody’s anguish over his displacement by Buzz. Admittedly, it helps that Woody’s darker moments are almost always leavened by humor. The whole situation above leads to what is for my money the single funniest moment in the Pixar canon: Mr. Shark stealing Woody’s hat (“Hi, I’m Woody! HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY”). But that in itself is a testament to how good movies can be when the writing and the acting couple perfectly. Fun fact: Woody was originally supposed to be far more abrasive - and downright malicious - than he ended up being, but the writers realized that this made him so unsympathetic that the movie didn’t work. It also helped when they changed him from a giant, creepy ventriloquist’s doll to the hand-sewn action figure we know and love. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/15 "2009-11-29T16:42:16Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Holly just made Elastigirl / Helen such a vibrant, believable, capable, funny, down-to-earth, even sexy character. You buy her completely as content suburban mom and daring superhero. The scene in the jet as she tries to evade the missiles while protecting her kids is a tour-de-force. I was thinking about that scene just last night (what with all the current Pixar threads.) The way the character keeps trying for a rational solution (explain the situation to the attackers) instead of going into superhero mode is very affecting. Ellen and (Brad Bird) Edna Head were also wonderful. And let me throw some love to Bob Peterson as Dug in _Up_. That might be my favorite animated dog ever, and the voice is a big part of it. Anyway: 1. Tom Hanks 2. Holly Hunter 3. Ellen Degeneres 4. Tim Allen (a perfect Buzz) 5. Billy Crystal (always a pro) 6. Dug Obviously it’s hard to separate the writing from the actor. Always is, whether animated or live action. And I can’t remember much about the Ratatouille characters, so I may be short changing them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/16 "2009-11-29T16:47:02Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > The whole situation above leads to what is for my money the single funniest moment in the Pixar canon: Mr. Shark stealing Woody’s hat (“Hi, I’m Woody! HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY”). But that in itself is a testament to how good movies can be when the writing and the acting couple perfectly. Huh. I always figured they stole that bit from a _Far Side_ cartoon. Do a google for: “Far Side” vultures cowboy ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/17 "2009-11-29T16:54:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Huh. I always figured they stole that bit from a _Far Side_ cartoon. Do a google for: “Far Side” vultures cowboy Deliberate reference. From IDMB [trivia page](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/trivia) for Toy Story. > [@](#): > > The toy Shark, wearing Woody’s hat, proclaims, “Look at me, I’m Woody! Howdy howdy howdy!” This references a cowboy-eating vulture in one of ‘Gary Larson’'s “The Far Side” daily comic strips, from the early 1980s: “Hey everyone, look at me, I’m a cowboy! Howdy! Howdy! Howdy!” ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/18 "2009-11-29T18:45:15Z")
I can’t point to a single Pixar casting decision that I’d change. **Tanbarkie** has it exactly right - they choose the right actor instead of casting a “name”. If the right actor happens to be a name, fine. The name “Craig T. Nelson” doesn’t put millions of butts in seats on opening weekend, but he was wonderfully cast as Mr. Incredible. Their habit of using Pixar people is proof of that. They could have cast Dug or Edna, but the people who came up with the voices were just so perfect that there was never any need. I loathe Billy Crystal, and he was great as Mike - it’s the only place I’ve ever enjoyed his work. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/19 "2009-11-29T19:04:41Z")
1. Holly Hunter - love her voice and her performance really makes you feel that she (like many mothers) is the glue holding her family together. 2. Tom Hanks - the role of Woody requires a very wide range of emotions and Hanks’ voice makes up for the limitation of the visual medium. 3. Ellen Degeneres - Dory is the only Pixar character that I think just couldn’t in a million years be voiced by anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298/20 "2009-11-29T21:17:41Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Holly just made Elastigirl / Helen such a vibrant, believable, capable, funny, down-to-earth, even sexy character. God, yes. I have a major, major crush on Helen due to Holly Hunter’s voice and the way she scrunches her nose. Pixar just doesn’t go wrong with voice casting, even when I can’t _stand_ the voice. As much as I dislike Vowell’s voice (I’m sorry, she’s just too nasal for me), I have to admit she worked very well in the role. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-given-the-best-voice-performance-in-a-pixar-film/519298.md?page=2)