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Q: Who does the voice of the bad guy, Rothbart, in "Barbie of Swan Lake"? It sounds so familiar.

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

That voice is certainly distinctive, but of course it would have to be, since it was also supposed to be the voice of a popular Seattle radio host.

The evil wizard Rothbart in the 2003 direct-to-DVD animated film "Barbie of Swan Lake" is voiced by Kelsey Grammer, best known as the uptight psychiatrist Frasier Crane on the hit sitcom "Frasier," and the classic sitcom from which it spun off, "Cheers."

Grammer is no stranger to voicing mad-genius types, as he also holds a recurring role as the villainous Sideshow Bob on "The Simpsons."

"Barbie of Swan Lake," toy company Mattel's take on the classic fairy tale, was the third Barbie movie in a series that has now reached double digits. Other films in the series have featured the voices of other notable stars such as Anjelica Huston, Martin Short and Tim Curry.

The role of Barbie herself is played by Kelly Sheridan, a prolific voice actress who's also known for doing voices on action-packed cartoon TV series such as "InuYasha" and "Hero: 108." However, her first big break was on another doll-based series, "My Little Pony Tales," which debuted in 1992.

 

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