Image via Complex Original
For us who grew up during the ‘90s, it’s an indisputable fact: The decade boasted the best cartoons of all time—end of story. We all remember rushing home from school to watch, or waking up early on Saturday mornings just for the TV.
But it wasn’t just the situations these cartoon characters faced that made us identify with them. Their voices grounded them, made them real. And yet, while we can instantly recognize their famous voices, we haven’t seen the faces of the gifted voice actors—until now.
Time to answer the question: Who Are They? The Voices Behind Your Favorite '90s Cartoons.
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Carlos Alazraqui
Characters Voiced: Rocko in Rocko's Modern Life
Carlos Alazraqui may have been confined to Reno as local Deputy James Garcia on Reno 911, but his accents sound international. Not only did he give Rocko his Australian accent, the 50-year-old Argentine actor also voiced the Taco Bell Chihuahua's famous catchphrase, "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!"
Jeff Bennett
Characters Voiced: Johnny Bravo in Johnny Bravo
It's no coincidence that the King of Rock and Roll and the King of Cartoon Network speak similarly—Jeff Bennett was selected to voice Johnny Bravo because of his suave Elvis Presley impression.
Nick Bakay
Characters Voiced: Norbert in The Angry Beavers; Salem in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
In the '90s, Norbert wasn't the only suave animal with Nick Bakay's voice. He was also the voice of Salem, the talking pet cat on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
Tom Kenny
Characters Voiced: SpongeBob SquarePants in SpongeBob SquarePants; Dog in CatDog; and Heffer in Rocko's Modern Life
During his pre-Spongebob days in 1996, Tom Kenny appeared in The Smashing Pumpkins video for their hit single "Tonight, Tonight" alongside his wife Jill.
Howie Mandel
Characters Voiced: Bobby in Bobby's World
The voice of 4-year-old Bobby started when the current America's Got Talent judge was 11 and at a birthday party choking on a piece of cake. After it made everyone in the room look and laugh at him, he perfected the voice (without cake stuck in his throat).
Townsend Coleman
Characters Voiced: Michelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; The Tick in The Tick
For Michelangelo's laid-back surfer tone (Cowabunga!), Townsend Coleman sought inspiration from Fast Times at Ridgemont High's Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who was also down to eat pizza anytime.
Richard Steven Horvitz
Characters Voiced: Daggett in The Angry Beavers; Zim in Invader Zim; Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Invader Zim wasn't Richard Steven Horvitz's first time playing a character from another planet—he was also the voice of Alpha 5 in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
Tara Strong
Characters Voiced: Dil Pickles in Rugrats; Timmy Turner in The Fairly Odd Parents
Before making a career out of her child voices for Timmy Turner and Dil Pickles, Tara Strong was a kid herself, entering stores with her mom and doing different silly voices, including a faux English accent.
Phillip Van Dyke
Characters Voiced: Arnold in Hey Arnold! (Seasons 2 and 3)
When he wasn't providing the voice for Arnold, Phillip Van Dyke delved into live acting with his role in the Disney Channel TV movie Halloweentown (1998). As Luke the goblin, the only similarity he shared with Arnold was really big hair.
Kevin Conroy
Characters Voiced: Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series
While Batman has become his signature character, the Dark Knight wasn't Kevin Conroy's first association with a superhero. Upon getting a full scholarship to Juilliard, he was about to be roomies with Superman-to-be Christopher Reeve, but ended up living with Robin Williams instead. For more than twenty years, he's been the definitive voice for Batman and Bruce Wayne in direct-to-video films and video games, too.
Christopher Daniel Barnes
Characters Voiced: Peter Parker in Spider-Man: The Animated Series; Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid
As the voice of Spider-Man, Christopher Daniel Barnes didn't just sound like the all-American teenager. In the middle of voicing Peter Parker on the '90s cartoon, he also starred as Greg Brady in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie.
David Eccles
Characters Voiced:: Krumm in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
As a teenager, David Eccles was making very different sounds than the grunting and burping he did for Krumm. He played in several bands. Still, he wound up burpring and grunting. So what was it all worth?
