Toon Talk Special: The 101 Greatest Disney Voice Artists - Part 1 of 2
Page 4 of 9

Sidekicks
Ever present, ever loyal, always funny. No Disney film would be complete without those lovable sidekicks.

Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy works on Dreamworks' Shrek
(c) Dreamsworks

"I live!" And so Mushu, Mulan's pint-sized dragon with a lot of 'tude, was born. Murphy's vocals brought a street-smart sass to the role, one he recently recycled for his role as the Donkey in that other animated film, Shrek.

Rowan Atkinson

World-known as the clueless Mr. Bean (who rarely speaks) on television and in movies, Atkinson added a haughty upper-crust air to Mufusa's majordomo Zazu in The Lion King. Remember, he was the film's comic relief before a certain meerkat and warthog made their appearances.

Peter Behn

Behn's one and only film role was as the adorable young bunny Thumper in Bambi. Who could forget such irresistible lines as "I'm thumpin'! That's why they call me Thumper!" and "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." Disney tracked down Behn to help promote the original video release of Bambi in 1989; they found him in Vermont working in real estate.

John Fiedler

The only original voice of the 100 Acre Wood crew to still be regularly involved with the franchise, Fiedler is the voice of Piglet. Although Piglet was not in the first short, Fiedler has played the role ever since his first appearance in Winnie the Pooh & the Blustery Day, including the recent Tigger Movie and the current television series' House of Mouse and The Book of Pooh.

Fiedler's unique voice has also been used for such characters as the Church Mouse in Robin Hood, Deacon Owl in The Rescuers, the Porcupine in The Fox & the Hound and, most recently, as the Old Man who gets thrown out of the window in The Emperor's New Groove.

Joe Ranft

Ranft's regular Disney career is as a story writer, working on such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Rescuers Down Under, The Lion King, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and James & the Giant Peach.

But somewhere down the line Ranft was recruited for voice work and has lent his voice to such memorable characters as Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life (and his cameo in Toy Story 2), Elmo St. Peters in The Brave Little Toaster, Lenny the binoculars in Toy Story and Wheezy the penguin in Toy Story 2 and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the Adventure Begins.

Paul Winchell

In 1968, Winchell's irrepressible Tigger bounced onto the screen for the first time in Winnie the Pooh & the Blustery Day. Winchell returned as Tigger in the subsequent shorts Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too and Winnie the Pooh & A Day for Eeyore, as well as The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh television series and the video release Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin. He can also be heard every day in the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride at The Magic Kingdom.

Winchell also voiced the Chinese Cat in The Aristocats, Boomer the woodpecker in The Fox & the Hound, and was the original voice of Zummi Gummi in The Adventures of the Gummi Bears television series.