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Rob Paulsen

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For the Fight Club character, see Robert Paulson.
Rob Paulsen
Paulsen in 2024
Born
Robert Frederick Paulsen III

(1956-03-11) March 11, 1956 (age 68)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Michigan-Flint
Occupations
Years active1978–present
Spouses
Carol Anne Schnarr
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 1982)​
Parrish Todd
​
(m. 1983)​
Children1
Websiterobpaulsenvoice.com

Robert Frederick Paulsen III[1] (born March 11, 1956)[2][3][4] is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Annie Awards for his role as both Yakko and Pinky in the Animaniacs franchise. His other voice roles include Hadji in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986–1987) and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996–1997); Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996); P.J. Pete in Goof Troop (1992), A Goofy Movie (1995), and An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000); Jaq in Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002) and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007); and Mac in The Looney Tunes Show (2011–2013) and Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015).

Early life

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Robert Frederick Paulsen III was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 11, 1956,[5][2] the son of Bob and Lee Paulsen. He was raised in Grand Blanc, Michigan,[2] where he graduated from Grand Blanc High School in 1974.[6] He sang in choirs throughout his youth and adolescence and began performing in plays in school, but his childhood idol was ice hockey player Gordie Howe, and he considered the arts to be a secondary career choice due to his primary interest in becoming a National Hockey League (NHL) player.[2] He briefly attended the University of Michigan-Flint, but later dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to pursue a career in show business, much to the disapproval of his father.[7][8][9] He worked his first job as a musician, before pursuing voice acting full time.[8]

Career

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Paulsen first voice acting role came in 1983 with the mini-series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, where he played Snow Job and Tripwire. A few years later, his career launched into more roles such as Cobra Slavemaster and reprising Snow Job and Tripwire on G.I. Joe, Corky on The Snorks, Marco Smurf on the later seasons of The Smurfs, Boober in Fraggle Rock, Hadji in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest and the title character Saber Rider and the villain Jesse Blue on Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.

During the 1980s, Paulsen also explored the field of live action films. His first film was Eyes of Fire in 1983. He played supporting roles in Body Double, Stewardess School, Warlock, and Mutant on the Bounty. He appeared in television shows during this time as well, such as MacGyver and St. Elsewhere. Paulsen became more prevalent in the world of advertising as well. In the 1980s, he had been the announcer for the sitcom Cheers and continued to secure roles as an announcer. He appeared as the voice of Mr. Opportunity, spokesman of Honda commercials on TV and radio,[10] the announcer for Buffalo Dick's Radio Ranch, and the spokesman for Lucky Stores, a West Coast grocery store chain, before it was acquired by Albertsons in 1998. He provided the voice of Dog in the Taco Bell kids meal commercials from 1996 to mid-1997, with Eddie Deezen as the voice of Nacho the cat.

However, Paulsen's most famous advertising role was in the original commercial of the now ubiquitous Got Milk? campaign. The famous commercial, Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?, aired in 1993, and launched the Got Milk? campaign into a successful enterprise. Paulsen continues to be one of the most sought-after commercial voice actors in the industry. He can be currently heard as the voice of singing Mr. Mini-Wheat in the Mini-Wheats commercials in Canada.

From 1987 to 1995, Paulsen voiced Raphael and various supporting characters in the original 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Originally starting as a five-part miniseries, the series continued for ten seasons and 193 episodes. It was a great success and became an instant pop culture symbol. Paulsen has said that Raphael's voice is very similar to his natural voice.

He returned to the franchise as Donatello for the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series on Nickelodeon, which ran for five seasons and 124 episodes from September 29, 2012, until November 12, 2017.[11] He also reprised his role as 1987 Raphael in the multiple 1987/2012 crossover episodes.

