Wes's Top 10 Jim Cummings Characters

If I’ve demonstrated anything by writing over sixty-five articles on Gargoyles, it’s that I am a total nerd for voice acting. So, in that spirit, I’ve decided to pay homage to one of my favorites, one of the most prolific voice actors of all time, Jim Cummings. You may not know the name, you may not know the face, but it is impossible to experience any animated television shows, films or video games without eventually hearing this man’s iconic voice eventually. I, of course, am a great admirer of the man’s work, having had the singular pleasure of meeting him and Rhode Island Comic Con back in 2015. I thanked him for being the voice of my childhood, to which he laughed and expressed hope that he didn’t mess me up to bad. I’ve met plenty of famous people, but that one will always hold a special place in my heart. So today, I’ve decided to pay tribute to the man and his great talent by counting down my personal top ten favorite Jim Cummings Characters. I’m sure that anyone who knows me personally knows exactly who number one is, but I hope you all have fun getting there. Before we proceed please keep in mind, the following is one hundred percent my opinion. Like I said, Jim is one of the most talented and prolific voice actors of all time, having been appearing in various works since the mid-80’s. Narrowing it down to just ten was a nigh impossible task and I’m still not completely satisfied with the final product. In any case, a lot of Jim’s more memorable characters were unfortunately unable to make the final cut and it’s entirely possible you will not see your favorite on this list. I can only hope that my list contains enough of the big ones that Jim’s fans will be satisfied, but still manages to highlight a few lesser known personal favorites. And now, without further ado, let’s dive right in. These are my Top Ten Personal Favorite Jim Cummings Characters.

10. Patriarch (Mass Effect 2)

This one is one of the one’s that’s just here for me. I won’t waste time getting into the entire backstory of Mass Effect, we’d be here all day. Just know that it’s the distant future and mankind is now part of a much larger galactic community of all sorts of alien species. Patriarch here is a Krogan, a member of a brutal warrior race that answers the age-old question “What do you get when you cross a Klingon with a Bullfrog?” Long story short, one of the main hubs of activity in Mass Effect 2 is called Omega, which is essentially an even more lawless version of Moss Eisley. Hundreds of Years ago, Patriarch ruled Omega with an Iron Fist, that is until an even more ruthless Asari named Aria T’Loak came along. Aria defeated Patriarch and assumed control of Omega, but kept him alive and under her employ in order to take advantage of his knowledge and display him as a warning to those who cross her. To further emasculate the Krogan, Aria gave him the name Patriarch so he’d never forget who beat him (Asari elders are called Matriarchs you see). And so, the Krogan was reduced to a shell of his former self. Eventually, the old warrior becomes the target of a Mercenary gang and you can choose to either save him but doom him to a life as Aria’s pet, or send him off to fight the mercenaries, where he’ll surely die, but regain some of his dignity in doing so. Patriarch is actually a very minor character all things considered, and he would be completely forgettable if it weren’t for the fact that he’s voiced by Jim. With Cummings’ voice coming out of this big guy’s mouth meant that I would never forget this character. And that’s one of Jim’s strengths, even if the character is unimportant by comparison, Jim always manages to make them memorable in his own unique way.

9. Pete (Various Disney Productions)

Wow, Pete is only number nine? This list must really be stacked if we’re getting to one of Jim’s biggest characters. Despite his low ranking, I love Pete. Whether he’s Mickey’s nemesis in the old Disney Cartoons, Goofy’s next door neighbor from Goof Troop or Maleficent’s toadie from the Kingdom Hearts Video Game series, Pete is always the perfect blend of menace and humor. There’s just something unusually lovable about Pete. Sure, he’s often the antagonist, or at the very least, a shady guy with some nefarious scheme brewing, but he’s such a bumbling goofball that you can never fully take him seriously without a few chuckles thrown into the mix. I think my favorite incarnation of Pete has to be the one we see in A Goofy Movie, my favorite Disney Movie in case any of you are wondering. In that, Pete is still the same as we see him in Goof Troop, but with a little more of a maniacal edge. The hot tub scene in which Pete reveals that Max has been lying to Goofy is played completely straight and has some real emotion in it and Jim sells it perfectly. That’s the thing about Pete, he’s a character that’s been around so long that at this point, he can be whatever he’s needed to be, and Jim’s versatility is perfect for that.

