Jeff Bennett just reused his Ragdoll voice from The Batman (2004) when he played Joker on Batman: The Brave and The Bold. I'm confident in that fact, but I don't really care. Because he did both characters so well. I liked his portrayal of both characters. Growing up seeing both, he might be part of the reason I really, really like both of them.
And I just looked him up. How was I supposed to know he was Shocker on the Spectacular Spider-Man!? How!? I didn't even think he sounded like his other roles. So that's really impressive. Sometimes you can tell when it's an actor you've heard before (like how i knew Clancy Brown was the Rhino on that show), but I knew would have guessed that Jeff Bennett was Shocker. So i'm sufficiently impressed.
On my recent super-popular post about how Lilo & Stitch has no villains, there’s one comment that reoccurs the most (aside from the one about how the real villains are colonialism or the United States government):
So you know what? Let’s do it. Here we go with
Psycho Analysis: Dr. Jacques von Hamsterwheel
"It's Hämster-viel!”
Oh, sorry. My bad. Let’s try that again:
Psycho Analysis: Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel
(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)
This diminutive bastard certainly looks like a harmless little critter, but don’t let looks fool you; he is the unholy union of that French asshole from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Dr. Habitrale from the video game Stitch: Experiment 626 and is every bit the card-carrying villain Jumba is. However, while Jumba is all talk when it comes to being evil due to being a genuinely nice and extremely gay alien, Hämsterviel is just completely without redeeming qualities (and even worse, he’s heterosexual). He’s a nasty, miserable little bully, and quite frankly is just what the series needed.
Oh, and he was only in the DTV sequels and series, not the first movie. That’s why he wasn’t in the original post, guys. I was talking about the original film.
Motivation/Goals: This guy, in true evil scientist fashion, wants to conquer the galaxy. To this end he sends out Gantu to do his dirty work and acquire the 625 experiments who aren’t Stitch. If you’re looking for depth, Hämsterviel is not your guy.
Performance: No, that’s not John Cleese there; that is Jeff Bennet, the professional voice actor you might know as the titular character of Johnny Bravo, Petrie in the DTV Land Before Time sequels, Dexter’s dad on Dexter’s Laboratory, Brooklyn on Gargoyles, the one and only Candlejack from Freaka
...Sorry, don’t know what happened there. Anyway, as you can see from just that tiny sampling of his career, the dude is insanely talented and is able to pull off a lot of voices. Is it any wonder he’s killing it in this performance as an evil alien “hamster” with an ego as big as he is small?
Final Fate: Hämsterviel was a fool to think he could stand up to the power of family. Lilo, Stitch, and everyone else (including Gantu and Reuben) team up and beat his ass, sending him right back to jail… only this time, there’s no one who’ll be willing to bust him out. For a so-called evil genius, he really didn’t think this through very well.
Final Thoughts & Score: I think it is really easy to just write Hämsterviel off as an unnecessary addition to a franchise that didn’t need a cartoonish villain to cause conflict, and who sullies the tone and message of the original film. This just goes to show that sometimes doing what is easy is fucking stupid, because Hämsterviel rules.
Okay, he’s not the greatest or most complex villain who has ever existed. In fact, he’s fairly simplistic, but considering he’s the villain of a “Monster of the week” show that is a lighthearted continuation of a slightly heavier sci-fi drama, this is acceptable. He has enough quirks and characterizations that he is immensely fun to watch and, what’s more, watch him eat a big serving of humble pie nearly every episode. He’s like Rita Repulsa, except less sexy.
And honestly, I think even if the series is lighter and goofier with him in it, he provides a nice balance while reaffirming the core found family values of the series by acting as the antithesis to Lilo’s family. Hämsterviel is just completely, irredeemably evil; he refuses to change, and even when he’s finally defeated and hauled off in Leroy & Stitch, he hasn’t changed his tune. His cruel, abrasive attitude caused him to belittle and backstab Gantu and Reuben so much that both of them ended up betraying them, and the guy also threw Jumba under the bus. He’s just horrible, and he fails almost every single time. And do you know why? Because he ain’t got the power of family, baby!
Yes, Hämsterviel showcases the sort of miserable, unpleasant failure you’ll become if you’re a self-absorbed, self-reliant prick who thinks you’re above such silly things as “Companionship” and “love” and whatever. Even if Lilo’s family is a bit messy and at odds sometimes, they all love and care about each other to the point where, when given their life dreams and scatter across the galaxy, they decide that being a big stupid family together on Earth is way cooler and more important, and you know what? They’re right, because they save the world and send Hämsterviel to the space pokey. He is literally the only kind of villain who could possibly work in the series: An arrogant jackoff who is incapable of even understanding what it means to have a family.
As far as fun, Saturday morning cartoon-style villains go, Hämsterviel is a fun little villain, and definitely one of the most memorable parts of the sequels. I almost thought about giving him a 7, but honestly I think he’s iconic enough to get an 8/10. I think he can stand aside some of the great Disney villains as a fun comedic villain.
Oh, and did you know he actually had a cameo in the first film?
Maybe I should have mentioned him in my original post after all...
I just listened to that video of Jeff Bennet reciting gorillaz lyrics as Ace, and it... legitimately made me smile like such a goddamn fool, im super sick today, and thats the only thing thats made me happy so far. He's such a precious guy.
Also, shout out to Jeff Bennett, who is apparently in literally just about every single cartoon I watched as a kid. This guy has a stacked resume in voice acting, and his voice is so iconic! Voiced Johnny Bravo, Kowalski from Penguins of Madagascar, Yosemite Sam in Looney Toons?! He's like 10 voices in Young Justice.
