Frank Welker Movies

As if the title didn't give the game away, the Saturday-morning cartoon series What's New Scooby Doo? was the latest incarnation of the animated franchise launched by Hanna-Barbera way back in 1969. Most of the familiar characters were still in attendance: garrulous great dane Scooby Doo, the funky Shaggy, handsome Freddy, gorgeous Daphne, and brainy Velma, who comprised the crime-solving "Mystery 5" (thankfully, the irritating Scrappy Doo was absent). Bringing the concept kicking and screaming into the 21st century, the youthful mystery-hunters were equipped with the latest computer and cell phone technology. Even so, it was business as usual, with the heroes and heroines proving that the ghost of the week was actually a very live human villain who would have gotten away with it "if it hadn't been for you meddling kids." Clearly created to capitalize on the blockbuster live-action Scooby Doo theatrical feature of 2002 (the theme song of both the film and TV series was performed by the Canadian group A Simple Plan, What's New Scooby Doo? premiered on September 14, 2002, on the WB network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dreamworks SKG's second feature-length animated film blends comedy and drama in an unusual historical adventure. Two genial swindlers working as stable hands stow away with Cortez, the legendary Spanish conquistador, as he searches for El Dorado, the lost City of Gold. Luck smiles on the two con men, and they happen to find a settlement in Mexico that they believe is El Dorado; however, while the two exotic strangers are at first embraced by the Mayan people, they've also arrived just in time to be offered up as the next human sacrifice. The Road to El Dorado was directed by Don Paul, who helmed the first DreamWorks animated feature, The Prince of Egypt; Will Finn, a featured animator on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin; Bibo Bergeron, who worked on Ferngully: The Last Rainforest; and David Silverman. It features new songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the voice cast includes Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Edward James Olmos, and Armand Assante. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

With 46 episodes to its credit in Season One, the zany animated educational series Warner Bros. Histeria was supposed to have offered 19 more episodes for its second season. However, the series' disappointing ratings prompted the WB network to cut down its episode manifest, and thus only seven more episodes were churned out by the animators. However, these installments are every bit as funny as the first batch, with Father Time, Mr. Smartypants, Aka Pella, Miss Information et. al. guiding viewers on a skewered, slapsticky jaunt through history. In the season opener, the Histeria! gang accompanies Neil Armstrong to the moon (Bang! Zoom!) Then it's off for a slightly more serious visit to Martin Luther King and a drop-in at the trial of Socrates. A stopover in the court of Charlemagne results in a "scrapple at the chapel", followed by random historical glimpse as viewed by the flatulent Big Fat Baby. Napoleon is subjected to jokes about his height during a visit to France, which also includes the solemn "Tennis Court Oath." And finally, a journey through North America takes us all the way from Alaska to...Mayberry? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by a familiar Chinese folk tale, this $90 million animated Disney drama follows the adventures of a young woman in ancient China. Character animator Tony Bancroft and 17-year Disney veteran Barry Cook (Captain EO, Tron, Trail Mix-Up) formed the directing team with production design by Hans Bacher (Balto), and work on the film began 2 January 1995 under the working title The Legend of Mulan. While the merciless Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer) leads invading Huns over the Great Wall, young Mulan (Ming-Na Wen, with singing by Lea Salonga) sees a matchmaker about her matrimonial future. Mulan's views on accepted marriage traditions prompt the ballad, "Reflection," as she hopes for a recognition of her true self. To repel the Huns, a man from each family is required to join the Imperial Army. When Mulan's elderly father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) volunteers, she objects. He warns, "I know my place. It is time you learned yours." Mulan, however, cuts her hair, dresses as a man, and is ready for military camp, prompting the concern of her First Ancestor (George Takei), who converts an inanimate incense burner into the 18-inch high comedic dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy). With Mushu hidden in her clothing, she joins a group of raw recruits under the command of Captain Shang (B.D. Wong, singing by Donny Osmond). During an ambush by the Huns in a mountain pass, Mulan steps in to turn defeat into a victory. Mulan was the first Disney feature from the company's 200,000-square-foot Orlando facility (now known as Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The History of the World and other business is reinterpreted through the skewered vision of the Warner Bros. Animation team in Season One of the aptly titled cartoon series Warner Bros! Histeria. Led by the decrepit Father Time, the Histeria! crew (including the likes of Mr. Smartypants, Miss Information and Big Fat Baby) get things rolling by introducing Alexander Graham Bell via the Serlingesque "Telephone Zone", then move on to make life miserable for $Thomas Edison and J. Robert Oppenheimer. In later episodes, the life of Abraham Lincoln is morphs into the Brady Bunch theme song; George Washington bids farewell to his troops in the manner of a Bob Hope monologue; Nostradamus and Descartes have a philosophical discussion over whether the chicken or the egg came first; Leonardo Da Vinci becomes a painter through the patronage of the Book Formerly Known as "Prince"; the royal family of Ancient Egypt performs its own version of "Cats"; the conquest of Montezuma is detoured by a perusal of the Inca Shopping