8. The Singing Voices for Scar & Rasputin (The Lion King/Anastasia)

This isn’t a character per se, but it is nonetheless a great showcase of Jim’s incredible talent. Like many others in his line of work, Jim’s vocal talent is not restricted to the spoken word. He’s also a hell of a singer, having let loose some sweet music from his legendary pipes on many occasions as well as having sang and played the drums in a regionally successful rock band in his youth. In these two instances, Jim stepped and acted as the singing voice for the villains in animated films. In Anastasia, Jim stands in for Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd as the villainous Rasputin for the song “In the Dark of the Night.” Truth be told, I wasn’t really a fan of this flick, but man did I love that song. If you get a chance, give it a listen, it actually kind of rocks. Here, Jim not only sings the song brilliantly, he also has impersonate Lloyd at the same time, proving that he can be damn good soundalike. If you listen closely, you can hear small hints of Jim’s voice, but it is by no means immediately obvious. When it comes to Lion King, I find Jim’s singing in the song “Be Prepared” even more impressive despite the fact that he only sings half of the song. See, what happened was, while recording the song, Jeremy Irons who portrayed Scar, damaged his voice. Jim, who was already on hand playing Ed Hyena in the film, jumped in and finished the song and the transition is seamless. It’s honestly hard to pinpoint just where Irons starts and Jim begins. Two incredible vocal performances in unforgettable villain songs. I’d expect nothing less from Jim.

7. Jacques (Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island)

This is a character that flies under the radar for a lot of people, but I think he’s worth mentioning given his unique connection to Jim himself. First, some brief backstory. When the Scooby Gang reunites to travel the country in search of real ghosts, they end up getting more than they bargained for when they head to the New Orleans Bayou. There they encounter many creepy characters, including Jacques the ferryman here. At first Jacques is perfectly friendly, if not extremely cryptic, but we soon learn that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Apparently, he was once a desperate old man seeking immortality. The villains of the piece needed a driver to ferry their victims to the island, so they granted his request, but at a high price. Once every Harvest Moon, Jacques would need to transform into a hideous monster and drain the souls of unsuspecting victims. That backstory isn’t elaborated on past a throwaway line, but it nonetheless ads depth to a comparatively minor character. Like I said, this character has a unique connection to Jim. See, Jim actually grew up in New Orleans and even served as a deck hand on a river boat. Hell, the character even looks a little like Jim himself. Was this intentional? I’d like to think so. Either way, Jim brings his A Game to this role, both as the Jolly river boat captain and as the inhuman monster. I especially love the moment he reveals his monster form to Shaggy and Scooby. I won’t lie, I didn’t see it coming and it’s one of the scariest moments in easily the most genuinely terrifying Scooby-Doo film.

6 & 5. Winnie The Pooh & Tigger (Winnie the Pooh)

Oh, don’t look at me like that. Like you could choose between these two beloved children’s characters. I knew these two would end up smack dab in the middle of the list, but I went back and forth for hours trying to decide which one goes above the other, so finally, I said screw it and decided to put them together, as it should be. And seriously, what can I say about Pooh Bear and the gang that hasn’t already been said. The characters, and the stories surrounding them are innocence personified. I’ve known people who swear up and down that Mickey Mouse is evil incarnate who still love Winnie the Pooh. Pooh and Tigger are just such lovable characters that take us all back to a simpler time in our life. I don’t mind admitting that I once had a stuffed Pooh I used to sleep with as a toddler. Jim replaced Hal Smith as the voice of Pooh back in 1988 and later Paul Winchell as Tigger in 2000, meaning that he’s been consistently playing both characters in various movies, TV shows, video games, and wherever else these two characters can be found for the better part of two decades. That’s impressive even for an actor of Jim’s caliber. The fond memories I have of both Pooh and Tigger are almost too numerous to count, but some personal favorites include Pooh obliviously driving Rabbit crazy, or Tigger acting as his detective persona, Tigger, Private Ear. I remember watching the film Christopher Robin very recently, and many of the classic characters were recast, and it was jarring to hear the new voices, but I’m so glad they kept Jim in the fold because these characters just don’t feel right unless they’re voiced by Jim Cummings.