Andrew Rannells
Characters Voiced: Streex in Street Sharks
Way before his run on Broadway's The Book of Mormon and his TV roles on The New Normal and Girls, Andrew Rannells was the voice of the coolest mutant shark on TV. He was just 15.
James Avery
Characters Voiced: Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air know all too well that hell hath no fury like Uncle Phil scorned. But before yelling at Will, Avery was getting pissed off at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as their archenemy Shredder, armed with the phrase, "Those blasted turtles!"
Rob Paulsen
Characters Voiced: Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Pinky in Pinky and the Brain; Throttle in Biker Mice From Mars; Yakko in Animaniacs
As this video demonstrates, Rob Paulsen can still sing "Yakko's World," reciting all the nations in the world without rehearsing, or the lyrics in front of him.
Andrew Lawrence
Characters Voiced: T.J. Detweiler in Recess
While T.J. was the natural leader of the playground on Recess, in real life Andrew Lawrence was following in the footsteps of his famous older brothers Joey and Matthew. He also starred in awesome Disney Channel original movies like Horse Sense and The Other Me.
Tracy Grandstaff
Characters Voiced: Daria in Daria
Before providing the beloved deadpan voice of Daria Morgendorffer, Tracy Grandstaff was a behind-the-scenes employee at MTV, and also one of the original seven strangers in the unaired test pilot of The Real World. Today, she's a vice-president at Comedy Central.
Nancy Cartwright
Characters Voiced: Bart Simpson and Nelson Muntz in The Simpsons; Chuckie in Rugrats; Rufus the mole in Kim Possible
Nowadays, we can't imagine Bart Simpson without his high-pitched, nasally voice. And yet, Nancy Cartwright originally meant to audition for the role of Lisa, but found it would be more fun to play Bart.
Charlie Adler
Characters Voiced: Ickis in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters; Ed and Bev Bighead in Rocko's Modern Life; T-Bone in SWAT Kats
Prior to pursuing voice work, Charlie Adler had some surprising odd jobs that would even make Ickis scream, including serving cocktails at Studio 54 in the '70s, modeling nude at The Art Students League of New York, and baking bread and quiche with illegal substances for a whore house in New York.
Christine Cavanaugh
Characters Voiced: Chuckie Finster in Rugrats; Dexter in Dexter's Laboratory; Oblina in Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
In a 1997 interview with Nickelodeon Magazine, Christine Cavanaugh shared that she most identified with Chuckie's tendency to worry.
E.G. Daily
Characters Voiced: Tommy Pickles in Rugrats
Just like Tommy, it seems E.G. Daily can do it all. In addition to her voice work, she's also a musician, singing on two tracks on the Scarface soundtrack, as well as a live-action actress, starring in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985).
Joseph Ashton
Characters Voiced: Otto Rocket in Rocket Power; Iggy in Hey Arnold!
The voice of Otto on Rocket Power, Joseph Ashton also hates losing. Sharing Otto's competitive spirit, Ashton was an overachiever who was on the honor roll and the captain of his soccer team.
Fred Newman
Characters Voiced: Skeeter and Porkchop in Doug
Fred Newman wasn't just the man who gave us Porkchop's bark and Skeeter's honks. He also co-hosted The New Mickey Mouse Club featuring Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears.
Jamil Walker Smith
Characters Voiced: Gerald in Hey Arnold!
If you thought puberty was awkward for you, try going through it as a voice actor. Luckily, instead of replacing Smith, the producers explained his deeper voice in the episode where Gerald has his tonsils taken out, ending with his unforgettable solo at the end of the class performance, "On Moonlight Bay!"
Billy West
Characters Voiced: Doug and Roger on Doug; Ren & Stimpy in The Ren & Stimpy Show; Fry, Professor Farnsworth and Dr. Zoidberg on Futurama
Early on as a musician, Billy West would make noises and do different voices to entertain the crowd when an amp blew up or a guitar string broke. Now only if Doug was that smooth during awkward moments...