10. Jason Lee (Syndrome in The Incredibles)
I’ve only watched a few episodes of My Name Is Earl, so I didn’t really notice how familiar Syndrome’s voice sounded until I happened to look at the IMDb page for The Incredibles one day. I’m STILL shocked that Jason Lee is the voice behind Syndrome; he’s probably not the first actor who would come to most people’s minds if they were trying to think of a good intimidating voice for a Disney/Pixar villain. But he does do a very nice job in The Incredibles; not only does he voice Syndrome, but he also provided the voice for young Buddy Pine at the beginning of the movie in order to make Syndrome’s real identity more believable.
Lee also does a wonderful job of flipping back and forth between sinister, formidable opponent to Mr. Incredible…and enthusiastic fanboy. It’s obvious that Buddy Pine has grown to hate everything about Mr. Incredible, but he still can’t resist “geeking out” when Bob escapes from his death trap. But then he immediately reverts back to his role of nemesis, and it never feels jarring or awkward.
(I wish there weren’t subtitles in this video, but I guess when I want to show a specific clip and can’t upload videos myself, beggars can’t be choosers.)
Then there are scenes like this next one, where Lee almost makes it sound like Syndrome’s throwing a temper tantrum because he’s desperate to prove that he’s better than the Incredibles. He sounds obnoxious and childish, but after watching this movie multiple times, I realized that’s the whole point. Deep down, this is a bad guy who never quite grew up. A mature adult would’ve eventually figured out that Mr. Incredible was just trying to keep him out of harm’s way, because Buddy really didn’t understand how dangerous the life of a superhero could be. But he never does figure that out, because he can never let go of that initial rejection from someone he’d deeply admired. At heart, he’s still a confused, angry kid:
Syndrome is one of the few villains from a Disney or Pixar film to have a really sympathetic backstory, and I love how Jason Lee manages to convey the cruelty of Buddy Pine and the hurt that he continues to feel, while also handling his various mood swings with ease.
Of Mice and Magic 