4. Dr. Robotnik (Sonic The Hedgehog SatAM)

Well, I hoped you enjoyed discussing a couple of Jim’s more innocent characters, because our next three entries are some seriously mean customers, and we’re starting with a particularly nasty one. The primary villain of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series has gone through multiple incarnations over the years, some comedic some serious. While I tend to prefer the character as a more serious threat, there have been some comedic versions I’ve enjoyed, such as Jim Carrey’s portrayal of the character in the recent live action film, other versions can be downright embarrassing like the version from the Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon. I mention Adventures, because that show was actually my introduction to the Sonic franchise. What? I was a Super Nintendo kid growing up and I didn’t have a ton of friends who had a Sega Genesis. My point is, in that incarnation, Robotnik was nothing more than a joke. A pathetic loser who made Elmer Fudd look like Doctor Doom. Then SatAM came along the very same year, featuring the very same actor as Sonic, Jaleel White of Steve Urkel fame. Now we were talking. Gone was the pathetic Robotnik of old, this guy was a seriously scary customer. A ruthless dictator bent on replacing the world and all life within it with soulless robots and machines. He was cold, calculating, frightening, and unlike his predecessor, no joke. Of course, the magic touch that brought it all together was Jim’s voice, which is perfectly intimidating for this darker version of the character. In fact, it was this character that got me interested in learning about voice actors as a personal hobby and how I first heard the name Jim Cummings. For that, Jim is my definitive Robotnik, how could I ever leave this guy off the list? 3. Dingo (Gargoyles)

Yes I’m biased and no I don’t care. If you followed my Gargoyles retrospective, you’ll know that I discussed Dingo here in great detail, so I won’t repeat myself too much and we’ll stick to the basics. Dingo was introduced as a member of the villainous mercenary company known as The Pack. While Dingo, and by extension, the rest of The Pack, could have easily been one off throwaway villains, Gargoyles just isn’t that kind of show and each member was fleshed out and even given story arcs of their own. Dingo’s was my personal favorite. While he at first goes along with The Pack out of a desire to be a hero, overtime the big Australian became disillusioned with the villainous acts of his comrades. When the pack sacrificed their humanity in the pursuit of humanity, that was the last straw, and dingo went back to his home country to find redemption. As I said many times during the retrospective, Dingo is my favorite member of The Pack and a lot of that is down to Jim’s performance. Jim, even through Dingo’s thick Australian accent, manages to turn in a excellent performance as this character. While Jim can get zany with the best of them, I’ve always enjoyed it when he gets a chance to play more serious characters and show off his acting chops. I actually recently re-watched Thrill of the Hunt, Dingo’s first appearance and found that, while Dingo wasn’t a fully realized character yet, the seeds of who the character would become were still there and it’s all in the subtleties of Jim’s performance. A character that doesn’t get brought up nearly enough in lists like this. I think should change.

2. Negaduck (Darkwing Duck)

Don’t you worry, we’ll get to You Know Who in just a minute, but I’ll be damned if go through this list without showing some love to his evil counterpart. If it weren’t for David Xanatos over in Gargoyles, I think Negaduck here would be my favorite villain Disney ever produced. He’s just so much fun in how sadistically evil he is. This is a guy who gets excited at the idea of murdering cute little bunnies with a shotgun. His sole desire is to create chaos and mayhem just because he can. He is, in essence, the perfect foil for our hero. While the other guy is driven by his massive ego, he is still a hero at the end of the day. Negaduck’s ego is just as big, if not bigger, but Nega chooses to revel in committing acts of unspeakable evil, believing himself to be the greatest supervillain of all time. Even when he forms the Fearsome Five, an alliance of DW’s greatest enemies, he manages to make them all quake in their boots despite some of them having actual super-powers while Nega does not. All he needs to is brandish his trademark chainsaw and all of St. Canard trembles with fear. We’ll talk about Jim’s voice for our hero shortly, but I do like how Jim manages to make Negaduck’s voice distinct from his counterpart while still somehow making it sound the same. It’s an impressive tightrope to walk, but I think Jim walks it happily because you can tell that Jim is having a blast with this character. Some actors just have more fun playing bad guys. I’ll close this one out by jumping to the 2017 Ducktales Reboot. The episode “The Duck Knight Returns” revealed that while DW would be recast with Chris Diamantopoulos(Who’s doing a great job by the way) Jim would be sticking around as Negaduck, in a moment that’s my absolute favorite in the show. As I write this, I am not caught up with the newest season, so I don’t know if Negaduck has returned yet, but I know that I’ll be marking out hard when he does.

Well, if Negaduck is number two, then there’s only one person number one could ever possibly be, and you all saw this coming from the moment you clicked on this article. So enough stalling, let’s give the Duck Knight himself the proper introduction, and in doing so, Let’s, Get, Dangerous! I AM THE TERROR, THAT FLAPS IN THE NIGHT! I AM THE REASON THAT YOUR CHILDHOOD WAS AWESOME! I AM….

1. DARKWING DUCK!!!!

Of course it’s Darkwing Duck. How could possibly have been anyone else. Jim has played no shortage of iconic characters over the course of his equally iconic career, but I could think of none that have had a bigger impact on me than Darkwing Duck himself. I love this character. Like, I REALLY love this character. I based my Dungeons & Dragons character, The Great Darro Kwindok, on Darkwing Duck. My text alert tone is “Let’s Get Dangerous.” I have Funko Pops of Darkwing and Negaduck prominently displayed in my living room on either side of the TV screen. When I finally acquired Disney+ last year, the very first thing I watched was an episode of Darkwing Duck, Comic Book Capers in case you’re wondering. Many of the characters you see above have been a part of my childhood but Darkwing Duck WAS my childhood. Sure, I knew about Batman and Superman, but DW was the first superhero I ever felt like I could look up to. Sure, he’s a complete egomaniac, but he never lets that ego stand in the way of doing the right thing. He gets the crap kicked out of him, but he always gets back up. He spouts off one liners, fights bad guys while balancing all that with being a loving single father to his adopted daughter. He’s both an over the top cartoon character and a very real and relatable person. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve laughed my ass off watching the antics of this great character, and so much of that is down to Jim. Jim has always had excellent comedic timing, but when it comes to Darkwing, there just seems to be a little extra spark. Jim also handles the serious moments in the show brilliantly. They’re rare, the show is a comedy afterall, but they’re still there. Who could forget Darkwing singing a lullaby to Gosalyn when he first tucks her into bed or the time he lamented that no one was around to care for Gosalyn’s Nega-Verse counterpart. It almost brings a tear to the eye. I will never forget one night when I was watching the newest episode of the new Ducktales. The episode opened with a bank robbery. Three familiar looking criminals broke into the bank. As they were making their escape, the were surrounded by purple smoke, and suddenly, the familiar voice of Jim Cummings was heard delivering Darkwing Duck’s trademark introduction. I, a thirty-one year old man, unleashed an audible high-pitched squeal of excitement at the sight of my childhood icon with his original voice actor. And that’s what sets DW apart from any of the other characters on this list, none of them could ever have elicited such a reaction. For that, how could I give this great character anything less than the number one spot.

And that will do it for my top ten Jim Cummings Characters. I hope you all enjoyed and had fun. Mr. Cummings, on the off chance that you end up reading this, thank you for being such a major part of my formative years. I hope my paying homage to your incomparable talent was to your satisfaction. So what’s next for me? Well, I’ve recently been struck with inspiration. Starting next week, we’ll be starting a series of articles related to Darkwing Duck. Until then, Stay Dangerous