Yogi Bear, Not Mickey, the Most Recognizable Voice in Animation, Voices Survey Finds

Voices, the #1 voice marketplace, has released a new study that is sure to surprise many animation lovers: Yogi Bear is the most recognizable voice in animation.

To determine the most iconic character voices in animation and video games, Voices surveyed 1,115 U.S. adults. We sourced our original lists of characters from 40 of the most iconic voices in animation. Then, we quizzed our survey respondents by having them first listen to audio clips of the characters speaking, then attempt to guess the characters. Finally, we dropped the bottom five from both lists, leaving us with our final lists of the top 15 most iconic character voices in animation and video games.

Despite his long-lived popularity, the voice of Mickey Mouse placed only fifth on the list of the most recognizable character voices from animated TV and movies. Yogi Bear from ‘The Yogi Bear Show’ topped the list with the most recognizable voice.

Bugs Bunny came in second (recognized by 54% of those surveyed), Homer Simpson finished 3rd (53% recognized) and Shaggy Rogers from ‘Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!’ landed in fourth (50%).

The rest of the top 10 looks like this:

5. Mickey Mouse (50%), 6. Donald Duck (49%), 7. Donkey ‘Shrek’ (49%), 8. Winnie-the-Pooh (48%), 9. Charlie Brown (47%), 10. Marge Simpson (46%)

“The animation industry is debately stronger than it’s ever been with experts predicting the global animation market will reach $640 billion by 2030. And while we’ve been introduced to so many new and incredible animated heroes like Nemo, Elsa, Woody, Shrek and Gru, it’s fascinating to see these classic animated voices still have staying power, ” says David Ciccarelli, CEO and Founder of Voices.

Other highlights from the survey include:

• Ellie from “The Last of Us” is the most recognizable voice in video games, followed closely by Mario. 
• More than 55% of millennials couldn’t recognize Charlie Brown’s voice. 
• Fans are most excited for the far-off video game “The Elder Scrolls VI”.

About Voices
Voices is the world’s #1 voice marketplace, with over 2 million registered users. Since 2005, the biggest and most beloved brands have entrusted Voices to help them find professionals to bring their projects to life. Headquartered in London, Canada, Voices helps match clients with voice over, music, audio production, and translation professionals in over 160 countries and 100+ languages and dialects.