With a career spanning back as far as 1985, Supa-Star Jim Cummings is a bona fide legend of the voice acting industry. After beginning his career as a voice double for actors who had retired or passed away, Cummings is now an icon in his own right, as the official voice of classic characters like Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Darkwing Duck, among many, many more. Star Wars fans will know him as the voice of Hondo Ohnaka, the loveable but not at all trustworthy Space Pirate from the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.
However, with such a long and varied career, it makes sense that not all of Cummings’ roles would be immediately obvious to the untrained ear. For any fans planning on some deep-cut questions for the beloved voice actor’s panels at Supanova in Adelaide (31 Oct – 2 Nov) and Brisbane (7-9 Nov), let’s take a look at a few characters you might not know were voiced by Jim Cummings.
The Narrator of the 1991 ‘Where’s Wally?’/‘Where’s Waldo?’ animated series
In the early ‘90s, Cummings provided the voice of The Narrator in the animated series adaptation of Martin Handford’s popular Where’s Wally? search-and-find books. Leaning towards the goofier end of Jim Cummings’ repertoire, The Narrator breaks the fourth wall to give viewers a list of extra objects to spot at the beginning of each episode, and regularly interjects to express concern over Wally’s latest predicament, or insult the villain, Odlaw. While the series’ initial run lasted only thirteen episodes, it eventually gained a following through re-runs and home video releases.
Bonkers D. Bobcat
Jim Cummings voiced a number of different characters across the various shows in the popular ‘Disney Afternoon’ programming block. One of the lesser remembered among these would be Bonkers D. Bobcat. Initially introduced in a series of shorts for the compilation series Raw Toonage, the character eventually became the star of his own series, Bonkers.
Loosely inspired by Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the series follows Bonkers D. Bobcat as he pursues a new career as part of the ToonTown Police Department after being booted from Hollywood. The Raw Toonage shorts became part of the series lore, often used as flashbacks to Bonkers’ acting work. While not the most popular ‘Disney Afternoon’ series, Bonkers, like Where’s Wally?, has become something of a cult hit, particularly since becoming available on Disney+.
The Singing Voice of Rasputin in ‘Anastasia’
It is common knowledge among animation fans that Jim Cummings, who voiced Ed the hyena in The Lion King, stepped in to complete Scar’s villain song, Be Prepared, when the voice of his primary actor, Jeremy Irons, gave out mid-recording. A less well-known fact is that Cummings performed a similar role in Fox Animation’s Anastasia.
While the voice of the film’s villain, a fictionalised, undead take on Grigori Rasputin, is provided by Christopher Lloyd, Rasputin’s memorable villain song, In The Dark of the Night, was performed entirely by Cummings. The song, and Cummings’ work on it, has been widely praised.
Cat in ‘CatDog’
Over the years, Jim Cummings’ most prominent work has largely been for Disney, but he does not work exclusively for them. From 1998 to 2005, Cummings voiced Cat, one-half of the titular character in the Nickelodeon series CatDog. Cat is straitlaced, tidy, and considers himself the brains of the operation, as opposed to the messy, goofy Dog, voiced by Tom Kenny. Playing the straight man in a duo is somewhat against type for Cummings, leading some fans to forget that Cat was a Cummings character.
Cummings has reprised the role of Cat in various Nicktoon video games, including the Nicktoon Racing franchise.
Ultra Lord in ‘Jimmy Neutron’
While not a character per se, the superhero Ultra Lord has a major presence in Nickelodeon’s Jimmy Neutron animated series. The character is the favourite hero, toy, TV show and overall idol of Sheen Estevez, one of Jimmy’s two best friends. When Ultra Lord requires a voice, most prominently in the 2001 movie prequel, that voice is provided by Jim Cummings. Cummings also voiced a number of guest and background characters across the series’ three-season run.
Captain of the Guard in ‘Shrek’
Cummings’ voice is only heard in one minor role in the modern-day classic Shrek, but the scene in which his character appears is a memorable one. Cummings plays the Captain of the Guard, handing over reward money in exchange for Fairytale Creatures following Lord Farquaad’s decree that they be removed from Duloc, overseeing Donkey’s entrance into the film with this memorable exchange, as Donkey exposes his voice after being accidentally dosed with pixie dust:
Donkey: I can fly!
Three Pigs: He can fly!
Captain: He can TALK?!
After he and his men pursue the escaping Donkey, he also bears witness to the very first meeting between Donkey and his future best friend, Shrek. So, while Cummings’ role here may be short and sweet, it is pivotal to the film and the overall franchise.
Thanos in ‘The Super Hero Squad Show’
Produced as promotional material for a toy line, Marvel’s The Super Hero Squad Show ran for two seasons between 2009 and 2011. While the first season features a Squad of Marvel heroes, including Iron Man, Hulk, and others, battling Doctor Doom for possession of a magic sword, the bulk of the show’s second season loosely adapted the comics ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ saga, with the squad facing off against Thanos in a race to collect the six Infinity Stones. Jim Cummings voiced Thanos in a more exaggerated take than fans of the MCU films are used to, but fitting for an after-school cartoon.
While geared towards younger audiences, The Super Hero Squad show is packed with Easter Eggs for more seasoned Marvel fans, and is therefore often recommended as a first Marvel show for young families to watch together. Aired during the earliest days of the MCU, Jim Cummings’ Thanos would have been the first that many young fans ever saw.
Drop by and impress Jim Cummings with your knowledge of his lesser-known roles at Supanova in Adelaide (31 Oct – 2 Nov) and Brisbane (7-9 Nov).
