From Sponges To Rock Gods: A Tribute To Tom Kenny (Old Article)

[Editor's Note: This article was originally written for Retrodrome, a website that was formed by several members of the SydLexia forums. I wasn't an official staff member, but they allowed user submitted articles, and this was my contribution. Sadly, Retrodrome is no longer with us, but you can still find their website on the Wayback Machine. You may be wondering what the point of me posting this here is if you can find it elsewhere, so sit your silly ass down and let me tell you. 

For one, the Wayback Machine wasn't able to save any of the pictures I used, so here's the full article with pictures, including an updated Tom Kenny picture from 2022 (and holy shit, this man has aged like a fine wine in the decade since I posted this). And second, I have a new website that desperately needs some content for people to read, so get off my back!

Also, keep in mind that this is an article I wrote ten years ago, in January of 2014. Back then, I was still kinda trying to find my voice as a writer, and I was a little hit or miss. To be honest, this wasn't my best work. It kinda sucks actually. But I am very nostalgic for it, and Retrodrome, and that early-mid '10s wave of SydLexians running their own websites to carry on the mantle.]

Photo courtesy of Philip Romano.

I love you, Tom Kenny. You provided the voice to a great many characters on the cartoons I grew up with, the cartoons I loved watching as a child and still enjoy to this day. As one of the most prolific voice actors of my generation, you’ve given me countless hours of enjoyment. For that, I am giving you a little tribute for all the amazing characters you voiced.

Before I start this article, I want it to be known that there are some characters that I wanted to include on this list, but couldn’t. Characters like Scoutmaster Lumpus and his assistant Slinkman (oddly enough, Tom Kenny’s favorite character he voiced) from Camp Lazlo and Jake Spidermonkey from My Gym Partner’s A Monkey. Now without a doubt those are great, memorable characters and are hilarious. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen those shows in years, so I can’t remember too much about them. However, I am going to watch those shows online and I’ll do a little companion piece or sequel to this article on my website. Also, I’m keeping this cartoon characters only, so as good as Spyro may be, he’s excluded from this article. And characters that don’t speak are also excluded. Sorry, Gary. With that out of the way, let’s begin. 

Pinocchio- Saban’s Adventures Of Pinocchio (1990/1972 For Japanese Version)

This was Tom Kenny’s very first role as a voice actor, playing the main character in the show. I’ll admit that I know almost nothing about this show except that it’s the American dub of the ‘70s anime, Mokku Of The Oak Tree. I plan on changing that, as I love anime. The thing is, I haven’t seen many vintage animes. By vintage, I don’t mean ‘80s and ‘90s anime, as I’ve seen plenty of those. By vintage, I mean ‘70s and earlier, and this is near the top of my list. I can’t believe Tom Kenny was doing voice work 23 years ago.

Heffer Wolfe- Rocko’s Modern Life (1993-1996)

This was without a doubt Tom Kenny’s big break. Without Heffer, we may have never gotten Tom as the voice of SpongeBob, the Mayor from Powerpuff Girls, the Ice King, and many more. Heffer is one of Rocko’s best friends. He’s a dimwitted, overweight cow who was raised by wolves. While he’s not the main character, he’s hilarious and his phrase “That was a hoot” is used in the opening. The most memorable Heffer moment for me is the episode “To Heck And Back,” in which he chokes on a chicken bone and goes to Hell... er, I mean Heck (which is just Hell with the word “Hell” crossed out and the word “Heck” written above it) for being a glutton. That was very edgy for a kids cartoon. This was where many people discovered Tom Kenny’s high pitched voice in cartoons.

 Val Hallen- Dexter’s Laboratory (1996-2003)

Do I even have to explain why this character is so awesome? What’s that? I do? Okay then. Besides being a parody of both the Norse god and Marvel superhero, Thor (as well as the name making fun of Van Halen and Valhalla), Val Hallen is The Viking God Of Rock or The God Of Ragnarock ‘n’ Roll. Come on, that kicks so much ass. He uses his Mighty Axe (which is an electric guitar) to defeat foes. Using the power of rock to fight evil? How much more badass can you get? He also has a hilarious California accent and sounds just like a Bill And Ted stereotype. What’s really interesting is that his fellow Justice Friends teammates Major Glory and The Infraggable Krunk are voiced by Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker respectively. Anyone who can hang with the legendary Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker in the voice acting department deserves your respect. This is one of Tom Kenny’s most underrated roles, but also one of my favorites, and it breaks the mold of his other high pitched voiced characters.

Dog- CatDog (1998-2005)

This was Tom Kenny’s first starring role on a major cartoon. (I know he was the main character on Saban’s Adventures Of Pinocchio, but not a lot of people know about that one). And what a role it was! He played Cat’s lovable canine brother (who also happened to be attached to him), obviously. Like some of Tom Kenny’s other characters, he was pretty stupid and slow witted. I don’t know what it is about dumb characters, but Tom Kenny is a master at playing them. Despite this, he was also very lovable, as he cared about Cat more than anything else in the world and was generally a kind and gentle soul with a couple of rare exceptions. He is also an easygoing dog. All in all, this is yet another great Tom Kenny role and one of his best roles on Nickelodeon.

