Best Voice Acting Performances In Pixar Movies, Ranked

Highlights

• Janeane Garofalo’s voice work as Colette in
  Ratatouille
  showcases her range, from combative to compassionate.
• Emma Berman shines as Giulia in
  Luca
  , creating a colorful and likable character that stands out.
• Ed Asner’s portrayal of Carl in
  Up
  endears him to a new generation of fans, showing his talent as an actor.

Animation would change forever when Pixar crafted Toy Story in 1995. Since then, Pixar has been pioneers in the movie industry, paving the way for better computer graphics, animation, and emotional stories, providing audiences with memorable movies that bring families together. Everyone deserves credit for the hard work at Pixar, especially the vocal talent that is heard on screen.

Pixar films have featured a wide range of voice actors, from A-list actors, to seasoned comedic innovators, and even undiscovered young talent. These ten voice performances, however, are among the best of the best in Pixar’s repertoire. From characters plastered on Disney merchandise to maybe some you’ve forgotten, these voice actors gave Pixar their all.

10 Janeane Garofalo as Colette

Behind Every Tough Chef Is A Soft Interior

• Film Appearances: Ratatouille (2007)

It might take a while for audiences to warm up to Colette, Alfredo’s combative mentor at Gusteau’s in Ratatouille, a top-tier Pixar film. It’s a testament to the voice work of Janeane Garofalo, former cast member of Saturday Night Live and star of films like Wet Hot American Summer and Reality Bites. Her performance as Colette, however, is a big stretch for the comedienne.

To play Colette, Garofalo dons a thick French accent, almost animalistic in how she growls at Alfredo during their first meeting. However, she also comes to love the clumsy cook, and even becomes an ally to him after discovering that Alfredo’s talents really come from Remy the rat. As far as animated love stories go, there’s no better enemies to lovers than Colette’s character arc.

9 Emma Berman as Giulia

The Underdog To End All Underdogs

• Film Appearances: Luca (2021)

Luca is one of the most underrated Pixar films, mostly due to its anti-climactic release on Disney+ as a result of the pandemic. The film centers on a pair of sea monsters who masquerade as human boys to participate in a land triathlon in a coastal Italian town. To help them prepare, the boys befriend Giulia, a teenage Italian girl who lives with her father, a sea monster hunter.

Giulia is voiced by Emma Berman, a young actress whose voice work as Giulia is a stand-out part of Luca, creating one of the most colorful and likable Pixar characters in recent memory, invoking past characters like Ellie from Up or Jessie from Toy Story 2.

8 Ed Asner as Carl

A Widower Seeking The Adventure of Adventures

• Film Appearances: Up (2009)

Ed Asner had a long career in Hollywood before he made his Pixar debut, appearing in TV series like Roots and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as films like JFK and Elf. His role as Carl in Pixar’s Up, however, endeared the actor to a new generation of fans. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, every audience member tears up when they watch Carl’s tragic love story.

Where Asner really shines in Up is the dynamic he creates with the film’s supporting cast, including the naive Russell, the excitable Doug, and the nefarious Charles Muntz. Asner even reprised his role for several short films on Disney+, the last of which premiered alongside Pixar’s 2023 film Elemental, which was released two years after Asner sadly passed away.

7 Holly Hunter as Elastigirl

They Say Being A Mother’s The Hardest Job In The World

• Film Appearances: The Incredibles (2004), The Incredibles 2 (2018)

There’s plenty of great voice talent among the cast of both The Incredibles movies, but few are as inseparable from their characters as Holly Hunter and Helen Parr. Introduced as the crime-fighting Elastigirl, Hunter fully embodies this super-mom, especially in the second film of the franchise, which finds Elastigirl taking on solo superhero duties while her husband plays a stay-at-home dad.

Considering The Incredibles originally released in 2004, Elastigirl is an incredibly progressive female lead, having her own motivations and backstory separate from just being Mr. Incredible’s wife. Hunter certainly gets a lot of credit for personifying Helen Parr so well, likely becoming a hero to many mothers who took their children to see either of The Incredibles movies.

6 Ben Burtt as Wall-E

A Machine Proves It Has Love and Dreams

• Film Appearances: WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E is one of Pixar’s simplest, yet most beautiful films, considering the two main characters, Wall-E and Eve, have a limited vocabulary. While Pixar ended up keeping employee Elissa Knight’s placeholder dialogue for Eve, Ben Burtt had quite the repertoire before signing on to voice Wall-E, with credits including various iconic Star Wars characters and the voice of E.T.

