These Are The Famous Faces Behind Some Of Your Favorite Animated Characters.

Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario

No one would judge you for assuming that Professor Nefario was voiced by an old man but you would be very wrong. The lovable scientist was actually brought to life by Russell Brand. He had to do something in between marrying and divorcing Katy Perry.

Rowan Atkinson as Zazu

Mr. Bean voiced the ever annoying bird Zazu. You can close your mouth now that the shock has worn off. The 1994 animated classic had a star-studded cast as you will see later on in the article.

Tim Curry as Nigel Thornberry

Legendary actor Tim Curry has played more roles in his career than most of his peers combined. From the strange Dr. Frankenfurter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Pennywise the Clown in IT, the actor has always managed to stay busy. That includes playing the role of Nigel Thornberry in the 90s favorite, The Wild Thornberrys.

Brad Bird as Edna Mode

Oh, you thought Edna Mode was voiced by a female? Don't feel bad, so did everyone else. Even the casting director was searching for a woman until the film's director Brad Bird was heard reading her lines in her now iconic voice.

John Cleese as Jean-Bob

Jean-Bob was probably the oddest character in The Swan Princess. That makes sense when you realize that British legend, John Cleese, voiced him. Cleese is known for his off the wall antics which fit the character perfectly.

Robin Williams as The Genie

Personally, Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie ever and that's in no small part due to the amazing job Williams did with bringing the character to life. He was a comedic genius that could take over any scene even if he only had a couple of lines. It was this ability that allowed him to make Genie such a beloved and long-lasting character.

Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots

The master of suave, Antonio Banderas is probably the only man alive who could take the character of Puss in Boots and make him into a fierce fountain of machismo. It doesn't hurt that Banderas had basically played the same character before with his rendition of Zorro.

Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion, David Schwimmer as Melman the Giraffe and Chris Rock as Marty the Zebra

Madagascar was one of those guilty pleasure films that adults really hated to admit how much they actually enjoyed. Sure that feeling faded as the sequels mounted but the original film, led by its star-studded cast was amazing. Jada Pinkett-Smith also loaned her voice to the film by playing Gloria the Hippo.

Will Smith as Oscar and Angelina Jolie as Lola

Sure the movie wasn't that great, but Will Smith and Angelina Jolie did everything they could to make the characters as enjoyable as possible. The animators did a great job making their fishy characters resemble the actors as well.

Mike Myers as Shrek and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona

Sometimes you are lucky enough to catch lightning in a bottle. When this happens in Hollywood, they tend to drain that lightning until it doesn't have any charge left. That brings me to Shrek. The first two films were amazing thanks to the performances of Myers and Diaz along with Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow among others. Sadly they pushed out too many sequels and turned the series into a giant eye roll. But man those first few films were really great.

Mark Hamill as The Joker

That's right, Luke Skywalker IS the Joker. I say that he IS the Joker because no other actor who has portrayed the character comes close to the impact Hamill had on an entire generation with his rendition of the character. Hamill voiced the character on Batman: The Animated Series, Mask of the Phantasm, New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Birds of Prey, Justice League, Robot Chicken, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Knight, and Batman: The Killing Joke.

He actually wasn't the first choice for the role. Tim Curry had already done voiceover work for the character before having to leave the role. Hamill had to match Curry's pre-established animated mouth movements once he took over the role.

Ellen DeGeneres as Dory

Ellen DeGeneres is the reason why we all fell for the lovable forgetful fish in 2003 while watching Finding Nemo. She brought a sense of relatability to the role that she reprised in Finding Dory.

Tom Hanks as Woody

Tom Hanks brought Woody to life in the classic Toy Story film series. Only a year removed from his legendary role as Forrest Gump, Hanks would further cement his legacy as a great actor by humanizing the lovable cowboy doll in the Pixar classic.

Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear

You can't mention Woody without bringing up Buzz Lightyear. 1995 was a big year for Tim Allen as he became Santa Claus and Buzz Lightyear, two characters that children still love to this day. Not bad for a follow up to Tool Time.

Danny DeVito as Phil

DeVito has been in so many beloved films that it's hard to pick one as a favorite. One of his best roles has to be Phil from Hercules. I couldn't picture anyone else in the role. It feels like they even drew the character to match him. He was just too perfect.

Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi

You know what's scarier than Shenzi the evil hyena? Whoopi Goldberg, the eyebrowless star that brought the character to life. Of course, we are joking. Goldberg isn't really terrifying. She's actually pretty funny.

Matthew Broderick as Adult Simba

Broderick is probably known best for his role as Ferris Bueller but you may not know that he also voiced Simba as an adult in The Lion King. Of course, Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced young Simba, but Broderick is the one who gave the character his noble strength that people would come to love for years after the film's release. The Lion King just had an overall amazing cast.