 The Mayor Of Townsville- The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2005)

Tom Kenny is once again relegated to a supporting character in this show, but you know what? In this case, it doesn’t even matter. You know why? Because this is without a doubt one of Tom Kenny’s best roles. Not only that, but The Mayor is one of the absolute best Powerpuff Girls characters, and that show had a lot of great characters. And you know what? He’s also one of the funniest characters in cartoon history. No, I am not exaggerating. Like so many memorable Tom Kenny characters, The Mayor is insanely stupid. And I have to say, as a mayor, he is very incompetent. He can never keep order in the city without the Powerpuff girls (well, to be fair, when there’s super powered villains and giant monsters involved, you can't really blame him), he constantly makes bad decisions, and he often makes things worse. Why the fuck do people keep voting for him? Oh well, it doesn’t matter, The Mayor is awesome!

SpongeBob SquarePants- SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-Present)

You just knew that this one was coming. This is without a doubt Tom Kenny’s most well known and famous role, and in this writer’s humble opinion, also his best. For many people, Tom Kenny IS SpongeBob, and for good reason. I will admit, I don’t like SpongeBob in the newer seasons. His voice is too high pitched, and he has become mind numbingly annoying. But you know what? That’s the producers’ and writers’ faults, not Tom Kenny’s. In the first 3 seasons, the movie, and hell, even the 4th and 5th seasons to a lesser extent, SpongeBob is a highly optimistic and friendly sponge who likes to see the glass half full and can brighten almost anyone’s day, to the point of being adorable. Seriously, I have never seen any character so happy, ever. He was also well written back then, and unlike today, that optimism/happiness isn’t completely Flanderized to the point of being unlikable. Oh, and he just so happens to be a funny character. Unlike some of Tom Kenny’s other characters who are mostly funny due to their traits rather than the way they are written, SpongeBob can be hilarious with witty dialogue alone. Like “I’ll have you know, I stubbed my toe while watering my spice garden, and I only cried for twenty minutes” or “This is not your average everyday darkness. This is advanced darkness,” or “I’m ugly and I’m proud, I’m ugly and I’m proud, I’m ugly and I’m proud!” All in all, a great character, and one that Tom Kenny will always look fondly on.

Patchy The Pirate- SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-Present)

Alright, alright, so I know I said that I was keeping this to cartoon characters only, but I decided to make an exception here. And besides, Patchy is from SpongeBob, right? And am I correct in saying that SpongeBob is, in fact, a cartoon? So maybe it counts after all. Either way, I included Patchy because he’s simply too funny and memorable not to mention in this article. Patchy’s character is basically a pirate (duh) who also happens to be the world’s biggest SpongeBob fanboy, which is hilarious because Tom Kenny plays both characters, so in a way, he’s a fan of himself . He also has a parrot sidekick named Potty, and the chemistry between them is comedy gold. Basically, they never get along, and it’s funny seeing them bicker back and forth. And poor Patchy is often the victim of hilarious slapstick humor. SpongeBob may be in the title, but he’s not Tom Kenny’s only memorable character on the show.

Eduardo- Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends (2004-2009)

Anyone watching Cartoon Network from the mid-late 2000s will remember this show with a lot of fondness. And indeed, I feel that this is one of the best shows from Cartoon Network’s Silver Era. And one of the most memorable characters, as well as one of the more prominent side characters was Eduardo, the big, purple, hairy monster who looks menacing, but is harmless (unless provoked). And while it may seem like a bad thing that Tom Kenny was doing another supporting role, in the end, he proved great in the role and you forgot all about that as you watched the show. It’s really funny how he looks absolutely terrifying, but is actually very timid. A scaredy cat, if you will. And Tom Kenny pulls off a decent Hispanic accent, if I do say so myself. All in all, he’s a great character, one of the best on the show.

The Ice King- Adventure Time (2010-Present)

And now we are onto the final character in this article. I know it’s sad, but you knew this was coming. And what a way to end it. This proves that two decades later, Tom Kenny has still got that vocal magic that made him a legend in the first place. In this role, Tom Kenny plays the primary antagonist of Adventure Time. What makes him a great antagonist is that he’s not your typical ridiculously evil villain. He’s inept, bumbling, obnoxious, and FUNNY. He’s also not all that evil. Not only does he have a tragic backstory, but he is shown to hang out with Jake and Finn from time to time and has an emotional history with Marceline, being a sort of father figure to her before he became The Ice King. See, he’s not all bad. He’s great, in fact, and it’s another fantastic role by Tom Kenny.

Well, there you have it. My little tribute to one of my all time favorite voice actors. While I am a little disappointed with some of the characters I had to exclude (though, again, I’ll include them in the follow up on my website), overall, I think this turned out really well. As an added bonus, I’m going to include my five favorite roles of his that were included in this article. Here’s to another 20 years, Mr. Kenny.

5. Dog/Val Hallen

4. Patchy The Pirate

3. The Ice King

2. The Mayor Of Townsville

1. SpongeBob SquarePants