Toon Talk Special: The 101 Greatest Disney Voice Artists - Part 1 of 2
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Unlikely Heroes
Sure, if you got big muscles and good looks, it's easy to be a hero. To become the true heroes that they are, these fellows had to rely on other assets.

Tom Hulce

(c) Disney

The artist formerly known as Mozart, Hulce perfectly interpreted Victor Hugo's tragic bellringer Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also displayed heretofore unknown singing ability by belting out "Out There". Hulce will reprise his role as Quasi in the upcoming video, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.

Dickie Jones

Jones voiced Pinocchio, the little wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy. His youthful innocence shined through, most notably in Pinock's big number, "I've Got No Strings".  After Pinocchio, Jones grew up (and became Dick Jones) to become a popular television cowboy, including starring in his own series, Buffalo Bill Jr.

Dave Foley

Dave Foley (center) with Khandi Alexander and Phil Hartman from News Radio
(c) NBC

Previously known for his television roles in the irreverent Kids in the Hall and NewsRadio, Foley voiced our hero Flik in A Bug's Life with an enthusiastic charm. He returned as the inventive ant in the It's Tough To Be a Bug 3-D film at Disney's Animal Kingdom (which actually opened prior to the release of A Bug's Life) and in a cameo in Toy Story 2.

Robby Benson

Yes, it's that Robby Benson, the soft-voiced star of such Seventies melodramas as Ice Castles and The Ode to Billy Joe , who voices the gruff but eventually kind-hearted Beast in Beauty & the Beast. Benson has returned to his role in the videos Beauty & the Beast: An Enchanted Christmas and Belle's Magical World and on the television series House of Mouse.

Danny Elfman

The former frontman for the punk rock group Oingo Boingo, Elfman has had an illustrious career in film scoring, most notably with director Tim Burton. So it was only natural that Burton would enlist Elfman for the songs and score of his twisted holiday tale that would become Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. But Elfman's work didn't end there: he also provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown. Sure, actor Chris Sarandon (Fright Night) supplied the dialogue for the character, but since most of the movie is sung in a pseudo-operetta form, Elfman gets the credit here.

Elfman can also be heard in Nightmare as Barrel, one of the rascally trick-or-treaters who kidnap Santa Claus, and as the Clown With a Tear-Away Face, who obviously needs no further explanation.

Michael J. Fox

(c) Disney

As Milo Thatch in Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Fox takes us along on this fantastic voyage to the mythical lost city of Atlantis, where we see his sweetly naïve and bumbling bookworm turn into a daring and courageous adventurer. He gives hope to nerds everywhere, especially when he ends up with the beautiful Princess Kida.

Fox can also be heard as the bulldog Chance in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco and as the title character in the non-Disney Stuart Little.

Charles Fleischer

Fleischer is responsible for creating the instant cartoon star Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. His rubber-lipped "puh-puh-pleeeeease!" and other tongue-twisters endeared him to audiences, necessitating a return of Fleischer's Roger in three successful shorts: Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit and Trail Mix-Up.

Fleischer also supplied the voice of Benny the Cab and two of the weasels (Greasy and Psycho) in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and can currently be heard as Monumentus in the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command animated series.