7 Animation Myths, Rumours and Urban Legends Busted, Debunked and Questioned

 Trigger Warnings:

-Suicide
-Phallic Imagery

 

The world is full of urban legends, and honestly, these can be some of the most entertaining rabbit holes to explore. You get legends like "Dial a certain number on your cellphone and it magically charges it for you" to things like "The Cat-wolf-goat witch of Butt-knuckle nowhere who eats your eyes unless you offer her a cup of sassafras tea while singing old English sea shanties", these urban legends can get absolutely wild. Unsurprisingly, the art world is also full of these myths and urban legends, and they are especially prevalent in animation.

What it is about animation and urban legends is hard to guess. It might be because some people misremembered something, misunderstood a scene they watched, or just retold a story they heard the wrong way, sometimes things get misreported, sometimes opinion gets confused as fact, sometimes Fact A combines with Fact B to make Possibility Z, things happen. Regardless, there are a lot of rumours, urban legends and myths about animated shows and movies that just are not true, and some that are. So I figured it would be fun to talk about some of these myths and see if I can find the truth about them. So, with all of that said, here are five animation myths busted, and some others confirmed.

Before we begin I want to give an honourable mention to the Sponge Boy story. The story that the original name for SpongeBob, which was Sponge Boy, was already taken by a mop or cleaning product and so could not be used. I was tempted to include this one on the list, but I learned of it literally two days ago, so I'm gonna leave this link to a video by YouTuber Kid Leaves Stoop about the story.

7. Literally anything regarding creepypasta

Thumbnail Credit: "Cartoon Creepypastas are Dumb" by LS Mark, "Top 10 Worst Nickelodeon Creepypastas" by PhantomStrider, and "Top 10 Worst SPONGEBOB CREEPYPASTAS (Feat. PhantomStrider)" by HoodoHoodlumsRevenge

Okay, this one is kind of cheating, but I have to mention this because I know someone is going to bring up this "Lost SpongeBob Episode for being too dark" or "How everything in this show is actually just a dream or hallucination" or something like that, so let me break this down; the general rule is that, if it's a creepypasta, it's safe to assume it isn't true.

I feel like the big reason people even humour the notion that anything creepypasta related is true is simply the fact that, on some level, we all want it to be. We want there to be a lost Mickey Mouse short film that is satanic and evil, why? Because we want to expose every bad thing The Walt Disney Company ever did, and a short film that causes people to go crazy? That would be a perfect thing to dirty up Disney's squeaky clean image. A lost SpongeBob episode involving suicide? Of course we want that to be real, because it would explain why an episode like One Course Meal or A Pal For Gary exist.

What also gets to me are all the theories that people make about certain shows. Pokémon is actually all Ash's comatose dreams, Ed, Edd n' Eddy takes place in purgatory, the children in South Park are all ghosts, Family Guy is actually a mental delusion by Peter after his kids died in a car accident and his wife committed suicide. I did not make any of these theories up by the way. I think on some level we talk about these theories because, they are some explanations as to why the usual quirks of cartoons are the way they are. Like, why does Ash Ketchum stay 10 for his entire pokémon journey? Well of course it's because he's actually in a coma. Why do the kids in South Park never age despite the world around them changing? Well obviously they are all the ghosts of murdered children. Like, I get the temptation and the need to look deeper into things, but sometimes the curtains are just blue, you know.

I almost don't want to give too much guff about this, I fell into these traps too as a kid, and it's not like this is a new thing. I remember talking about a "Lost SpongeBob Episode" which was supposedly the final episode of the series, an episode where SpongeBob smoked, swore, and killed Mr. Krabs and Squidward. Still though, one does have to apply some common sense and logic to these cases, Disney making a short film that makes people kill themselves? Walt Disney was a lot of things, but a satanic sorcerer who put curses on his short films? I doubt he was that. The South Park kids being ghosts because they never age? I think a floating timeline is a better explanation.

I like to think that Creepypasta is losing its popularity, but recently I got a creepypasta screamer add-on for Garry's Mod, so maybe not. Creepypasta is so early 2010s.

 

6. Class of 3000 was dropped because of a lawsuit

Class of 3000 was not a cartoon I grew up with, I don't really remember watching much TV when it was airing, and it was never on when I was watching TV. Me not watching Cartoon Network because I had Teletoon instead might have also had something to do with it, though it's not like it wouldn't have aired on Teletoon. Anyway, the point I'm making is, the only times I ever heard of this rumour, was when it was being debunked.

