10 Crazy Cartoon Voice Casting Choices That Actually Worked

Back in the day, there used to be actors who did live action work, and actors who did animated films, and there wasn't a whole lot of crossover between the two. Take Sterling Holloway, for example. He was a voice actor beloved for his work as Winnie the Pooh, as well as his performances in The Aristocats and The Jungle Book. You can hear his voice in your head right now. But do you know what he looked like? Probably not. Casting celebrities in animated films is a fairly recent development in the industry, after they all collectively realized that they could collect a massive paycheck while showing up to the recording studio in pajamas. Usually, when you see big name actors in animated films, they're pretty much playing a caricature of themselves (Chris Rock immediately springs to mind) -- a lot of times, the characters even share a purposefully striking resemblance to their voice actors. But every once in a while, casting takes a chance, and brings in a famous actor that we never would have considered for a particular role. It can be a train wreck when they can't pull it off, but it's amazing when it works.

10. Russell Brand - Despicable Me

Given the English comedian€™s body of work (including roles in decidedly R-Rated films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, as well as his profanity-laden stand-up), he isn€™t exactly the first thought when you€™re looking to fill a supporting role in a children€™s animated film. Maybe you could make the argument for him playing a goofy, young character that closely resembles a G-Rated version of himself in real life, but that€™s about it. Who in their right mind is hiring Russell Brand for a children€™s movie? Well, apparently it can be done. Not only was he featured in Despicable Me, his character was a totally out of left field elderly scientist named Dr Nefario. Talk about typecasting, right? Nefario is €œevil€, but in a benign sort of way €“ he€™s really just interested in creating inventions to help Gru with his schemes, even though a lot of them are highly improbably and far too silly for a proper villain€™s arsenal.