Jim Cummings keeps familiar characters sounding like themselves, especially Winnie the Pooh. We rate his careful vocal imitation, though his prominent film credits tell less about his acting than the characters he has sustained on television.
Fi1m perspective
In The Lion King (1994), Jim Cummings voices Ed and supplies additional singing vocals for Scar. We rate the quiet usefulness of that second job: a character needs to keep sounding like himself even when the performer changes. We were moved by the film because its expressive animation and the weight of the voices make the family drama matter, despite some overbearing lessons. Cummings contributes to a cast that works well together, rather than providing the main reason to see it. His additional singing is worth listening for, without giving him credit for everybody else's work.
The longer task has been keeping established characters recognisable. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988) began his tenure as Pooh, with Tigger following in 1989 and Pete in 1992. His close vocal imitation of Sterling Holloway is central to the Pooh work, and we admire the care involved in preserving a familiar voice without making the imitation itself distracting. There is also the lead work in Darkwing Duck (1991), as Darkwing Duck and Drake Mallard, which gives him more responsibility than filling in for another performer.
Shrek (2001) casts him as the Captain of the Guards. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson build the comedy around their ogre and talkative donkey, so this is another supporting credit rather than an introduction to Cummings as a leading voice. We like the film's warmth and its characters more than the pop-culture jokes, though its storytelling settles too readily for the familiar. It belongs among the films of his we recommend, but the recommendation is for the whole cast and the film around them.
There is a limit to judging him by how closely he can reproduce a predecessor: imitation leaves less room for an individual performance. His Tasmanian Devil in Taz-Mania (1991) offers another way in, with the stamina required for physically demanding vocal work. That deserves as much attention as his accuracy with Holloway. Try Pooh and the Tasmanian Devil together before taking two supporting film credits as the measure of his acting.
Biography
Jim Cummings is an American voice actor. Born on 3 November 1952 in Youngstown, Ohio, he began his career in the 1980s and has contributed to more than 600 titles.
He is known for voicing Ed in The Lion King (1994). Cummings has worked extensively with Disney and Warner Bros., serving as the voice of Winnie the Pooh since 1988, Tigger since 1989, the Tasmanian Devil since 1991 and Pete since 1992. Other roles include the title character in Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series (1993–1994) and Ray in The Princess and the Frog (2009).