Class of 3000 was a Cartoon Network show created by and starring musician André 3000, the premise was about a music teacher who taught about music, from the history to the creation of it and everything in between and beyond, and each episode featured one original song. Then, one day in 2008, the show just disappeared, and no real explanation was given, but there was a possibility. Around the same time, someone allegedly sued Cartoon Network over infringement, because they also pitched an idea about a music teacher who taught about music, from the history to the creation of it, and everything between and beyond, and each episode would feature one original song. This lead to people assuming the show was cancelled because of said lawsuit.

I'm not a lawyer so don't take anything I say as legal advice, but this kind of reminds me of two cartoons from the 1980s. You know why there were two different shows titled "Ghostbusters" in the 1980s? because one was based on the 1980s movie, with the characters and objects from the 1980s movie, titled "The Real Ghostbusters", and the other was based on a 1975 sitcom, and had characters and objects based on things from the 1975 sitcom. So, while someone did in fact sue Cartoon Network, as well as André 3000 and Turner Broadcasting, he lost the suit because Class of 3000 was determined to be different enough to not violate any copyright.

So why was it cancelled? Well, according to a comment designer David Colman made on DeviantArt, the ratings of the show were too low to justify the high cost of making it. It also appears that it was not an easy show to make, especially since André was probably busy with... you know other priorities since he is a musician. So, there you go, it was not due to a lawsuit, it was due to ratings... it's funny how this lesson of "It's usually pulled for ratings" is not a lesson we learn easily.

 

5. Korra was pulled from air for homophobia

Okay, of all the rumours on this list, this is probably the most believable, given the time period it was happening, frankly I can't blame anyone for believing it, honestly I'm not even sure if I fully disbelieve it. However, fair is fair so let's talk about The Legend of Korra, and how it was treated by Nickelodeon.

The Legend of Korra was the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, it featured the new Avatar, Korra, and her own journey of becoming the Avatar. Regardless of what you think about The Legend of Korra, and frankly I'm not the biggest fan of it, but the show was not treated well by Nickelodeon. In the late 2010s, Nickelodeon was pulling shows left and right because, the late 2010s was a transitionary period that nobody was prepared for, people were ditching cable to move towards streaming, and this meant that ratings started to dip for a lot of shows, even popular ones. However, something else was happening around the late 2010s, there was more of a push about queer rights and representation.

Why is that latter bit necessary? Because it was rumoured that the reason Korra was officially pulled from the network and dumped online, was because it was known that Korra and Asami were going to end up in a relationship at the end of the finale. Again, it is easy to understand why one would think this, many companies, especially Disney, have been very... apathetic about queer representation, preferring to make very minor queer characters that can easily be erased for markets that don't allow these characters on screen. The thing is, unless you were super into subtext, the only hint we got that Korra and Asami were going to get together, was right at the very end. To be fair, it is kind of hard to address your feelings in the middle of a giant mech fight, because Korra had a giant Mech fight, what was this show‽

Also, it is worth pointing out that, while Nickelodeon did treat this show horribly, it wasn't the only show of the 2010s that they mistreated, Harvey Beaks is also very much in this group chat, also according to Bryan Konietzko, the show did way better online and in streaming than on TV, so with all of that, I am going to go on a limb and say that it wasn't because of some light evidence of a same-sex relationship. You don't have to believe the official statement, but the official statement is made.

 

4. The Road Runner Rules

This one is... questionable, in that we have information to verify one part of this rumour, but not enough to fully confirm nor debunk this, so bear with me because this one may be true, may be false, or may just be true but misrepresented, or false but based on some truth, lots of rumours and urban legends fall under one of those four categories.

The Road Runner and Coyote are a famous Looney Tunes duo who debuted in 1949 in the short film Fast and Furry-ous, and have starred in a total of 41 cartoons from 1949 to 1966, with an additional nine cartoons from 1979 until 2014, and they have been mainstays in the Looney Tunes ensemble since their debut. These shorts were created by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese, both of whom are animation legends. Famously, Chuck Jones had a list of nine rules that he laid out in his book Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist, these rules pertained to the Road Runner cartoons, and all the writers behind these cartoons had to stick to them.

Now, here is where this gets fuzzy, because Chuck may have had these rules, however it is also possible that these were just rules that he stuck to when he wrote these shorts, or rules he wrote down for other future creators to follow when making Road Runner cartoons, because Michael Maltese never actually heard about these rules. It also doesn't help that another writer, Jason Kottke, had a different list with eleven rules, so what does this mean? It means either, Chuck Jones ever actually wrote down these rules and only did so later in life, or these rules never actually existed in the first place, because some of these rules are just strange.

Rule 5 states that "The Road Runner Must stay on the Road - Otherwise, logically, he would not be called a road runner". There are many instances of the Road Runner running on not road things, including cliffs, fake roads and even the air. Rule 2 states that "No outside force can harm the Coyote - only his own ineptitude of the failure of acme products." There are moments where the Road Runner does actually cause harm to the Coyote, not directly of course, he usually just beeps at him and makes him jump off a cliff or into some rocks. Also, there are a couple times the Coyote gets hit by a vehicle or directly run over by the Road Runner, which also breaks Rule 1, which states that "The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going 'Beep-Beep!'". One of the extra rules from Kottke states that "The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote." which, I feel just kind of misses the point of the whole concept of the shorts, and directly contradicts Rule 3, which states that "The Coyote could stop anytime - if he were not a fanatic."

It might be fun to go through each cartoon and see how many times the rules are broken, but for now, I think with the fact that Michael Maltese never heard of these rules, there is contradicting evidence about how many rules there are, and the fact that some of these rules are very much not followed, or at least were not initially followed, I think it's safe to say that this is not one-hundred percent the truth.

 

3. Little Mermaid, Big Phallus

Alright, almost everything else on this list has been, and will be heavily involved, so let's do something that's relatively simpler. It was common rumour at the time, and still today that there is a phallus drawn on the cover of the VHS release of Disney's The Little Mermaid, and some even make the claim the it was a deliberate move by a disgruntled artist who was being laid off from Disney.

According to Snopes, this is not true. It is true that there is a tower in the background of the image that looks like a male phallus, actually there are a couple but one in particular that looks really phallic. The truth is that it was completely accidental, according to Snopes, the artist rushed to get the video release cover finished and did not even notice the resemblance until he heard people talk about the controversy. It also is not true that this was just for the VHS release, it's also on the theatrical posters.

Really, I could have gone with any weird Disney renaissance sex rumour, like the word "sex" appearing in dust and pollen in The Lion King, which was actually meant to be a nod to the Sound Effects crew of the movie by spelling "SFX", and I remember one person online claiming that Aladdin was telling people to take of their clothes, when he was whispering for a tiger to "Take off and go", it is easy to see these things, especially when we are looking for them, but it does not change the fact that none of it is true.

There is also a claim that Disney has a whole bunch of pornographic drawings of their characters that were drawn by Disney staff, whether or not this is real is debatable, I can see arguments being made on both sides, of course the rumoured Mickey and Minnie sex tape can also be thrown into this section, but the main point of this bit was the untrue stuff about Sex and the Disney Renaissance movies, so there you go.

 

2. Hey Arnold had a Suicide in it

Alright, back to the heavy stuff,  on November 20, 1996, the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold! aired episode 14b, "Pigeon Man". The episode is about Arnold meeting the mysterious recluse known as Pigeon Man, in hopes he will take care of one of Arnold's sick pigeons. In the end, Arnold befriends Pigeon Man, but Arnold's friends trash his place, causing Pigeon Man to fly away towards the setting sun.

The rumour is that the original ending of the episode was that Pigeon man jumped off the side of the building and died, and that Nickelodeon had to step in and reject this ending outright, this leads to a similar theory that the ending is an allegory for suicide with the image of Pigeon Man flying towards the sun being Arnold blocking out the image of Pigeon Man jumping to his death.

Craig Bartlett has admitted that he hates this theory and he specifically put Pigeon Man in The Jungle Movie to put the rumours to rest. Pigeon Man was never meant to commit suicide, and he was never meant to be considered an allegory for suicide. I think this one was though about because, Hey Arnold! is one of the darker Nicktoons, not as dark as Invader Zim, but it was definitely darker than something like Rocko's Modern Life or KaBlam! was. It did seem plausible that the writers would try to get something like a suicide allegory into the show. Funny enough, in 1999 the episode "Dino Checks Out" aired, which was about the character Dino Spumoni faking his own death, and in 2003, the episode "Ghost Bride" aired, where Gerald tells the story of a ghost bride who was left at the altar and her fiance married her sister instead, so she murdered them both and jumped out the window to her death.

I think because of these later episodes, and the general tone of the show, it made sense for a lot of people that "Pigeon Man" would have such a dark ending, but the reality is that it was never the case, Pigeon Man was always going to fly off into the sunset, and he was always going to be alive at the end of the episode.

