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​Tom Hanks As 'Woody' Voted Best Animation Voiceover Performance Of All Time

​Tom Hanks As 'Woody' Voted Best Animation Voiceover Performance Of All Time

His fellow 'Toy Story' pal, Tim Allen, came in fourth place for his turn as Buzz Lightyear

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

We've encountered some pretty iconic animated characters in our time, right from the jerky, slightly creepy early Mickey Mouse through to the glitzy ice queen Elsa from Frozen, who instantly became the go-to fancy dress inspo for kids across the globe after the film was released in 2013.

But the true test of a cartoon classic is when you almost forget a character is just a mangle of computer-generated images - when they've become so lovable, friendly and funny (and, to some people, attractive, but let's not go into that) that they feel like a mate.

And arguably one of the greatest examples of such a combination is Woody from the Toy Story franchise, who's not only the friendliest darn-tootin' cowboy you'll ever come across, but is also one relatable dude - getting jealous when Buzz Lightyear takes over as top dog in Andy's toy chest (been there) and gets all awkward with Bo Peep because he has the hots for her (definitely been there).

via GIPHY

But it's not just his discomfort around girls that makes us love Woody, it's also got a great deal to do with his signature friendly voice, courtesy of Tom Hanks - a role that's proven so legendary that it's been voted the best animation voiceover performance of all time.

The Ranker survey asked the general public to 'vote for the individual voiceover performance, not the best overall actor', with Tom Hanks as Woody winning the coveted top spot.

His fellow Toy Story pal, Tim Allen, came in fourth place for his turn as Buzz Lightyear, while Robin Williams' Genie in Aladdin and Ellen DeGeneres' Dory from Finding Nemo came in second and third, respectively.

Disney

Also in the top 10 was Eddie Murphy as Donkey in Shrek, Billy Crystal's Mike Wazowski and John Goodman's Sully from Monsters Inc, James Earl Jones as Mufasa and Nathan Lane as Timon in The Lion King and Antonio Banderas as the titular feline in Puss in Boots - the spin-off film from Shrek.

Of course, Tom Hanks can't take all the credit for his success as Woody, as it turns out he didn't do it alone. Nope, as it turns out, whenever Hanks doesn't have the time to voice, Disney has often turned to Tom's younger brother Jim to do the job instead.

The revelation first came into public knowledge in 2011 when Tom Hanks was a guest on the sofa on the BBC's The Graham Norton Show.

During his interview with Hanks, Norton tugged the string on the back of a Woody doll and asked Hanks if he was the person who voiced it.

"No, it's my brother Jim," Hanks admitted. "There are so many computer games and video things and Jim just works on those all year long."

"[Disney] said, 'You don't want to do this'," Hanks explained, referring to the smaller Woody roles between full Toy Story films.

"So I said, 'Get my brother Jim, he'll do it.'

"So that's my brother Jim."

Mind blown, right?

Featured Image Credit: Disney/Pixar

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Tom Hanks, Toy Story