The Cartoon Characters You Never Realized Were Voiced By Aubrey Plaza
It's hard not to recognize Aubrey Plaza from her voice, especially if you're a fan of "Parks and Recreation." For seven seasons, she played the impassive April Ludgate whose monotone voice resonated with those that have an overactive inner monologue (via YouTube). April said what was on a lot of the viewers minds — with no fear of the consequences of her actions.
That trend runs through a lot of Plaza's acting roles, as well as her standup routines. The same goes for her voiceover work, which the actor does with absolute ease. Plaza hasn't been in a lot of animated films and series, but the characters she has portrayed usually follow a similar trope -– making people uncomfortable.
"I don't think I consciously seek out scripts that make people really uncomfortable," she told the Irish Times, adding that while being sarcastic is just part of her personality, she's "actually just being real." With that in mind, these are the characters you never realized were voiced by Aubrey Plaza.
Plaza's monotone voice helped her snag her cartoon roles
Plaza's first voice role came in the form of Eska in Nickelodeon's animated series "The Legend of Korra" (via Behind the Voice Actors). A supporting character in the show, Eska is the sister of her equally monotone twin brother Desna, voiced by Aaron Himelstein (via Avatar Wiki). She inhabits the role perfectly, surprising her foes with her water-bending skills and deadpan humor (via YouTube).
Following that, Plaza voiced the English dub of art student Sachiko Hirokoji in Studio Ghibli's "From Up on Poppy Hill," before taking on the role of Greek Council President in "Monsters University." But then came Plaza's major role in the Lifetime film "Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever," where she voiced the viral cat sensation Grumpy Cat otherwise known as Tardar Sauce (via Rolling Stone). "I just thought it would be really fun," Plaza told Parade about the role. "I remember as a kid watching Christmas movies on TV, and I just thought, why not try to be a part of that [...] in the best possible way, as a famous cat."
After "Grumpy Cat," Plaza lent her voicing talents to characters in the likes of "Golan the Insatiable" as Dylan Beekler, "SpongeBob Squarepants" as Nocturna, "Crank Yankers" as Bernadette," "Calls" as Dr. Rachel Wheating," "Duncanville" as Nina, and "King Knight" as Pine Cone (via IMDb).