6 Of The Most Successful Voice Actor Replacements

Many fans worldwide are mourning the deaths of actors such as Peter Cullen, the voice behind beloved characters Eeyore and Optimus Prime, and Tim Curry, who voiced a number of iconic characters alongside his live-action roles.

While Peter Cullen is not the only actor to have voiced Optimus Prime throughout the Transformers franchise, he is certainly the most prominent and well-known of the character's voices, and some fans have debated what should happen with Optimus following Cullen's passing. Should the character be retired, or allowed to live on with a new actor?

Voice actors are often replaced if an actor dies or moves on from a role, and some of these replacements run much more smoothly than others. These are the animated characters people have grown up with, and many can tell if something is different. But when handled well, it can keep a character alive in hearts and minds for generations to come.

Let's take a look at some of the most successful voice actor transitions.

1. Donald Duck: Clarence 'Ducky' Nash to Tony Anselmo

The genuinely duck-like, and at times hard to decipher voice of Disney's Donald Duck is easily one of the most iconic cartoon voices of all time. The voice was originated by the voice actor and impressionist Clarence 'Ducky' Nash, who voiced Donald from 1938 until his death in1985. Nash's duck voice was at the time so unique that Walt Disney himself declared a rule that no-one else would ever voice Donald while Nash lived.

Nash, while respecting Disney's wishes, knew that Donald deserved to live beyond him, so he spent years training a successor.

That successor was Disney animator Tony Anselmo. Anselmo first became Donald Duck's official voice actor in 1986. The transition went rather seemlessly, and Anselmo has voiced Donald ever since, save for when he is voiced by Don Cheadle in two episodes of Ducktales (2017).

Believing in Walt's doctrine of character continuity, and inspired by Nash's successful mentorship of Anselmo, Michael Eisner and Roy E. Disney established the department of Disney Character Voices in 1988, which handles the international dubbing of Disney films, and voice actor succession plans.

2. Shaggy: Casey Kasem to Matthew Lillard

In 1969, DJ and actor Casey Kasem became the first voice of Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers, the owner and best friend of Scooby-Doo, in the classic cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and various shows and TV films that followed. Casem initially stepped away from the role in 1997, but after a few years of temporary Shaggys, Kasem resumed voicing the character in 2002, for the series What's New Scooby-Doo?

Kasem officially retired from the role in 2009, after a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease (Later re-diagnosed as Lewy Body Dementia. He had already chosen his preferred successor.

Actor Matthew Lillard, previously best known for his role in the original Scream, played Shaggy in the 2002 live-action Scooby-Doo film and it's sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Casey Kasem was impressed by Lillard's performance in the films, expressing his wish that Lillard be the one to replace him as Shaggy's voice.

With the original actor's blessing, Lillard became the official voice of Shaggy beginning with the 2010 series Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. In five episodes, Kasem voiced Shaggy's Father in an uncredited cameo. It would turn out to be his final role before he passed away in 2014.

3. Tigger: Paul Winchell to Jim Cummings

From 1968 until 1997, Paul Winchell was the voice of the beloved, bouncy Tigger in Disney's Winnie The Pooh franchise. It was Winchell himself who came up with Tigger's iconic catchphrase:

"TTFN.. Ta Ta For Now!"

Tigger.

By the later years of Winchell's tenure, Tigger's voice became more difficult for the aging actor to perform. Jim Cummings, who had already inherited the role of Winnie the Pooh from the character's second actor, Hal Smith, in 1988 beginning with The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh animated series, would fill in as Tigger for some episodes when Winchell was struggling. Cummings also provided Tigger's singing voice in the popular Direct-To-Video film Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin.

Paul Winchell voiced Tigger for the final time in the 1999 TV special, Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. He was originally intended to reprise the role for The Tigger Movie in 2000, but the actor's voice had become too raspy and gravelly, so he made the choice to retire from voice acting.

In a rather last minute decision, Jim Cummings stepped up to voice Tigger in the movie as well as Pooh. Fans were impressed with the performance, many not even noticing the actor switch. Cummings has been the official voice of Tigger ever since. Disney briefly recast Tigger for the live-action film Christopher Robin, but after fan outcry, reversed the decision, leaving Cummings to continue voicing both characters.

4. Meg Griffin: Lacey Chabert to Mila Kunis

During the first season of the adult-animation series Family Guy, Meg, the eldest child and only daughter of the Griffin Family, was voiced by Lacey Chabert. At the time, Chabert was best known for the role of Eliza Thornberry on Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys, making many see her Family Guy role as something of an odd fit.

Chabert left Family Guy at the end of the first season to focus on school, although her voice is still heard in a few early season two episodes. She was replaced in the role of Meg by Mila Kunis, then best known for playing Jackie Burkhart. Kunis's dry, sarcastic take on the character is seen as better fitting Family Guy's humour. She has voiced the role ever since, although the show regularly makes Easter Egg references to Lacey Chabert.

5. Uncle Iroh: Mako Iwamatsu to Greg Baldwin

During the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and most of the second, Prince Zuko's wise, beloved Uncle Iroh is voiced by Mako Iwamatsu, usually known simply as Mako. During recording for ATLA's second season, Mako was battling Esophogeal Cancer, and passed away shortly after recording a scene in the episode 'Tales of Ba Sing Se' in which Iroh sings the song 'Leaves from the Vine' in tribute to his late son, Lu Ten.

Sound-alike actor Greg Baldwin was brought in to fill any gaps in Mako's season two recordings, and eventually cast to voice Iroh full time for the show's third and final season.

Baldwin also inherited another of Mako's characters, the Samurai Jack villain Aku. He greatly respects the work of his predecessor, so much so that despite occasionally being asked at conventions, Baldwin refuses to sing 'Leaves from the Vine in character as Iroh, choosing to leave it untouched as Mako's final recorded work.

6. Scrooge McDuck: Alan Young to David Tennant

Prior to his introduction in Disney Animation, the character of Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck's rich but cheap Uncle, was best known as a character in Carl Barks's Duck comics. Following a one-off appearance voiced by Bill Thompson in the short Scrooge McDuck and Money, Alan Young was cast for Scrooge's first true lead character appearance in Mickey's Christmas Carol. Young continued to voice the character in subsequent appearances, and made Scrooge a true Disney icon with the original 1987 Ducktales series.

Young remained the official voice of Scrooge from 1983 until his death in 2016, shortly after a reboot of Ducktales had been greenlit. Young, aged 96 when he died, hadn't been expected to return for the reboot anyway, but given Disney's enduring doctrine of character continuity, Young's loss meant Scrooge's imminent recasting now carried extra weight.

David Tennant, of Doctor Who fame, was eventually cast as the new voice of Scrooge McDuck. Tennant was able to lean into his own Scottish accent for the very Scottish Scrooge, and successfully made the character his own while also honouring the spirit of what had come before. His performance helped make Ducktales (2017) a hit.

So, who will be the next Optimus Prime? Hard to say. If whoever is chosen honours the brave and heroic spirit Optimus is meant to be, they can't go wrong.

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