Paulsen serves as the voice director for the subsequent series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which premiered in July 2018.[12]

Paulsen with Pinky at Anthrocon 2007

Throughout the early 1990s, Paulsen continued to co-star in animated series, which allowed him to branch further into radio and television announcements and dropped live action acting from his repertoire.[13] In 1993, he voiced "Antoine Depardieu" in ABC's series Sonic the Hedgehog, and "Arthur", an insecure accountant in a moth costume (wings included), in the superhero series The Tick in 1995, replacing Micky Dolenz, who had originally played Arthur.[14]

In 1993, he starred as the title character in both Mighty Max and The Mask. Also at this time, he starred in what became one of his most popular roles, Yakko Warner of Animaniacs. Paulsen also provided the voice of Pinky from both Animaniacs and its spin-off Pinky and the Brain,[15] a show which won him several Annie Awards and a Daytime Emmy in 1999.[16] He also did a number of characters in Tiny Toon Adventures, including "Fowlmouth", "Arnold the Pit Bull", and "Concord Condor". In the direct-to-video film Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, he did the voices for Banjo Possum, Mr. Hitcher (who would also appear in other episodes), and Johnny Pew. [17] Paulsen continues to voice Yakko and Pinky in the 2020 Animaniacs revival on Hulu.[18]

Paulsen has also provided voices for numerous other characters, including Steelbeak in Darkwing Duck, Brick and Boomer in The Powerpuff Girls, Experiment 625 / Reuben and several of Jumba Jookiba's other genetic experiments in Lilo & Stitch: The Series and its films Stitch! The Movie and Leroy & Stitch, Atchan in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost in The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper, Ogden O. Ostrich in Channel Umptee-3, Hathi in Jungle Cubs, Jack Fenton, The Box Ghost, Nicolai Technus, and The Vulture Ghosts in Danny Phantom, Carl Wheezer, Butch and Skeet in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Mark Chang, his father King Grippulon, Happy Peppy Gary, and Bucky McBadbat in The Fairly OddParents, Peck the Rooster in Barnyard and Back at the Barnyard, and Gordon in Catscratch.

He was also the voice of Rothchild in the early episodes of Samurai Jack. Additionally, Paulsen provided the voice of P.J. Pete in Goof Troop, A Goofy Movie, and An Extremely Goofy Movie, as well as the voices of Ratchet and Dr. Debolt in the TaleSpin pilot television film Plunder & Lightning. He also did the voices of Boober Fraggle, Sprocket, and Marjory the Trash Heap in the animated version of Fraggle Rock, as well as Gwizdo in the Dragon Hunters film.

He also voiced Zeek and Joshua in K10C: Kids' Ten Commandments, Rude Dog in Rude Dog and the Dweebs, and Archie the Raccoon, A.K.A. Ze Archer, in "Mask of the Raccoon" on The Penguins of Madagascar. and also provided the voices of 2T Fru-T and Mike Ellis in the 2001 cartoon series Butt-Ugly Martians.

He portrayed the voice of Chomper and Strut in The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, Spike and Rinkus in The Land Before Time sequels and Spike in the TV series, but Spike was played anonymously in the original The Land Before Time. Paulsen also played Mo in The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water. Paulsen also voiced the robot "D.E.C.K.S." in the early 1990s TV series Wake, Rattle, and Roll. Paulsen also voiced Prescott A. Wentworth III in the Jem episode The Fan. Paulsen also played Antoine Depardieu in Sonic the Hedgehog.

Paulsen was best known to Transformers fans as the voices of the Autobots Air Raid, Chase, Haywire, Fastlane and Slingshot in The Transformers.

Paulsen has voiced characters in video games such as Doom 3. He played Fluffy the Chinese-crested dog in 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue, an Irish pub landlord in the 1996 video game Toonstruck, and a floating talking skull named Morte in Planescape: Torment, as well as Anomen Delryn in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Gray Fox in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and both Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Assist Trophy. He provided the voice for Erik the Swift of The Lost Vikings in its second installment. He portrayed Tobli and Lian Ronso in the English version of Square Enix's Final Fantasy X-2 and has played the lead character in Bubsy. Although an extremely minor role, Paulsen has also done the voice for the Greek soldiers in God of War. He voiced Jaq and The Grand Duke from the Cinderella world in Square Enix's and Disney's Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

