Frank Welker Movies

This animated Disney feature is based on a popular afternoon television show. The story centers on Goofy's teenage son, Max, who is terrified that he will grow up to be as dorky a dog as his daffy daddy. Just as shy Max has screwed up enough courage to ask his dreamgirl, Roxanne, on a date, Goofy stumbles in and announces that they need to spend some quality time together, and then drags Max off on a vacation. Just before they leave, Max tells Roxanne that he will be in the audience at the next Powerline concert, which is to be televised. As Goofy heads for the forest for some huntin' and some fishin', "hyuk," Max schemes to get them to LA where he hopes they will be able to sneak backstage after the concert and fulfill his promise to Roxanne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Robin Williams's dizzying and hilarious voicing of the Genie is the main attraction of Aladdin, the third in the series of modern Disney animated movies that began with 1989's The Little Mermaid and heralded a new age for the genre. After a sultan (Douglas Seale) gives his daughter, Jasmine (Linda Larkin), three days to find a husband, she escapes the palace and encounters the street-savvy urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger), who charms his way into her heart. While the sultan's Vizier, Jafar (Jonathan Freeman), weaves a spell so that he may marry Jasmine and become sultan himself, Aladdin discovers the Genie's lamp in a cave, rubs it, and sets the mystical entity free, leading the Genie to pledge his undying loyalty to the dazzled youth. Aladdin begins his quest to defeat Jafar and win the hand of the princess, with the Genie's help. Monsters, Disney's trademark talking animals, and a flying carpet all figure into the ensuing adventures, but Williams' Genie, who can change into anything or anybody, steals the show as he launches into one crazed monologue after another, impersonating figures from Ed Sullivan to Elvis Presley. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Several years after the death of novelty album recording artist Ross Bagdasarian, his son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. brought his father's most popular creation, Alvin and the Chipmunks, back to life with a record album called Chipmunk Punk (1980). The resurgence in popularity of the high-pitched, squeaky-voiced, animated chipmunks Alvin (the mischievous one), Theodore (the giggly, shy, fat one) and Simon (the brainy one) allowed Bagdasarian, Jr. to follow that project with Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas (1981), a half-hour television special and accompanying record album. Voicing the same character Bagdasarian had, that of the chipmunks' "father" Dave Seville, Bagdasarian, Jr. created the story of the chipmunks preparing a Carnegie Hall appearance, only to realize that Alvin has given away his harmonica, an instrument with which he's scheduled to perform a solo. On the play list for their big show was "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don't Be Late)," the single that launched the chipmunks' decades-spanning career in 1958. So popular was Alvin & the Chipmunks: A Chipmunk Christmas, that in 1983, NBC produced a second chipmunks TV series, Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1990), which ran as a Saturday morning children's program, spawning a variety of videos and further record albums. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Based on a popular brace of children's books, the 30-minute cartoon Bad Cat was originally telecast as an episode of the ABC Weekend Special anthology. Recognized as the "King of Fulton Street," Bad Cat is not really all that terrible, despite his name and reputation. In fact, when his human family, the Harrisons, move to another city, Bad Cat wants nothing more than to be accepted by the local feline populace. Alas, our hero runs afoul of a genuine "bad cat" named Riff, who challenges B.C. to a down 'n' dirty mouse-catching contest. Produced by Ruby-Spears, Bad Cat made its initial appearance on April 14, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beauty and the Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants -- a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) -- see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty and the Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, ""Human Again."" ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

The Filmation cartoon series Blackstar was originally telecast September 12, 1981, through September 11, 1982, on CBS. The hero is astronaut John Blackstar, who finds himself on the sword-and-sorcery planet of Sagar after falling through a time warp. Predictably, the series borrowed heavily from other fantasy sources (notably Star Wars and The Hobbit). The character's name derived from the fact that, as conceived, he was supposed to be African-American. However, CBS got cold feet, and John Blackstar was redrawn as Caucasian (though he looked like he had a very deep suntan). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This comedy returns to the exclusive but crazy country club golf course seen in the original Caddyshack. This time its the blue-bloods against the blue collars as a loud, vulgar self-made millionaire tries to join the stuffy upper-crust club after his daughter falls in love with the son of one of the members. Naturally, the boisterous millionaire is rejected by the genteel jerks. He retaliates by buying the golf course and turning it into an ultra-tacky amusement park. Merry mayhem ensues, but in the end, the snobs learn a valuable lesson, the millionaire gets to join, and his daughter and her lover are finally united. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When Scooby, Shaggy and the rest of the gang head out to Himalayas in order to solve a frosty mystery, the surprise that awaits them at their snowbound destination may prove their biggest challenge to date. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Experience a compelling twist on the familiar fairy tale in an animated Disney sequel that explores just what may have happened had the mythical glass slipper not fit. Cinderella's wicked stepmother has stolen the Fairy Godmother's magic wand, and now she's determined to turn back the hands of time. Now, in order to break the evil spell, the frightened Cinderella will have to find her beloved Prince Charming before her time runs out. Gus, Jaq, and all of the characters who made the original Cinderella a beloved classic return in an enchanting animated sequel filled with show-stopping musical numbers, nail-biting suspense, and magical wonders for the entire family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This Disney Channel animated series was set in the mythical land of Udragoth. Title character Dave was the oldest son of a mother-father team of barbarian warriors, who spent most of their time away from home on an odyssey of conquest and domination (all the while sending their kids "Wish you were here" cards and souvenirs from each of the foreign lands they had vanquished). Naturally, Dave was expected to uphold family tradition and become a warrior himself, but he would much sooner have stayed at home with his sister Candy and little brother Fang and spend his time making elaborate gourmet meals. While mom and dad were away, Dave and his siblings were cared for by Uncle Oswidge, a bumbling sorcerer who did his best to protect the household from various and sundry invaders, both human and supernatural. Also sharing space with Dave, Oswidge, and the kids were the sarcastic talking sword Lula, the lazy pet dragon Faffy, and Twinkle the Marvel Horse, who moved, sounded, and acted like Christopher Walken! Created by Douglas Lansdale (Earthworm Jim, The Weekenders), Dave the Barbarian was delightfully reminiscent of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, replete with over-the-kid's-head jokes, deliberately sloppy animation, and the frequently snide and intrusive interpolations from the series' narrator (aka "The Storyteller"). Offering two stories per half-hour episode, Dave the Barbarian premiered January 23, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Doug Funnie and his friends from Bluffington make the leap from TV to the big screen in the animated comedy Doug's 1st Movie, based on the long-running children's series. Doug (voiced by Thomas McHugh) is a good-natured 12-year-old who is chronically infatuated with his classmate Patti Mayonnaise (voiced by Constance Shulman). Doug's best friend Skeeter (voiced by Fred Newman) is convinced there's a monster in Bluffington's Lucky Duck Lake. Surprisingly enough, it turns out Skeeter is right -- pollutants dumped in the lake by cranky factory owner Bill Bluff (voiced by Doug Preis) have spawned a large but thankfully friendly beast Doug and Skeeter name Herman Melville. Doug and Skeeter both want to protect Herman -- Doug so he can look cool in front of Patti, and Skeeter so he can prove the damage Bluff is doing to the environment -- but that isn't so simple when Bluff sends his hired guns to track down the monster. Doug creator Jim Jenkins served as co-producer for this film adaptation, which like the TV series was created by the Jumbo Pictures studios. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on the popular Disney animated afternoon television adventure series, which was in turn based on such supporting characters from earlier Donald Duck films and comic books as Scrooge McDuck and Donald's mischievous nephews Huey, Duey and Louie, this adventure chronicles the attempts of the four quackers to find a valuable lamp and its powerful genie. Complicating matters is the intervention of the wicked magician Merlock. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A nervous hotel manager has all sorts of monkey business to deal with (actually orangutan business, but you get the idea) in this comedy for the family. Robert Grant (Jason Alexander) is the manager of The Majestic Hotel, a large and highly luxurious five-star facility. Grant is harried, overworked, and wants to take his two sons, Kyle (Eric Lloyd) and Brian (Graham Sack), on a well-deserved vacation, but when the owner of the Majestic, Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunnaway), hears that the hotel is being considered for the newly-minted and very prestigious six-star rating by the Le Monde Guide, it falls on Robert to make sure that everything is perfect when the guide's staff arrives. Since the inspectors will arrive unannounced, Robert has to chase after anyone who looks like they could be a VIP, so he finds himself giving the star treatment to new guest Lord Rutledge (Rupert Everett) when he spots Rutledge using a pocket camera to snap pictures in the lobby. However, Rutledge is actually a skilled jewel thief who has come to the Majestic to take advantage of its wealthy clientele, and he's arrived with his pet orangutan, Dunston, who has been trained to be Rutledge's partner in crime. Dunston gets lost in the hotel's air duct system; Kyle finds the friendly ape and discovers he makes a great playmate, which makes things all the more difficult for Robert. Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) also appears as a trigger-happy animal control officer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide