10 Times Recasting Iconic Characters Actually Worked

4. Slinky

The Original: Jim Varney The Recast: Blake Clark We know what you're thinking; was Slinky even recast? Well that's the pure beauty of what Pixar did with the character in Toy Story 3. Replacing a voice actor is a lot trickier than it sounds; although it'd be easy to dismiss their performances as just a funny voice, it's a very distinct and purposeful funny voice. When Robin Williams refused to return to play the Genie in The Return of Jafar, Disney got in Dan Castellaneta. A brilliant voice actor who found acclaim with his work on The Simpsons, Castellaneta just couldn't quite do the blue lamp-dweller justice. Jim Varney, who voiced the dog toy with an incredibly durable slinky, died shortly after the release of Toy Story 2, which posed a problem for the late-in-the-day third film. Slinky was too large a character to simply write out (Bo Peep wasn't as lucky), so Lee Unkrich and co. set about recasting. They settled on comedian Blake Clark who not only delivered a pitch-perfect voice for the character, but had actually been a good friend of Varney, making the whole recast rather respectful.