The Rob Paulsen Effect
 

When I think of Raphael I think of Rob Paulsen because I grew up with the '87 cartoon. Raphael is more of a sarcastic jokester in the '87 cartoon and even broke the fourth wall a few times. This take on Raphael seems largely isolated to the 1987 cartoon version with exception of the Archie Adventures because it began as an offshoot of the 1987 cartoon. Rob voiced Raphael less than any of the other three VAs did in the series, but seemed to inject his personality into Raphael and use hus own approach to define the character for the show. While what Townsend brought to Michelangelo would evolve or devolve rather in future iterations what Rob brought to Raphael made him popular,but it was kept isolated to the one incarnation. This caused a problem for me when the 2012 cartoon began because most of what I loved about Raphael came from Rob Paulsen. So when I heard his voice I think "Raphael" much like I thought "Joker" when I heard Hobgoblin in Spider-Man:TAS. It seems that Nickelodeon noticed that Rob Paulsen injects life into his characters and makes them stand out in a good way. So they wanted to take arguably the least favorite of the quartet and have him do what he did with Raphael and bring the sarcastic jokster personality that seems to carry with him in the various characters he has played. I heard two Raphaels and no Donatellos in the 2012 cartoon since Rob used the same voice and the same approach with a twist. Do you all think there is a Rob Paulsen effect that he brings to his characters? Was it successful with 2012 Donatello like it was 1987 Raphael? Does anyone else to this day heard Raphael coming out of Donatello in the 2012 cartoon? Rob Paulsen is a wonderful voice actor and brings such charisma to his characters. I was wondering if he injects a specific personality into every character that makes them stand out which is why Nick recruited him and I was wondering everyone else's thoughts.

Rob Paulsen is a great Voice Actor for sure.

His voice is perfect for cartoon characters in general. Even before I knew who he was, his voice was un-mistakenly recognizable in any show.

In terms of tmnt however, I definetly prefer his take on Raphael to Donatello. Rob Paulsen does both turtles really well, but I think his voice goes better with sarcastic Raphael from the more comedic show.

His Donatello voice is very distinct from his Raphael voice, it's especially noticeable in the crossovers when they appear in the same episode. Same as Rob Paulsen's voice in all the other cartoons he did like Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, etc.

Some VA's really do use the same voice in all the other shows they do, but Rob Paulsen's take on the characters is distinct. If people were to upload sound clips without animation of Nick Don and 80's Raph and not say which is which, everyone would immediately know from hearing which character it was. And with just regular dialogue without giving clues what show it's from.

Cam Clarke's voice acting is great too that his Leonardo voice is very different from all his other voices yet sounds so similar.

I agree with the OP somewhat that to many TMNT defined his career and made him well known in voice acting however as CyberCubed points out he became famous for other stuff. In fact to the average animation fan Paulsen's most well known cartoon is either Yakko in Animaniacs or Pinky in Pinky and the Brain.

He is someone you can always pick out of a VA cast when simply listening to the voices. That is a good thing. I just got to thinking he has one charisma in every character he voices that draws the audience and a bit of the same sarcastic personality is injected into his character. Sure, Raphael would be rude regardless, but would he have been as comedic and joking if voiced by another VA in the 1987 cartoon?

He has done so much more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Paulsen#Filmography

He also voiced Mighty Max. And there he sounds EXACTLY like he did in TMNT with Raphael. It's almost like Mighty Max is an alternative universe where Raphael turned human. :lol:

"......GRAY FOX.......?!?!?"

:tgrin:

As for the thread title and the premise, Rob Paulsen is definitely THE VA I first think of when you mention Turtles cartoons. He wasn't only involved in 2k3.

Paulsen's style and voice mostly fits funny and witty characters, but I think he pulled off an angry voice rather well in the season 9 episode Split-Second of the FW series.

Raphael and Krang
 

I used to watch one dub where Raphael was played by the same voice actor as Krang.

Absolutely but the Pinky and Animaniacs shows are his most recognised, most praised work.

Zach
 

I didn't know he voiced Zach.

The guy is a legend in the voice legend industry and one of the iconic voices of all time.

Maybe he can become the first to voice all four turtles?

Are you sure about? About him injecting his own personality into the character, or did he just play the character as he was directed to.

I love Rob Paulsen's Raph. So funny. I really enjoy the quips and the sarcasm. It never gets old.

They aren't the same popular culture references as Michelangelo, so it doesn't age that fast.

It just seems that Rob injects a sarcastic wit into his characters that may not be present without him. Raphael was not a sarcastic hothead. Heck, Donatello was the arguable least popular Turtle who given Rob's sarcastic wit like Raphael had Don became more comedic which the character was not before. Its like an effect that Rob Paulsen gives his characters.

Well at this rate we're getting there. :)

Just to mention it aired at the same time too.

1993. That's when Animaniacs started.