Top 10 Stars You Forgot Were on Kids' Cartoons

Since the 80s, Rob Lowe has stolen our hearts with his good looks and charms. How do we thank this man for being our type when we were teens and still being our type now? We love consistency. From films like “Class”, “St. Elmo's Fire”, and “About Last Night…” to fan favorite TV characters such as Sam Seaborn, Robert McCallister, Chris Traeger, and Captain Owen Strand, Lowe brings something special to absolutely everything he does. It feels fitting, then, that he voices Simba in “The Lion Guard”, a series based off the critically acclaimed Disney classic. In Rob Lowe’s hands, we have no doubt the iconic lion is being done justice in his introduction to new generations.

It’s always a fun change in pace when musicians delve into acting work, especially voicing characters. We couldn’t imagine anyone else who would bring such poise, class, and grace to Garnet the way Estelle does. Her voice is undeniably perfect for Garnet’s wisdom, humility, strength, and effortless humor. Estelle gets to sing in a few episodes too, which is totally awesome and even a little reminiscent of her own music! While Garnet has such a prominent role in the show, it’s easy to forget that she’s voiced by the Grammy winner simply because of how much Estelle gives to the character.

Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Velma Dinkley in the live-action “Scooby-Doo” movies, you can also spot Linda Cardellini as Hawkeye’s wife, Laura, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Sara Whitaker in the “Daddy’s Home” franchise. She also plays the protagonist, Anna Tate-Garcia, in the horror film “The Curse of La Llorona”, among many other notable performances. What you may not have known is that Cardellini does quite a bit of voice work. Namely, you’ll hear her as Wendy Corduroy in “Gravity Falls”, Cloudy Jay (or CJ) in “Regular Show”, and Megan Sparkles in "Sanjay and Craig". She has a pretty identifiable voice once you know it’s her, so look out for it next time you revisit one of these cartoons!

We all know Michael Cera for his character of the stunted, awkward underdog in… literally every one of his roles. But, before that, he was actually a child actor. You’d be forgiven for not recognizing his voice since he was young, but he actually played quite a few characters who totally made up our childhoods including Sharon’s younger brother, Josh, in “Braceface” and Brother Bear in “The Berenstain Bears”. Admittedly, these are shows that were more popular in Cera’s home country, Canada, but it’s still pretty cool to hear him outside the way he’s typically typecasted and before he became so well-known.

With a uniquely distinct voice, Wendie Malick is perfect for cartoon voiceovers! You might know her as Victoria Chase in “Hot in Cleveland”, Nina Van Horn in “Just Shoot Me!”, or Ronee Lawrence on “Frasier”. Over the years, she’s also played many character roles and starred in a plethora of guest parts. Still, you might’ve missed her in some animated classics like “The Emperor’s New Groove” and its subsequent spin-off series “The Emperor’s New School” where she played Chicha. She can also be heard in “BoJack Horseman” as BoJack’s mom, Beatrice, and in “The X's” as Mrs. X. Maybe more beloved, however, are her stints in “Fillmore!” as Principal Folsom, and Eda Clawthorne in the ongoing Disney series “The Owl House”.

While Kate Micucci is recognizeable in almost everything she does, some of the lesser known voices go to our favorite duckling triplets: Huey, Dewey, and Louie, voiced respectively by comedians Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz, and Bobby Moynihan. Another gem who comes as a surprise is the voice of Uncle Scrooge himself, David Tennant. Tennant is adored as the tenth doctor in “Doctor Who”, Kilgrave in Marvel’s “Jessica Jones”, and, currently, Crowley in “Good Omens”. His Scottish heritage makes him quite possibly the perfect casting for Scrooge McDuck, though he’s not the first person you might guess took on the role.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster is known for quite the roster of films and TV shows, including “Love Actually”, “Nanny McPhee”, “Game of Thrones”, “Maze Runner”, and “The Queen’s Gambit”. Those are all huge names, so it comes as no surprise that we all forget him as the voice of Ferb Fletcher on one of Disney’s most beloved cartoons, “Phineas and Ferb”. It doesn’t help that Ferb only gets one line an episode either! But, yes, Jojen Reed is, in fact, Phineas’ green-haired, quiet, very British stepbrother. An incredibly underrated actor, Brodie-Sangster absolutely outdoes himself in every project he’s cast in, even the ones where he barely speaks!

Despite the many amazing iterations of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” that followed this one, it’s never possible to overlook the original. There were so many things that made it such a great series, including everyone’s favorite cheese-grater-reminiscent villain, the Shredder. He’s actually voiced by James Avery, a man “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” fans will know as Uncle Phil. While both characters had rather commanding demeanors, they couldn’t be further from each other morally. Phil Banks was a generally positive father figure while Shredder was, yeah, not so positive. Either way, both certainly made their impact on their respective shows.

Does the name Stacy Ann Ferguson ring a bell? Probably not, right? But you can gather how the iconic Fergie derived her stage name from it. Back when she was still Stacy, Fergie was actually the voice of two staple Peanuts characters in season two of “The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show”: Sally, and Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty). Fergie’s flair for all things vocal would later lead her to popstar status, where she’d join the Black Eyed Peas and find commercial success from several hit singles, including “Fergalicious”. Still, her time in the acting world didn’t stop at the Peanuts gang. She’d go on to star in films like “Poseidon”, “Grindhouse”, and “Nine”.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Julie Bowen, “Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure” (2017-20) & “DuckTales” (2017-21)
“Modern Family’s” Claire Dunphy Voices Queen Arianna & Lieutenant Penumbra

AJ Michalka, “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” (2018-20)
Best Known as One Half of “Aly & AJ”, She Can Be Heard as Catra in the “She-Ra” Reboot

Finn Wolfhard, “Carmen Sandiego” (2019-21)
Chances Are You Probably Don’t Remember This “Stranger Things” Star in “Carmen Sandiego”

If you’ve been bit by a radioactive spider in the last week, you might wanna click off the video now! J.K. Simmons is known for tons of accoladed roles, but perhaps his most beloved is J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi “Spider-Man” movies and now in the MCU. If you’re more of a DC fan, you’ll also know him as Commissioner James Gordon. Of course, Simmons will also be familiar to the “Law & Order” fanbase as Dr. Emil Skoda. The actor also has quite the catalogue of animated parts under his belt, two of which we absolutely adore: Uncle Ford in “Gravity Falls” and Tenzin in “The Legend of Korra”. Seriously, only J.K. Simmons could have played the legendary author of the journals and Avatar Aang’s son.