Certain iconic cartoon characters stick out in popular consciousness because of their memorable cartoon voice impressions. Over time, voice actors experimented with more nuanced voices that perfectly epitomized their characters. Sometimes the voices were based on famous actors or friends and family members close to the voiceover performers, and sometimes they were completely original and wonderfully bizarre creations. What this resulted in was some of the most memorable cartoon character voices.

Some are so famous that people hear mundane words in their head in a specific character’s voice. Just about every funny character from Looney Tunes or The Simpsons is worthy of mention. Whether the animated series in question is for adults or children, the most iconic cartoon voices stick in audiences’ minds. From some of the earliest Disney productions to the most recent Cartoon Network broadcasts, the best names on the voice impressions list of cartoon characters remain recognizable to fans of all ages.

30

Scooby-Doo

Don Messick / Frank Welker

While he doesn’t talk as much as others, it is impossible not to hear Scooby-Doo’s voice and immediately know who it is. As a dog who speaks, his dialect is not smooth, and he has plenty of catchphrases that are unique to him, including things like “Ruh-roh Shaggy.” While the other actors from the cartoon are familiar names (Casey Kasem as Shaggy and Frank Welker as Fred Jones), the voice actor who plays Scooby himself was originally Don Messick.

Don Messick has voiced several popular characters over his career, including Bamm-Bamm in The Flintstones, Astro the dog in The Jetsons, Muttley for Hanna Barbara cartoons, Boo-Boo Bear in The Yogi Bear Show, and Papa Smurf in The Smurfs. He retired following a stroke, and Frank Welker, who voiced Fred Jones, took over the role after that. In 2016, Welker received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for all his work as a voice actor.

29

Bart Simpson

Nancy Cartwright

While the most recognizable voice in The Simpsons is clearly the dad, Homer Simpson, the son, Bart Simpson, has one of the most recognizable voices in all of cartoon history. What is most impressive about Bart’s voice actor is that she is a woman, with Nancy Cartwright providing Bart’s voice for his entire existence. Cartwright also voices several male and female characters, including Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Nelson Muntz, and Maggie Simpson.

Cartwright took this role and helped create an icon. The famous Bart Simpson quote, “Eat my shorts,” was actually ad-libbed by Cartwright (via MTV), and it has since become one of his most popular lines in the series. Cartwright won a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance voicing Bart Simpson, and the entire cast of The Simpsons has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also wrote her biography, My Life As A Ten-Year-Old Boy, whose title references Bart Simpson.

28

BoJack Horseman

Will Arnett

What makes BoJack Horseman’s voice so memorable is the laid-back, monotone accent that voice actor Will Arnett uses. Most fans know Arnett from his role as Gob Bluth on Arrested Development, and this really parlayed over well into the role of BoJack. The character in this adult animated series is an anthropomorphic horse who suffers from several mental health issues, with depression at the top of his list of concerns.

Arnett’s voice performance perfectly plays off this idea of a depressed former TV star. The voice is great whether BoJack is talking to himself while staring into a mirror, going voice-over to explain how terrible his life is, or talking to someone without any energy or excitement. Arnett has mastered the dialect. It seems almost hard to believe that Arnett also voices LEGO Batman, which is about as different from BoJack as he can get in voice-acting roles.

27

Peter Griffin

Seth MacFarlane

There are a lot of familiar voices on Family Guy, and many of them are voiced by the same person. Not only does creator Seth MacFarlane voice the British-accented baby Stewie and the mature dog Brian, but he also voices the patriarch of the Griffin family, Peter Griffin. Add in Glenn Quagmire, and MacFarlane delivers some of the most iconic character voices in the entire animated series. However, it is Peter Griffin who remains one of the best.

MacFarlane said that he got the idea for Peter’s voice by listening to some security guards talking while he was in school. “I knew a thousand Peter Griffins growing up in New England,” MacFarlane said (via The Graham Norton Show). Guys who would not think before they spoke, like there was no self-editing mechanism.” With such an iconic voice, MacFarlane also voices all of Peter Griffin’s ancestors with the exact same voice tone and reflection.

26

Porky Pig

Mel Blanc

While Bugs Bunny was the main star of the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, Porky Pig is one of the most iconic and has one of the most recognizable cartoon voices in history. Created in 1935, Porky Pig is mostly the sidekick and friend of Bugs Bunny, but he has some very interesting traits that make him memorable every time he opens his mouth. This is mostly shown through Porky’s severe stutter, where he struggles to get his sentences out.

While he didn’t voice the first appearances of Porky Pig, it is Mel Blanc who made his name voicing Porky and many other characters from the Looney Tunes for many decades, working on the role from 1937 until 1989. While his stuttering was his main voice trait, he also became the face of Looney Tunes thanks to his delivery of lines, as his “Th-Th-The, Th-Th-The, Th-Th… That’s all, folks!” ends every cartoon with Porky’s face in the middle of the logo.

25

Sterling Archer

H. Jon Benjamin

Archer premiered on FX in 2009, an adult animated cartoon about a secret spy organization led by Malory Archer and her son, super agent Sterling Archer. Most of the characters on the show have distinguishable voices, with some big names, like Jessica Walter as Malory and Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane. However, it is H. Jon Benjamin who steals the screen as the voice of Sterling Archer. His voice is full of snark, with a massive amount of narcissism and a touch of cluelessness in his delivery.

His delivery was so perfect that just hearing Archer’s voice brings any fan memories of the show – even when Benjamin is voicing other characters in commercials or other animated shows. Creator Adam Reed based Archer on James Bond, but Benjamin made the character his own, and it is impossible to think of anyone else voicing Sterling Archer after so many years.

24

Batman

Kevin Conroy

For an entire generation of Batman fans, the Caped Crusader isn’t Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, or Ben Affleck. For many fans, Kevin Conroy is Batman. Conroy began voicing Batman for Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and went on to voice him for that series and several other TV shows, movies, and video games for the next three decades. It is Conroy’s voice that many associate with the perfect Batman. He even got a chance to play a live-action version in Batwoman.

Sadly, Conroy died in 2022 and there will never be another new Batman movie or TV show with his iconic voice after 2024’s Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three. To understand how recognizable and important his Batman impression was, Mark Hamill said he would never return as Joker again because he didn’t want to do it without Kevin Conroy by his side.

23

Rick Sanchez

Justin Roiland & Ian Cardoni

Rick Sanchez not only has one of the most recognizable voices in cartoons today, but he had a change in voice actors and never missed a beat. Rick is a mad scientist, based partially on Doc Brown from Back to the Future and Reed Richards from The Fantastic Four. However, one thing that separates him from those two iconic scientists is that he is also drunk much of the time, making his voice even more iconic for all the wrong reasons.

Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland originally voiced Rick Sanchez, along with various other characters on the adult animated series. However, when Roiland left the show, Ian Cardoni replaced him. After the change, he still maintains the same sarcastic, dismissive, and brilliant attitude in his delivery as the original, showing his awkwardness as well as his propensity for a little too much to drink.

22

The Brain

Maurice LaMarche

When Warner Bros. created The Animaniacs, there were several iconic voices, including the Warner siblings. However, one of the breakout stars of the cartoon series was the duo of Pinky and the Brain. This part of the cartoon surrounds two mice, Pinky as the dimwitted, friendly mouse and The Brain as the devious mouse, who wants to take over the world. It is a classic mad scientist character voiced by Maurice LaMarche.

LaMarche who previously voiced Inspector Gadget (based on original voice actor Don Adams’s Get Smart character) and Ghostbusters‘ Egon Spengler (an imitation of Harold Ramis). Pinky and the Brain differs, as The Brain is an original creation. LaMarche based The Brain’s voice on Orson Welles, whom he had previously impersonated, and the rest is history. It is impossible for anyone who has seen the show to not immediately recognize Brain’s voice as he talks about world domination.

21

Jake

John DiMaggio

For 10 seasons and 283 episodes, Adventure Time was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed animated shows on Cartoon Network. The cartoon was like nothing that had ever aired before, with Finn the Human and Jake the Dog undertaking adventures in the lands surrounding the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. While there are several iconic voices from the show, including Jeremy Shada’s Finn, it is John DiMaggio as Jake the Dog that remains the most recognizable and iconic.