 

1. The Who and What Bears?

Let's finish this by discussing probably the most well known myth about... well okay this isn't about animation but it is animation adjacent, so I might as well talk about it. So, here's a question, were the books "Berenstain" or "Berenstein" for you growing up? That's a fun question because it has lead people to what is known as "The Mandela Effect", which is a term given to false memories, and has devolved into a conspiracy about parallel universes, named after Nelson Mandela, who people believed had died in prison in the 1980s, even though in 1993 he was one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.

So a lot of people swear that the spelling of the name of both the bears and the authors of the books was spelled "Berenstein", however all the books are spelled "Berenstain", so what gives? Well, Mike Berenstain, current author of the books and the son of Stan and Jan Berenstain, has stated that this confusion actually predates the books, as one of Stan's teachers in elementary school said that "Berenstain" was not a real name and changed it to "Berenstein", but the name "Berenstain" is on the birth-certificates of Mike's grandparents, and other documents.

It might be due to the fact that the family was Jewish, so a "Stein" suffix to their surname would be expected, but the family was also Ukrainian, so the pronunciation of their names would have been different, so if they immigrated to the United States, whoever was documenting their arrival might have tried to spell their name phonetically, though Mike also says that spelling it as such was what the family did.

Of course, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Berenstein surname was also used to sign the books a couple of times. Shakespeare had several ways to spell his surname, which leads to the theory that he either did not exist and was the sixteenth century equivalent of Alan Smithee, or that Shakespeare was not actually the writer of any of his work. The difference of course being that the Berenstains died in the twenty-first century, and have a lot more records about them written down.

 

So there we are, seven famous rumours, myths and urban legends about animation completely busted, or partially busted. I think ultimately there is an importance to doing stuff like this, Todd in the Shadows did a similar video about James Somerton and a bunch of mistruths and lies he spread in his videos, and the thesis of that was that the truth matters, and in some regards that is also the thesis of this blog. Really though, this is not spreading misinformation about medicine or even making weird claims about Nazis and fitness culture, at best this is silly nonsense kids talked about at school, and at worst it is accusing companies of things, neither of which are really crimes or even really wrong.

But still, eventually you are going to have to learn the truth behind these rumours. I don't really want to think about people who hold on to the idea that Hey Arnold! was going to have Arnold witness a suicide. Like, why do you still want to believe that? Do you really want to believe that the spelling of a surname is the proof that there are multiple universes that we jump between at random? What do you get from that, outside of people looking at you like you have a second head? I think the reality is that when you just accept something as a fact without looking into it, it only proves you're more gullible than you think.

Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure (2006) - A Wonderful and Respectable Adventure For Young Kids

 

Hey, It's Franklin! Yeah, I wanted to do something else that was relatively easy to review because, movie review last week, but I'm getting back on schedule, as a bonus for me it's another movie based on a property for preschoolers. I remember watching Franklin growing up, if I remember correctly I even had a Build-a-Bear turtle that I named Franklin, I think I preferred Franklin over Little Bear as a kid, but I don't actually remember too much about it now, I remember some episodes, but I think Little Bear just kind of stayed with me longer. To be fair though, Franklin had the better theme song, sung by Canadian icon, Bruce Cockburn (pronounced KOH-burn). Anyway, I wanted something familiar to review this week, so I chose Franklin, and as another bonus, this movie is available on YouTube via the officialfranklin YouTube channel and the Treehouse Direct YouTube channel.

Franklin finds his Aunt Lucy has returned to Woodland, and brought her Goddaughter, Sam along. Wanting a real adventure before the summer ends, Franklin and Sam are given an old map drawn by Franklin's Grandmother that lead to a small time capsule she buried when she was a kid. Seeing the old map causes her to remember a tragic event in her childhood. When she later falls ill, Franklin, Sam, Aunt Lucy and his friends Beaver, Bear and Snail, travel to Turtle Lake to find the time capsule, and the talisman that was inside of it. I really have to respect this movie a lot, beyond the fact that the plot is well structured with few diversions from the main plot, and even then they keep in the spirit of the theme so they aren't that big. The fact that the story does go to such a dark place, it does not hide the fact that Franklin's Great Grandparents didn't make it out of the fire. I admired The Little Bear Movie because it did not shy away from the dangers the characters could face on their journey, and similar can be said about this movie.