In the video game The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, he did the voice of Igor. He also reprised his role as Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, and Pinky in Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt. Rob Paulsen voiced the lead character, Lazarus Jones, in the PS2 game Ghosthunter. Rob also voiced Alfredo Fettuccini, Bob the Ghost Pirate, Lookout and Ghost Priest in The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. He voiced the Fox and the Mouse in the Green Eggs and Ham PC game. He also voiced Tlaloc in Tak and the Power of Juju. He has voiced the Riddler in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, a role he reprised in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite. Rob is the voice of talking alien dog Beak-Beak in Armikrog. Paulsen also voices Smash Hit in Skylanders: SuperChargers and Skylanders: Imaginators.[19]

Paulsen is also the off-camera voice of the syndicated television series Funniest Pets & People, which is seen on Superstation WGN and other television stations throughout the United States and abroad.[citation needed]

Paulsen at the 2006 Annie Awards

It was not long before Paulsen returned to Warner Bros. Animation, which had diverged into a new era of television serials (following what is sometimes referred to as the "Silver Age of Animation"). Paulsen appeared as Rev Runner of the new show Loonatics Unleashed and starred in Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island. He was also the voice of the character Squeeky on the TV show Danger Rangers. He voiced "Ichabeezer", Bacon Bill, Motato, Beau Rockley, Captain Mike, Tom Celeriac (a play on Tom Selleck), and other countless voices in VeggieTales in the House for Netflix. Paulsen also provides the voice for the Honda character Mr. Opportunity. In the Rob Zombie animated film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Paulsen voiced the characters "El Gato" and "Commandant Hess", among some others. He also voiced Ditto, Rhomboid Vreedle, Baz-El, and Magister Patelliday in the Ben 10 franchise.[citation needed]

Beginning in 2001, Paulsen was the voice of Disney character José Carioca until he stepped down from the role in June 2020, announcing that he would no longer play characters of color.[20] He became the new voice of Prince Eric of Disney's The Little Mermaid franchise beginning with the film The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea since Christopher Daniel Barnes failed to reprise the role in 2000, though Barnes did return to voice the character in the Kingdom Hearts series and in Gameloft's Disney video games.[21] Additionally, he voiced Toodles in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Peck in Back at the Barnyard, various characters in The Replacements, and Bobble in the Tinker Bell films. Paulsen also played the titular character for an animated web series based on the video game Bravoman for Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook division.[22]

Awards and nominations

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Paulsen has been nominated for an Annie Award for his role of Pinky for 4 consecutive years, which he won in 1996, 1997, and 1999. In 1999, he also won the Daytime Emmy Award for voicing Pinky.[23] In 2004, he was nominated for his role of the Troubadour in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, and in 2005, he was nominated for his role in The Happy Elf.[citation needed]

At the 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2023, he was nominated for the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program for his role in Animaniacs.[24]

Public appearances

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Paulsen at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

Paulsen has been a regular industry guest and featured panelist at San Diego Comic-Con. He has also appeared at animation industry-related events, such as the World Animation Celebration Online in 1998, among many others. He has also been a guest at several anime conventions, including JACON, Mikomicon, and Anime Overdose. Paulsen was a guest of honor at Anthrocon in 2007. He has recently started doing "Rob Paulsen Live" seminars across the U.S. to talk of his career, sign autographs, and talk with fans. Sometimes, people in attendance would request him to sing the famous Yakko's World number, where he sings all the nations of the world with his Yakko voice in a fast-paced delivery without rehearsing.