Network; the history of the Tudors is reformatted as a bloody slasher flick; there's an informercial for "Super Amazing Constitution"; the Yalta Conference degenerates into a pie fight; and Khrushschev tries yet again to sneak into Disneyland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Making a return visit to the Czech republic, Jonny and Jessie stumble across the manuscript of an incomplete sonata. This leads to a close encounter with a troubled ghost who intends to prevent a wealthy wastrel from reaping the benefits of an old family secret. A gruesome finale is but one of the many highlights of "The Haunted Sonata," which originally aired on March 18, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For the second consecutive episode, the evil Jeremiah Surd tries to destroy the Quest team. This time, Surd has invaded the mind of team member Jessie Bannon. As Jonny and his father Benton embark upon a "Fantastic Voyage" through the girl's thought processes to undo Surd's damage, Jessie herself proves to be more than a match for the Quests' perennial foe. "Thoughtscape" was originally telecast on February 13, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Quest team journeys to Cameroon, there to help harvest a medically beneficial sap from trees that are being threatened with extinction by an insensitive logging company. Before long, the plundering loggers are being menaced by an invisible but undeniably ferocious monster. Dr. Quest cannot help but feel that there is more to the pro-eco beast than meets the eye. Boasting an impressive cast of African-American voice actors, "Dark Sentinel" originally aired on February 10, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This animated comedy for the family, which gently parodies the movie musicals of the '30s and '40s, follows Danny (voice of Scott Bakula), a cat from Kokomo, Indiana, who loves to sing and dance and longs to be in show business. One day, Danny decides to do something about his ambitions instead of just wishing, so he heads for Hollywood, convinced that he can become a star in a week. However, Danny quickly becomes aware of the species barrier in Tinseltown; the studios don't much care for animals, even ones with star quality, and the best Danny's agent can get for him is a tiny role in a movie with adorable child star Darla Dimple (voice of Ashley Peldon), who turns out to be a mean-spirited brat who loathes animals as soon as the camera is turned off. Danny soon makes the acquaintance of several other animal performers stuck in the same bind as himself, including Sawyer (voice of Jasmine Guy), a pretty but cynical cat; Woolie (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a piano-playing elephant; Tillie (voice of Kathy Najimy), a singing hippo; and Pudge (voice of Mathew Herried), a performing penguin. Together, the critters struggle for acceptance and a chance to show the world what they can do. Sawyer's singing voice for the musical numbers was provided by Natalie Cole; Randy Newman wrote several original songs for the film, and Gene Kelly was a consultant for the character's choreography. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Enjoying some R and R in England, Jonny and Dr. Quest set out for some fishing near Devon. Along the way, they encounter the happy residents of a peaceful village. Suspecting that things are a bit too idyllic hereabouts, the Quests soon learn that the village is in the thrall of a mind-controlling computer. An intriguing homage to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, "Village of the Doomed" made its cable TV debut on December 31, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Paying a visit to his grandfather's ranch, Jonny becomes curious about a nearby biodome. Investigating, Jonny and his friend Hadji uncover a scheme hatched by a crooked businessman to build weapons out of uranium. Inside joke: Jonny's granddad is named Doug Wildey -- the same name as the celebrated comic-book artist who developed and nurtured the "classic" Jonny Quest series of the 1960s (the episode was in fact dedicated to the "real" Doug Wildey). "Nuclear Netherworld" originally aired on December 26, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A new bio-computer, loaded with vital DNA information, is used in a crisis simulation to test the defense capabilities of a military installation. Unfortunately, the computer develops its own intelligence and goes out of control, threatening to trigger an ecological disaster of apocalyptic proportions. An all-star voice cast distinguishes this episode, which made its first cable TV appearance on December 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A group of intrepid humans attempts to save the Earth from vicious extraterrestrials in this extremely popular science-fiction adventure. Borrowing liberally from War of the Worlds, Aliens, and every sci-fi invasion film inbetween, director Roland Emmerich and producer and co-writer Dean Devlin present a visually slick, fast-paced adventure filled with expensive special effects and large-scale action sequences. The story begins with the approach of a series of massive spaceships, which many on Earth greet with open arms, looking forward to the first contact with alien life. Unfortunately, these extraterrestrials have not come in peace, and they unleash powerful weapons that destroy most of the world's major cities. Thrown into chaos, the survivors struggle to band together and put up a last-ditch resistance in order to save the human race. As this is a Hollywood film, this effort is led by a group of scrappy Americans, including a computer genius who had foreseen the alien's evil intent (Jeff Goldblum), a hot-shot jet pilot (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman). While some critics objected to the film's lack of originality and lapses in logic, the combination of grand visual spectacle and crowd-pleasing storytelling proved irresistible to audiences, resulting in an international smash hit. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide