11 Actors Who Did a Brilliant Job Portraying Cartoon Characters Onscreen

Playing cartoon characters must be a tough job, especially when it comes to characters that millions of people fell in love with when they were little kids. Luckily, there are talented actors and actresses who were born to bring fairytales to life. Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Helena Bonham Carter as Fairy Godmother, Emma Watson as Belle, and other celebs in this article helped us live through our favorite stories once again, and we can’t thank them enough.

We at Bright Side found 11 actors who portrayed our favorite animated characters in movies, and we found out what they said about those iconic roles.

Emma Watson as Belle in Beauty and the Beast

Here’s what Emma said about playing Belle in one of her interviews: “I think that I just feel really lucky. For me, Belle was my childhood heroine; [the animated original] came out 2 days after I was born. And then, in my early teens, it was about idolizing Hermione. So to be given the chance to play my 2 childhood idols is probably a very unique and rare experience for an actress.”

Angelina Jolie as Maleficent in Maleficent

In one of her interviews, the actress confessed that it took her a long time to perfect Maleficent’s voice, and her kids helped her do it. “The accent and everything about her was discovered when I was giving my kids baths. I think I tried 17 different things on them. They would say, ‘What are you doing? Mom, stop talking so weird.’ One day I just got really nutty and did [the voice] and they fell over laughing. I did it all night long and I finally found it.”

Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan/John Clayton in The Legend of Tarzan

The actor said that he wanted to make his father happy by playing this role. “That’s pretty much the only reason I wanted to do the movie — to make my father happy. That’s how I was introduced to Tarzan, kind of fell in love with the character and the jungle by watching those movies with my dad when I was a kid.”

Emma Stone as Estella/Cruella in Cruella

This is how Emma tried to master that evil Cruella laugh: “There was a lot of practicing in the shower, because it’s actually embarrassing to practice laughing in front of people. [...] The laugh is a very vulnerable thing to do in front of anybody else, because if it’s wrong, you don’t want someone to go like, ‘That’s your Cruella laugh?’ It’s a process!”

Mia Wasikowska as Alice in Alice in Wonderland

When asked if she was similar to Alice, the actress replied: “I hope so. I don’t know. [...] I feel like the things that she goes through are similar to what I’ve felt at some stage in my life and that I think a lot of people, young women, feel also.”

Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland

When asked why his character speaks with a Scottish accent sometimes, the actor replied: “Tim Burton and I, early on, were talking about how this guy was actually made up of different people and he would be the extreme sides of these people. So, I wanted to go extremely dark and dangerous with the Scottish accent. I hope I arrived at it. I like wearing skirts too [laughs]!”

Helena Bonham Carter as Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland

The actress confessed that when Tim Burton suggested that she played this role, it was a surprise: “It was like a proposal of marriage. [...] It was a complete surprise! I know people think it’s disingenuous when I say that, but it’s true. They won’t understand this, but each time [he has a film], I truly don’t expect Tim to ever want to work with me again.”

Lily Collins as Snow White in Mirror Mirror

The actress confessed that she was truly happy to play the role: “Snow White was my favorite fairy tale [growing up], and when I first read about the project, I was like, ‘I have to get in on this.’ It’s such an iconic character.”

Helena Bonham Carter as Fairy Godmother in Cinderella

When asked whether she and Fairy Godmother had something in common, the actress replied: “Unfortunately I can’t transform things, like pumpkins into vehicles. But the scattiness and the absent-mindedness definitely. I mean she’s obviously magical and slightly not there — and a lot of the time I’m slightly not here.”

Lily James as Cinderella in Cinderella

The actress fell in love with the blue dress she was wearing on set: “I felt completely transformed. And that’s what fairytales are all about: transformation. When I put that dress on, I felt like I could be a princess.”

Naomi Scott as Jasmine in Aladdin

The actress said she liked Jasmine when she was a little girl: “I loved that character. She was my favorite Disney princess and she made me feel empowered. She spoke up, she wanted to fight for the choice to marry. But in our movie, she’s way more active.”

Which of these actors was the most convincing while playing a cartoon character, in your opinion?

In a rare social media appearance, Angelina Jolie penned a heartfelt tribute to her late mother, highlighting the importance of regular health check-ups, particularly for those with a family history of cancer.