I feel like I should talk about things like this because, animation has a reputation amongst certain audiences as solely being for kids, unless it specifically goes out of its way to be raunchy and violent, and that does lead to a certain kind of image. I've ranted about this in the past, movies like Mummies, UglyDolls, Robinson Crusoe, Open Season, movies that are just uninterested in being anything other safe entertainment for children, stuff that doesn't stick with them as they grow up. Now, I'm not saying we should be letting children watch Felidae or anything, but there are plenty of kids movies that take risks, that go into darker places, and it always irritates me when a movie like Open Season or UglyDolls is made, because here is a movie for the same, arguably a younger demographic, and it takes more risks, it makes children experience harsher emotions, possibly more confusing ones. If Franklin the Turtle can take more risks and go darker places than your kids movie, you better hope that movie has some other strength to it, because that is frankly embarrassing.

The characters are charming, Franklin, Bear, Sam, they feel like genuine kids, and they have problems like kids too. Bear has a moment where he feels Franklin is putting someone else over their friendship, and it comes from an understandable place. I also like all the odd characters they meet, they all have their charm and even some kind of magic to them. If you are familiar with the old cartoon, I don't believe there is much difference between the characterizations. Also, Snail is just really adorable. What I can also praise this movie for is the animation. I'll be honest, I do like it when an animation style is polished for a movie, and the movie just has a warm and visually pleasing look to it. The only downside is that both official YouTube uploads are locked at low quality rates, with the Treehouse Direct upload only being 480p. So I would recommend finding this movie on DVD if possible, but if you don't mind 480p YouTube quality, the movie still looks good, just not as good as it could look.

I really was surprised by Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure when I first watched it, I love watching movies like this because they really do shoot the whole idea that these movies have nothing good for anyone after a certain age in the foot. Sure, kids will absolutely love the adventure and the pretty visuals, but I feel grown ups will have an appreciation for the story, the character moments, the theme, and the artistry. It really is one of those movies that I believe children that grow up watching will have an appreciation for animation afterwards. Put it up there with The Little Bear Movie and Blue's Big Musical Movie as something perfect to show really young kids. I would probably put this under Blue's Clues, but above Little Bear. All in all, Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure is a wonderful movie for kids, and I absolutely recommend it for kids and parents.

Top 10 Single Role Wonder Voice Actors

So, I'm away from my computer for the time being, I can't really watch anything or write anything, so I've decided to touch up and old post I never published. I came up with this idea in late 2022, I didn't publish it for a couple reasons, but because I can't really write anything new, I decided to finally push this one out. I should be able to write new stuff next week.

In music, the term One Hit Wonder refers to, multiple things under the same umbrella, but mostly a band or artist who is only known for one song. That song could have been a major hit, it could have been a minor hit, it could have been one of many hits, but it is all completely overshadowed compared to one song. Think of songs like "Take on Me" or Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal". The term has become a catch-all for most things in the entertainment world, directors, video game developers, and actors. I kinda wanted to do something similar, especially because voice actors can be linked to one role forever.

It tends not to be something you really think about, but then you remember, if someone brought up Clancy Brown, your immediate thought would most likely be Mr. Krabs on SpongeBob, unless your a fan of The Shawshank Redemption. There are many voice actors like Frank Welker, Tara Strong and Tim Curry who can really deliver unique voices and can disappear into their roles, and there are some voice actors like Patrick Warburton and Tom Kenny who are often recognizable, but have enough roles under their belt that you can recognize them beyond Family Guy or SpongeBob SquarePants. Some voice actors, aren't always that lucky.

I think my major rule for this list is that, while these actors can have other roles, they are mostly known for one role. Like, if I were to say "Tom Kenny", you could easily name SpongeBob, Spyro, Ice King and a bunch of other roles. If I were to say any of these voice actors, you would only really recognize them for their best known role. We are going to play a little fast and loose with the definition here, but in general all the rules will be adhered to. So, here are ten Single Role Wonders in Voice Acting.

#10. Jim Hanks as Sheriff Woody

A big part of being a one-hit wonder, or a single role wonder in this case, is having one major thing and not having anything else that massive, in music this often leads to chasing the success of the big hit, but you can't really do that in acting... unless you're major gig is literally providing the voice for your brother. When you're the brother of one of the most beloved and successful actors with a very recognizable voice, it must feel weird to be called in as his sound alike, right? Major props to Jim Hanks for stepping in, and whenever someone needs a Tom Hanks voice, he is always up there, though he is usually stepping in to do the voice for Sheriff Woody. Though he has stepped in for Tom on other occasions, like when The Polar Express got a video game, and he has quite a few live action credits to his name, in voice acting it's Woody, Woody, Woody, and apparently an episode of Milo Murphy's Law. Credit due, he never seems upset about it, like he can do a good impression of his brother and has made a good career out of it, but this is definitely one of those cases where I can sum up most of his career with one role.

#9. Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck

Something you should really consider when you talk about Single Role Wonders in acting, is their performances in other mediums. Some people might consider Mark Hamill a Single Role Wonder since his biggest role is Luke Skywalker, but when you consider his voice acting career, voicing the likes of The Joker, Fire lord Ozai, Skips on Regular Show and quite a few voices on Metalocalypse, you can't really consider him as such since none of those are minor roles. So, one could almost not consider Alan Young for this list either, since some people might now him as Farmer Wilbur on Mister Ed, but for most of you, you'll probably only know him as the voice of Scrooge McDuck. It really does do a massive disservice to the man's nearly eight decade long career, but that is another thing about one hit wonders, the big thing everyone knows you for can change, and though there are plenty of roles under Alan Young's belt, the one everyone will know him for is the money loving miser, old Uncle Scrooge.

#8. David Eccles as Krumm

Here is an odd one, David Eccles is a fairly obscure name in media, though according to his IMDb, he did a lot of sound editing for cartoons, and Metal Gear Solid, and did some composing work. As a voice actor, he has not done a lot, and even then he only appears in a couple episodes of what he is actually in, save for one show. You may not be able to tell what episodes of The Wild Thornberrys or Rugrats he's in, but when I tell you he is the voice of Krumm on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, that's when you recognize his voice. I don't know why he didn't go into more voice acting, maybe he didn't like it as much as sound editing, maybe he didn't want to be type casted, then again he has largely disappeared from film entirely, according to his IMDb, his last job was in 2008 for a short film called "Kidnapping Terry". Whatever he's up to, I hope he's enjoying it.

#7. Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle

There has got to be something said for voice actors who pretty much voice an entire cast of characters on one show. Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer have multiple well-loved voices on The Simpsons, but you can find them in other places. Thom Huge has never left Garfield, and despite voicing everyone from Binky the Clown to Roy Rooster on U.S. Acres, the one character who he is completely tied to will forever be the dorky loser owner of Garfield, Jon Arbuckle. It's always sad when a really good voice actor doesn't get to stretch out into other roles, but in this case it may be sadder. Thom left voice acting after Lorenzo Music died in 2001, and frankly, Lorenzo and Thom were like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, you can't top them and they're an iconic pair. Whatever Thom is doing now, I'm sure he has no regrets about being part of one of the biggest pop culture franchises in the world.

#6. Colin O'Meara as Tintin

Lots of recognizable names on this list, so lets go with one more who is less recognizable, at least this name may not be so recognizable if you aren't a reader of my blog, because this is a name I've brought up before. For many of us in the English speaking world, Colin O'Meara was our Tintin, and his decidedly not at all Belgian voice was the voice of Tintin for many I would imagine. It's amusing because the show had quite a Canadian cast, but some of the actors on this show would be recognizable to most, like Wayne Robson who played Mike Hamar on The Red Green Show, or Maureen Forrester who was an Opera Singer. Colin O'Meara would probably not be too recognized beyond his role as Tintin, unless you're a massive fan of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. His Wikipedia page, which is literally half a paragraph long, also claims he was in Sailor Moon, but citation is needed on that one.

#5. Dan Povenmire as Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

You can't really consider voice actors for this list who debuted in shows from the 2000s, mostly because they still have plenty of time to really find more roles and get some more notoriety. It does however, kind of stop mattering when your big role is one of the most beloved villains in cartoon history, and when you revel in that iconic role you are kind of admitting that you're okay with being known for one single role. However, to be absolutely fair to Dan Povenmire, voice acting really isn't his major gig, as he was an animation director on both Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants, and he wrote The Campfire Song Song. When you look at Dan Povenmire's credits, it's very clear that voicing Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz is just kind of a bonus to his already outstanding career as an animator, director, writer and producer. Keep on keeping on, good sir.

#4. Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn

...Well this just got sad... I came up with this idea early in November of 2022, and I sat on it for a while after it was written because... well you'll see why, but in that time Arleen Sorkin also passed away. I want to make it clear, calling these actors "Single Role wonders" is not meant to be an insult, if anything it's kind of a celebration of how iconic their most well-known roles really are.

I can't really imagine having one major role would be that upsetting to voice actors. I don't think Tom Kenny is losing sleep over voicing Nickelodeon's most iconic character. I can imagine voicing the same character could get repetitive, but when you are also the inspiration to one of the most beloved Batman characters since the comics, I can't really imagine you'd be that mad. Arleen Sorkin was a big inspiration behind Batman villain Dr. Harleen Quinzel, otherwise known as Harley Quinn, and to suggest that the character isn't a pop culture icon would be untrue. People have argued about her portrayals as if she has always been a part of Batman, and for a lot of people, she was. Voicing the character as recently as 2011, it can only be fair to say that Arleen Sorkin gave the character a lot of the personality and mannerisms we associate with our favourite clown woman. Voicing a character that becomes bigger than anyone could really imagine is not something one should sneer at.

#3. Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers

Casey Kasem is easily one of the most recognizable names in radio, but when it comes to animation, some radio personalities have managed to be recognized as voice actors, such as June Foray who has many voice acting credits under her belt. However, there is one major role that Casey Kasem has under his belt, a role that everyone adores to this day, one Norville Rogers, otherwise known as Shaggy. Voicing the character since 1969 and up to 2010, Casey Kasem has been the voice of Shaggy Rogers for so long, even singing for a BBC Children in Need Medley by Peter Kay. It's hard to imagine anyone else taking over the role, though Scott Innes and Matthew Lillard have also become quite synonymous with the character. Casey Kasem also did Cliffjumper on the original Transformers series, but left during the third season, so he's got other roles, but to many he is, and always will be, Shaggy Rogers.

#2. Peter Sallis as Wallace

British television has an odd place in American Pop Culture. Considering that very little dubbing needs to take place to import these shows, it could be argued that England has had a big impact on American television. Lots of Americans will know names like Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, David Tennant, and oddly enough Peter Sallis. It really shouldn't be so surprising to think that the voice of our favourite cheese loving hair-brained inventor Wallace is one of the most iconic voices in animation, after all he's voiced the character in four shorts, a full short series, a theatrical movie, and a couple of video games. Any other role he's done, again, gets a little overshadowed by the fact that you can sum up his career as "he was the original voice of Wallace from Wallace & Gromit". It also doesn't hurt that Gromit himself has no voice, which gives Peter Sallis a large part of the spotlight in the shorts. Quite the cracking role, eh lads?

#1. Kevin Conroy as Batman

Oh... I'm going to get in some hot water for this one. Remember how I said I originally came up with this concept in early November of 2022, well one of the reasons I shelved it was because Kevin Conroy had passed away, and I didn't want to imply that his entire career revolved around a singular character. However, we need to be real here, he was the voice of The Batman in animation for so long because he was one of the best Batman actors. For many of us, the answer of who is the best live action Batman is tricky to answer since there have been some great ones, but there is only one answer for who the best animated Batman is, and that is Kevin Conroy. His effortless switching between the caped crusader and Bruce Wayne made him blend into the role so perfectly, that there really is no argument, for many animation fans, Kevin Conroy is Batman, and that is the role he will forever be remembered for.

Well that was... sad. Honourable Mentions!

1. Mel Blanc - I wanted to include him because he is mostly known for his role in the Looney Tunes cartoons, but he was also the voice of Barney Rubble on The Flintstones.

2. Carlo Bonomi - A voice actor you probably don't recognize, mostly because the character he voiced didn't really speak, more or less. However, the mumblings and Noots of Pingu will always be in our hearts.

3. Yeardley Smith - You don't really get to be a main cast member on The Simpsons and not have that role dominate your career, especially if that role is Lisa Simpson.

4. Alex Borstein - You may recognize her as the voice of Lois Griffin on Family Guy, but people seem to like her in The Bad Guys too, maybe it's a bit early to call this one.

5. Bill Farmer - Voicing a Disney character as iconic as Goofy might over-shadow other roles, but in this house, we respect Hop Pop.

6. Peter Cullen - He was on this list until the last minute, while Optimus Prime will forever be his most well-known role, he has some other roles that some may know him for, like Eeyore or Monterey Jack.

7. Dan Castellaneta - If Peter Cullen can qualify for this list, Homer Simpson can too, though some respect for Grandpa Phil too. 

The Little Bear Movie (2001) - A Perfect Movie for Young Kids

I think I was part of the last generation to have really good programming for very little kids. I mean, yeah we had Caillou, but there was also Blue's Clues, Arthur, Franklin, and of course Little Bear. While I grew up with Little Bear, it didn't really stay with me like Blue's Clues did, but then again I had Blue's Clues VHS Tapes around me for a long time, so I always had something Blue's Clues sticking around. However, a friend of mine, who also suggested another movie for this blog which I'll get to later, recommended we watch an episode of Little Bear, I went with it. It was related to what we were doing at the time, and when my friend recently suggested we watch The Little Bear Movie, I figured, why not? Even if it is not good, it will be cute, something charming to enjoy. So, we watched it on YouTube and, if I'm being one hundred percent honest, I kind of love this movie.

While on a camping trip with Father Bear, Little Bear meets a wild bear named Cub, and the two become quick friends. After learning that Cub lost his parents, Little Bear and his friends, Duck, Hen, Owl, and Cat, set out to find Cub's parents in the wilderness, encountering friends, as well as lots of troubles along the way. What I really love about this is that it doesn't shy away from any of the dangers in the wilderness. There are chances for rock slides, harsh rivers and rapids, there are even predators. We meet a Mountain Lion early on in the movie and he shows up again at the end. The great thing is though, they don't shove the Mountain Lion in the story that much, he appears like three times in the movie. They could have thrown him in and have him stalking the main cast, but no, they just keep it to the two major appearances and one minor one, and I am really happy they made that choice because nature is enough, getting separated from your group is enough, being lost is enough. Don't get me wrong, I love a good villain, but sometimes you don't need a Maleficent, a Magica De Spell or even a Lady Tremaine, sometimes the best obstacles are the ones found in the environment.

On top of that the characters are very likable. Little Bear is naïve, but optimistic. A nice contrast to Cub, who is a bit more cynical due to his circumstances. Depending on who you are you may find Duck to be a bit annoying, but to be fair I do see a little of myself in Duck, so I found her to be somewhat charming, though they maybe do have her on screen more than one would probably like. The rest of the cast aren't really in this for much, but you still get the kind of characters they are, even if you're not familiar with the original show, you get Owl's personality, Cat's personality, you do get to know most of these characters. It's kind of a shame that Emily didn't even get a cameo appearance in this movie because she is a major character in the show, but then again I don't really know where you would put her in this story. Then we have the Mountain Lion, known as Trouble. Again, he does not appear that much, but when he does it's actually kind of intimidating. I wouldn't say he's one of the scariest kids movie antagonists, but the way he speaks and his presence would probably unease some kids.

I really do want to state that this movie is meant for little kids, like preschool age, but even then this movie is actually very respectful of its audience. There is a lot of quiet moments, moments of the group just having fun, even a lot of more emotionally taxing moments. They do have some songs, but they aren't pop songs made to sell a soundtrack, they are songs that actually fit the mood and tone of Little Bear, and I think they're beautiful. Some people might not be into the pacing, it is a bit of a slow movie, but I just kind of respect that a bit more because, well this is a movie for little kids, and I like that it's not cutting away every shot to make the pacing more exciting, it is very respectful of the audience. We don't really see this in kids films anymore, they all seem to need high energy and lots of pop songs, and maybe one or two more emotional moments. I mean, there are still some recent kids movies I did enjoy, The Bad Guys and Angry Birds 2 are very high energy but I thought were still really fun, but you do kind of notice to formula. I feel like it really needs to be said, you don't need energy to be engaging, you need to be engaging to be engaging, and I found this movie to be engaging.

Is this movie perfect? No. Will you get a lot out of it as an older kid, or even an adult? Well I don't want to say no, but probably not. Again, this movie is for little kids, and if you have little kids, I would highly recommend this movie. You can find it on YouTube on the Little Bear - Official channel. Would I recommend this movie to anyone outside of that demographic though? Well, that is a tough call. I have said I recommended the Blue's Clues Movie despite the fact that it was also meant for little kids, and looking back I probably should have just kept it at a Slight Recommendation. That being said, I think this movie is too good to keep it at a Slight Recommendation. Rating movies that are really good, but also obviously not for a general audience (outside of the MPAA rating) can be tricky because giving it a Slight Recommendation puts it in the same general area of movies I don't really like, but giving it anything higher will probably give the wrong impression, as some movies are obviously made for specific audiences or have content that some audiences might not get into. It's tricky because I don't want someone to pass a movie off because my rating says "Ehh, I only slightly recommend it", which is why I'm really regretting giving that rating to Felidae, but at the same time, yeah this is a movie for little kids and if you're not a little kid or don't have little kids you're probably not going to get a lot out of it. However, this movie is very respectful to its audience, really well made and I think it's perfect for little kids. So, you know what, if you do have little kids, put this movie on. If not, well, maybe give it a look anyway. You might actually find it alright.