In May 2011, working with social media and web producer Chris Pope, Paulsen rolled out a new website RobPaulsenLive.com, as well as a weekly audio podcast called Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen, which started out being managed and deployed by The Tech Jives Network,[25] before moving to be part of Nerdist Industries' Nerdist Podcast Network. Some episodes were recorded before a live audience at The Improv in Hollywood, California, while later ones were recorded at the Nerdist Showroom. The show is on indefinite hiatus following the March 23, 2019 episode with Dante Basco.[26]

In June 2011, Paulsen made announcements that he was taking his show on the road with his "Lots of laughs and autographs" tour. Working closely with a team that included Chris Pope, his publicist, and others he made his first successful tour in Atlanta, Georgia, which happened on July 30, 2011, and another in Dallas, Texas on September 17, 2011, that required two seminars, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, as they were so popular.[27]

Personal life

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He married his first wife, Carol Anne Schnarr on June 23, 1979. They divorced in 1982.[28] He married his second wife, photographer Parrish Todd, in 1983.[8] Together, they have a son.[8][29] He lives in Agoura Hills, California with his family.[30]

Paulsen has long supported various charities and raised donations for cancer research. He has worked a lot for GOALmodels, a program for adolescents, and is a sponsor of Camp Will-A-Way, a camp for children with developmental disabilities. He also donates funds from autographs to the Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Smile.[31] In February 2016, he was diagnosed with stage III throat cancer. He has since undergone treatment and his cancer went in remission.[32] Following his battle with cancer, he wrote a memoir called Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life.[33]

Filmography

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Film

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Television

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Video games

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Live-action

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Eyes of Fire Jewell Buchanan
1984 Body Double Cameraman
1984 St. Elsewhere Ryan S. Hope
1985 MacGyver Rogers
1986 Hamburger: The Motion Picture Security Guard
1986 Stewardess School Larry Falkwell
1988 The Perfect Match John Wainwright
1989 Warlock Gas Station Attendant
1990 Rosie Texry "Hee Haw" Rose 13 episodes
2004 Comic Book: The Movie Himself
2006–2015 Funniest Pets & People Announcer (voice)
2009 Big Time Rush C.A.L. (uncredited), Parrot, Sam Selmart
2013 I Know That Voice Himself[40]
2019 Changeland Dad

Internet

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Demo Reel Himself
2012 Sock Puppet Theatre Various Voices
2013–2014 Bravoman Bravoman, Alpha Man, Himself, Additional Voices
2014 Nostalgia Critic Himself, Pinky
2017 Nickelodeon Animation Podcast Himself Episode 13, 35, 41
2018 Speech Bubble Himself[41]
2022–present Loosey Goosey & Fried Chicken Loosey Goosey[42]


Theme parks

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Year Title Role Notes
2003 Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast Carl Wheezer
2007 Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros José Carioca

Commercials

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Years Title Role Notes
1979 Jack in the Box Employee Spokesperson[43]
1984–1998 Tamagotchi Fish
1993 Aliens Hicks
1993 Got Milk? Radio Announcer
1995–1997 Taco Bell Dog
2004–2011 American Honda Motor Company Mr. Opportunity[10]
Haribo Narrator (Gold Bear Land)