This should surprise no one because DiMaggio has perfected many very different voices over his illustrious career. He voiced Bender in Futurama and Dr. Drakken in Kim Possible. When it comes to Jake the Dog, DiMaggio voices him with a lazy, seemingly disinterested tone, but one that can change to inquisitive and sometimes frustration, many times within the same scene.

20

Beavis And Butt-Head

Mike Judge

Despite being two separate characters, Beavis and Butt-Head come as a package deal and sport equally iconic cartoon voice impressions. The stars of the 1990s MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head were both voiced by series creator Mike Judge, and both were chuckling, cranky teenage metalhead burnouts with low IQs and a penchant for potty humor. Judge recently rebooted the series, and he continues to voice both Beavis and Butt-Head in the reboot cast.

Their cartoon character voices, though, were very different. For Beavis, Judge went higher-pitched from the back of the throat, a little growly and with a bit of a lisp. Truth be told, he didn’t say much at all, mostly chuckling and uttering sentences that rarely ran longer than three words. Butt-Head, on the other hand, was much more verbose. Sure, he also chuckled all the time, but he had more to say, and he said it in a deeper, dopier voice. Both voices, though, are immensely memorable.

19

Winnie The Pooh

Sterling Holloway

Pooh is the epitome of a wholesome cartoon character who wouldn’t hurt the butterfly that landed on his nose, and he also has one of the most memorable cartoon character voices. The character’s voice was supplied by legendary voice actor Sterling Holloway, who was also known as Alice in Wonderland’s Cheshire Cat, the snake Kaa in The Jungle Book, Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Adult Flower in Bambi, and the voice of Purina Puppy Chow commercials.

Holloway provided the gentle, slightly sad voice of the honey-loving bear until 1977, but the two Pooh actors since then, Hal Smith (who originated the character Owl) and Jim Cummings (who also voices the Tasmanian Devil), have been faithful to Holloway’s original tones. Just a year before he died in 1992, Holloway was honored as the first voice actor to be named an official “Disney Legend.”

18

Daria

Tracy Grandstaff

Daria was a spinoff of Beavis and Butt-head, airing on MTV for five seasons from 1997 through 2002. It followed a high-school girl named Daria Morgendorffer who had one thing and one thing only in common with her chuckling classmates: misanthropy. In every other way, she was their opposite, with a fierce intelligence, manifested in a sharp, sarcastic wit. In addition, she boasts one of the most memorably deadpan cartoon character voices.

Tracy Grandstaff, who was also a writer on the show, brought the character to low-key life with a droning, world-weary monotone that underscored how unimpressed she was by the world around her. It perfectly matched her face, which barely moved when she spoke, her perpetually half-lidded eyes occasionally shifting from side to side behind her round glasses as she blurted out caustic one-liners and highly relatable Daria quotes.

17

Optimus Prime

Peter Cullen

Canadian voice actor Peter Cullen was the first voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s Transformers animated series, and, for many viewers, he’s the only voice of Optimus Prime as he gave the Autobot one of the most memorable cartoon character voices. His take on the Autobot leader is not terribly emotive, but it’s definitely authoritative while remaining just gentle and sympathetic enough to make him adored not only by his fellow Autobots, but by Transformers fans, as well.

Apparently, voice actor Peter Cullen got the idea for Optimus Prime’s voice from his own brother. Cullen’s brother, who fought in Vietnam, imbued him with a knowledge of quiet leadership and turned out to be the perfect subject to imitate when voicing Optimus Prime. The distinguished voice actor can also be heard alongside another famous cartoon character: as Winnie the Pooh’s depressed donkey friend Eeyore.

16

The Joker

Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill is not only beloved by fans far and wide as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, but also as the definitive voice of the Joker in various animated series. Creating one of the most memorably cartoon character voices, it all started with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. As recounted by Hamill in an episode of Nerdist Podcast, heading into the audition, he didn’t feel he had a chance since he’s so associated with Skywalker, the ultimate good guy.

Hamill feared that studios wouldn’t take him seriously as Batman’s deranged rival. Thinking he had nothing to lose, he went all-out, and, as it turns out, that’s what landed him the role. Hamill’s take is characterized, appropriately, by equal parts lunacy and silliness, quick low-to-high pitch transitions, and different, maniacal laughs for different occasions. He most recently voiced the Joker in the animated film Batman: The Killing Joke and the Joker in the Arkham video games.

15

Bullwinkle

Bill Scott

Save for those who live in the National Lampoon’s Vacation universe and obsess over Marty Moose, everyone’s favorite cartoon moose is most definitely Bullwinkle J. Moose from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Bill Scott was one of the creators of the show, and he also happened to produce one of the all-time great cartoon character voices in Bullwinkle. In fact, he made a career of it, voicing the moose from his first appearance in 1959 until his death in 1985.

The very sound of it is funny; it’s just plain, wonderfully dopey, and is somewhat nasally with the tiniest hint of a lisp. This is in stark contrast to Rocky, his flying squirrel companion. Interestingly, over the past few years, another famous cartoon voice-over artist has taken over the voice of Bullwinkle, that person being SpongeBob SquarePants talent Tom Kenny.

14

Bender

John DiMaggio

Perhaps the most memorable cranky cartoon robot of all time is Bender Bending Rodríguez from the Fox TV series Futurama. There’s just about nobody he genuinely likes in the world aside from the two people on his “Do Not Kill” list, maybe. Though he was built to bend metal, Bender’s real joys come from human vices, and he manages to sport one of the most easily recognizable cartoon character voices of all time.

Bender’s voice perfectly fits his disgruntled, raunchy personality. Provided by prolific voice actor John DiMaggio, he sounds nothing like a robot. Rather, Bender’s voice resembles a surly native New Yorker with a wheezy laugh. In a 2010 interview with The New York Times, DiMaggio explained how he came up with the voice as he describes Bender as “the drunk at the end of every bar in the Northeast.”

13

Yogi Bear

Daws Butler

The inimitable animation production team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera brought a seemingly endless stream of legendary characters and memorable cartoon character voices into the world, including Fred Flintstone, George Jetson, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo. Yogi Bear was the first to become a household name, debuting in 1958. He was obsessed with stealing the “pic-a-nic baskets” of visitors to his home, Jellystone Park, and fooling the park’s ranger.

Much like the later Hanna-Barbera character Barney Rubble from The Flintstones, Yogi was based on actor Art Carney’s The Honeymooners character, Ed Norton. For the first 30 years, Daws Butler brought his take on Norton’s over-the-top enthusiasm to Yogi’s voice. Since Butler died in 1988, a series of other actors have voiced Yogi, including Dan Aykroyd in the 2010 live-action/computer-animated feature film, but all mimicked that same Norton-inspired voice made famous by Butler.

12

Stewie Griffin

Seth MacFarlane

There are many memorable cartoon voice impressions on the Fox series Family Guy, but none more than the matricidal, evil genius baby Stewie Griffin, who few Family Guy characters can understand. Like Stewie’s dad Peter and best friend Brian, the nefarious infant is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, who made the odd choice to give him an eloquent, arrogant, upper-class British accent. The tragedy is that nobody on the show can hear his hilarious voice other than Brian.

While viewers wonder how this baby living in Rhode Island acquired an RP English accent, MacFarlane admitted he was inspired by British actor Rex Harrison’s performance as Henry Higgins in the 1964 musical My Fair Lady and his comedic transitions from dramatically high tones to dramatically low ones. In an interview conducted at PaleyFest LA in 2010, the series creator claims to have been fascinated by the character and even used the voice to pick up girls in college.

11

Eric Cartman

Trey Parker

Though his voice has changed slightly over time, South Park‘s narcissistic Eric Cartman arguably has one of the most recognizable cartoon character voices. It’s a perpetual puzzle as to why Stan, Kyle, and Kenny want to hang out with Cartman, as the kid has displayed nothing but a penchant for pure evil. The acts of cruelty Eric Cartman has committed over South Park‘s many seasons are nothing short of appalling.

His memorable voice, performed by series co-creator Trey Parker, oozes all this despicableness. It’s high-pitched and whiny with a razor-sharp edge — especially when he’s upset. He also has developed a strange way of pronouncing words like “cool,” “authority,” and “mom” that immediately cues viewers into who is speaking. Cartman’s voice is artificially pitched up slightly during post-production to give it an even more ear-piercing quality.