Although Wall-E only technically has one line of dialogue throughout the entire film, Burtt captures a range of complex emotions for the characters, from loneliness to head-over-heels love, to heroic determination. It might not impress every audience member who watches WALL-E, but when you think about the work that had to be put in, Burtt did not shy away from the challenge.

5 Amy Poehler as Joy

The Best Voice To Have Inside A Head

• Film Appearances: Inside Out (2015)

Who better to cast as the effervescent voice of Reilly’s happiest emotions than Leslie Knope herself? Amy Poehler was a seasoned Saturday Night Live alum by the time she was cast in Pixar’s Inside Out, boosted by a comedic ensemble including Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, and Richard Kind. However, Poehler still stands out as the voice that grounds Inside Out.

As the captain of Reilly’s emotions, Poehler’s Joy is the most determined to keep Reilly happy, not realizing that growing up is a little more complicated than that. Though Joy is imperfect at times and disrespectful to other emotions, particularly Sadness, Poehler’s jubilant characterization keeps the character from being unlikeable.

4 Gael Garcia Bernal as Hector

A Voice To Remember

• Film Appearances: Coco (2017)

Coco was an ambitious swing for Pixar but ended up surprising audiences with one of the company’s most emotional projects yet. The film centers on a young Mexican boy, Miguel, who ventures into the Land of the Dead in search of his long-lost ancestor, a famous musician by the name of Ernesto de la Cruz, though his real ancestor turns out to be Cruz’ ghostwriter, Hector.

Just listening to Gael Garcia Bernal’s performance as Hector singing “Remember Me” will remind audiences how deeply emotional the actor’s voice acting is in this animated feature. Hector may initially appear to be a source of comic relief in Coco, but it’s this massive twist in the film that reveals the character’s many other layers, all thanks to Bernal’s empathetic performance.

3 Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski

It’s Scary How Funny This Comic Is

• Film Appearances: Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Few voice performances are as iconic in animated movie history as Billy Crystal’s Mike Wazowski. The 2001 film centers on a company devoted to scaring children, with Wazowski being the under-appreciated sidekick of Sulley, voiced by John Goodman. Together, the two make an unstoppable duo, but it’s the comedic genius of Crystal that brings this entire film to life.

Crystal is responsible for many of the character’s most memorable bits, with the character embodying a lot of the showmanship qualities Crystal is known for. Crystal has even reprised the role several times, in the prequel film Monsters University, as well as several short films, cameos, and the Disney+ series Monsters at Work, giving the same A+ effort every time.

2 Ellen DeGeneres as Dory

Whimsical Wonder in the Mind of a Fish

• Film Appearances: Finding Nemo (2003), Finding Dory (2016)

Very rarely in the history of cinema, a supporting character is so beloved by audiences, that they’re given a spin-off film of their own. That’s the fortunate luck of Dory from Finding Nemo, whose charming personality comes from none other than comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who perfected the forgetful fish’s iconic quips and “Just Keep Swimming” jingle.

However, the sequel film Finding Dory plays into Ellen’s strengths as a dramatic actress a little more, focusing on Dory’s backstory and her relationship with her family and childhood friends. Any opportunity to see Ellen flex her comedic skills is a fun time, but rarely do comic relief characters have this much heart, and it’s all because of what DeGeneres brings to the role of Dory.

1 Tom Hanks as Woody

He’s Not Andy’s Favorite Toy For Nothing

• Film Appearances: Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 4 (2019)

Unfortunately, Pixar might have peaked early when it came to their casting choices. Tom Hanks has spent the company’s entire 3D animation legacy voicing the role of Woody, the favorite toy of Andy who spends the first Toy Story competing against the cool new action figure, Buzz Lightyear. Hanks’ iconic performance as Woody is an integral part of the Toy Story franchise across 4 films.

From his outrageous shouting to more subdued quiet moments, Hanks perfected all the extremes of this cartoon character right from the start, and has only gotten better since. While Toy Story 4 seemed like the perfect exit for his character, the actor is already set to return for Toy Story 5, but no fan has to worry about whether Hanks will bring his all or not.