References

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  1. ^ Rob Paulsen [@yakkopinky] (November 14, 2017). "Helloooo, Birthday Boy!! (Frederick is my middle name too)" (Tweet). Retrieved July 12, 2022 – via Twitter.
    "Robert F. Paulsen III" is listed in end credits of film Happily N'Ever After so F. is Frederick
  2. ^ a b c d "Rob Paulsen of Grand Blanc voicing holiday special". MLive. December 5, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Rob Paulsen – Voice Actor Profile at Voice Chasers". May 30, 2019. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  4. ^ @rob_paulsen (March 11, 2017). "'Thank you so much for all the happy birthday wishes'" – via Instagram.
  5. ^ "Home Page". Rob Paulsen Live. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "October 10, 1954 : Rob Paulsen III Born". MSU Libraries. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Rosbury, Alison (January 4, 2016). "Laughter is the Best Medicine Q&A with Rob Paulsen". MyCity Magazine. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Mendoza, N.F. (December 17, 1995). "It's a Living : Voices From Within : How Rob Paulsen Gives Life to his Cartoon Characters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Paulsen, Rob; et al. (Micheal Fleeman) (2019). Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life (1st ed.). United States: Viva Editions (published October 8, 2019). pp. 13–19. ISBN 978-1632280664.
  10. ^ a b Petrecca, Laura (October 15, 2007). "Advertainment greets moviegoers". USA Today.
  11. ^ Williamson, Anna (September 28, 2012). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' – preview". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (November 2, 2017). "'Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles': Ben Schwartz, Kat Graham Among Voice Cast". Deadline. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Szabo, Barbara (March 7, 2007). "Talent Agent Lectures for Mary Pickford Series". Corsair Newspaper – Santa Monica College. Retrieved October 19, 2014 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  14. ^ Hogan, Ron (April 4, 2019). "The Tick: The History of a Laugh-Out-Loud Superhero Satire". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  15. ^ Forman, Ross (November 8, 1994). "Cartoon-voice Actor Is All Talk". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  16. ^ Nordine, Michael (November 18, 2018). "'Pinky and the Brain' Voice Actors Hint at Reboot: 'If We Get Our Show Back…'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  17. ^ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/movies/Tiny-Toon-Adventures-How-I-Spent-My-Vacation/ [bare URL]
  18. ^ Pastrick, Chris (October 9, 2019). "Original voices set to return for 'Animaniacs' reboot on Hulu". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  19. ^ Kickstarter (June 4, 2013). "V.O. Spotlight – Rob Paulsen". Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  20. ^ Eakin, Marah (June 30, 2020). "Voice actor Rob Paulsen says he won't play a character of color again". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  21. ^ "Prince Voices (Little Mermaid)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  22. ^ "CCI: ShiftyLook Announces New Webcomics, Animated Projects". Comic Book Resources. July 14, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  23. ^ "Rob Paulsen".
  24. ^ Coates, Tyler (November 2, 2023). "Children's & Family Emmy Awards: Disney Dominates Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  25. ^ "Talking Toons with Rob Paulsen on TechJives.net". Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  26. ^ "Talking Toons with Rob Paulsen on Nerdist Industries". Nerdist Industries. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  27. ^ Lucas Ackley & Chris Robison. "Rob Paulsen comes to Atlanta". BigShinyRobot. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  28. ^ "Paulsen, Rob 1956– | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  29. ^ Lawson, Tim (2004). The Magic Behind the Voices: A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. Persons. ISBN 9780786486946.
  30. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-paulsen-5b9a1980 [self-published source]
  31. ^ "Donate now to support Operation Smile". Operation Smile.
  32. ^ Radio, Southern California Public (December 21, 2016). "Voice actors: Unseen heroes of film and TV, Part II".
  33. ^ Paulsen, Rob (October 8, 2019). Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life. Viva Editions. p. 264. ISBN 978-1632280664.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp "Rob Paulsen (visual voices guide)". BTVA. Retrieved March 8, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  35. ^ a b Charles Grosvenor (producer, director) (2002). The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (Film). Universal Studios.
  36. ^ @yakkopinky (July 29, 2012). "My voice, yes. RT @kaarval: @yakkopinky were you really in spaceballs???" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. ^ "Rob Paulsen on Instagram: "My first trip to "Bikini Bottom." Thanks to all my pals @nickelodeon for the honor! #spongebob #robpaulsen #nickelodeon"". Instagram. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  38. ^ "Burrito Run". Ultimate Spider-Man. Season 3. Episode 17. July 28, 2015. Disney XD.
  39. ^ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Nickelodeons-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles/ [bare URL]
  40. ^ Blazenhoff, Rusty (October 3, 2013). "I Know That Voice, A Documentary About the World of Voice Acting". Laughing Squid. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  41. ^ "Ep. 7 -- [FULL] Rob Paulsen Podcast -- with Butch and Jace". April 3, 2018 – via YouTube.
  42. ^ Loosey Goosey & Fried Chicken. Retrieved September 25, 2023 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ Paulsen, Rob (October 8, 2019). Voice Lessons: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky, and an Animaniac Saved My Life. Viva Editions. pp. 29–34. ISBN 978-1632280664.
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