10 Iconic Cartoon Characters Voiced by Frank Welker

More voices than you can imagine.

Frank Welker is perhaps the most prolific voice actor currently in the business. He first broke into acting in the 1960s with stand-up comedy and impressions, and in 1969, he made his first appearance in cinema with the film The Trouble with Girls. This same year, he launched his voice-acting career by voicing Fred Jones on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

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Since then, Welker has gone on to voice nearly nine hundred characters across television, film, and video games. Alongside ensuring that everyone has at least one role they can recognize him by, this makes him the third highest-grossing actor in the world.

First appearing in comic strips in 1976, Garfield has gone on to be one of the most recognizable felines in the word. He is known for his hatred of Mondays, his love of lasagna, and his overall lazy and cynical demeanor. Despite this, he manages to get into all sorts of trouble, both in the comic strips and numerous television shows, films, and specials.

While nobody can top Lorenzo Music's iconic performance on Garfield and Friends, Welker is by far his best successor. He captures the exasperated and deadpanned tone of the lazy cat without adding too much else. It also shows off Welker's amazing talent for imitating other voices.

While on an expedition in Africa, a man in a yellow hat befriends a tailless monkey. The monkey follows him back to New York City, so the man adopts him and names him George. Unfortunately, George proves to be too curious for his own good and is always getting up to some new mischief.

While not one of Welker's more articulate roles, George is a wonderful character for what he is. His situations mirror those that young kids would go through on a regular basis. The fact that he doesn't speak also makes it easier for kids to insert themselves into George's predicaments.

Best friends to a street rat named Aladdin (Scott Weinger), Abu helps him in the never-ending struggle to steal food and outrun the guards. While Abu shares Aladdin's desires for a better life, his childish personality leads to him falling victim to several vices. He often tries to steal more than he should, and he becomes quite jealous when Aladdin falls for Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin).

The vast majority of Welker's voice work is imitating animal sounds, and Abu is a prime example of his talent. He perfectly mimics the screeches of a monkey while managing to sneak in a few barely audible words between the chitters. Combined with his on-point animation, this helps give Abu more character than other animal sidekicks.

While collecting animals from the planet Vergon 6, the Planet Express Crew came upon an unknown species that can poop dark matter, which is used to run spaceships. Captain Leela (Katey Sagal) decides to take him back to Earth as a pet and name him Nibbler. Unknown to everyone, Nibber is a member of an advanced and ancient race that has been shaping the events of the galaxy for eons.

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Nibbler is fun given the duality of his people being adorable and proud. Even when he and his kind reveal their intelligence to the Planet Express Crew, they still fall into cute actions such as purring in the middle of important briefings. Welker adds to this duality by making adorable chittering sounds when Nibbler is incognito, then switching to his regular speaking voice when Nibbler talks.

After stopping Gozer the destroyer and saving New York City, the Ghostbusters set to work rebuilding their firehouse. Once finished, the green ghost they captured from the Segewick Hotel showed up to eat. The crew decided to let him stick around and gave him the name Slimer.

Welker voiced a number of characters on The Real Ghostbusters, including Ray (Inheriting the role from Dan Akroyd) and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Yet Slimer is easily the most iconic, serving as the team's gluttonous but friendly mascot and pet. His popularity would soar to the point where the show was re-named Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters in 1988.

From the security of his hidden castle lair, Dr. Claw oversees a global criminal organization called M.A.D. With his pet cat seated comfortably beside him, Claw instructs his agents to work towards the goal of world domination. Unfortunately, whenever he comes close to success, he is thwarted by the bumbling Inspector Gadget (Don Adams).

Welker occasionally shared the role of Claw with Don Francks, the father of voice-acting legend, Cree Summers, but remains his primary voice. For those familiar with Welker's friendly roles, it's amazing to hear him change his voice into a deep, gravelly tone. It sounds more like a monster than a man, which adds to the mystery of what Dr. Claw looks like.

The most iconic member of Mystery Inc., Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is a Great Dane blessed with the ability to speak. Though his loyalty to his friends is unquestionable, he's not the bravest of dogs, and would rather spend his time eating a private feat with Shaggy. Yet when the gang needs him, he'll face any danger, provided he's had a few Scooby Snacks first.

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Welker inherited the role of Scooby in 2002 on the show What's New Scooby-Doo? He manages to capture the iconic performance of Don Messick while adding an air of innocence to his inflections. He also manages to do this while making most of his lines understandable to audiences, which is a feat in and of itself.

Among Megatron's Decepticon followers, none are more loyal to him than Soundwave. Serving as Communications Officer for the Decepticons, Soundwave listens to everything his fellows say, and can even read minds when he needs to. Though this leaves him with few friends, it ensures him a place by Megatron's side.

Soundwave is one of the most iconic Transformers for a multitude of reasons. His robotic voice stands out compared to his peers, and when combined with his fanatical loyalty to Megatron, makes him appear the most robotic of all Cybertronians. He also commands a group of smaller Transformers who act as his spies and scouts, such as the hawk-like Lazerbeak.

Whenever there is a sighting of a ghoulish figure, you can bet that Mystery Inc. is already on its way to solving the mystery of its existence. Leading the charge is Fred Jones, an ascot-wearing teen with a love for solving mysteries with his friends. Though not the brightest light bulb, Fred has a knack for creating elaborate traps.

Fred is Welker's longest-running character, and he has voiced him in nearly every version of Scooby-Doo that has been produced. Age has done little to dim Welker's enthusiasm for the character: his voice remains perpetually youthful and energetic, which perfectly captures Fred's optimism. It's easy to imagine Welker smiling in the recording booth after every line.

Beginning his life as a minor and gladiator, Megatron saw corruption rampant in Cybertron and wanted to bring order and stability. Unfortunately, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Megatron's tactics became that of a tyrant. This would turn a former friend, Orion Pax, into his greatest rival, Optimus Prime.

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Welker first voiced Megatron in the original 1984 series and has remained his most consistent voice in all mediums. He was briefly replaced by Leonard Nimoy in The Transformers: The Movie when the character was upgraded to Galvatron, before returning in the third season. This trend would continue with the Michael Bay films, where Welker replaced Hugo Weaving in Transformers: Age of Extinction.

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Tyler B. Searle graduated with a degree in Journalism Web and Print in 2017 and Television Writing and Production in 2018. He has been a lifelong fan of storytelling, particularly in the realm of animation and fantasy stories. The Disney Renaissance is his favourite era of Disney, and his favourite non-Disney animation company is DreamWorks. Don Bluth is his favourite animator. When not writing lists, he is enjoying a fantasy novel in his home in Ontario, Canada.