Why The Narrator From Barbie Sounds So Familiar

Plenty of stars in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" take great shots at stealing the spotlight, but one of the biggest contenders is someone that isn't even seen on screen for the entire film. While Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) is making a break for her pink paradise that turns into a Kendom while she's away, an elegant and perfectly pitched voice is joining her for the ride, going as far to have one of the funniest lines in the whole film. It's none other than the esteemed star of films like "Elizabeth" and "The Queen," along with recurring addition to the "Fast and Furious" franchise, Helen Mirren.

More notably seen in front of the camera, this Oscar-winning actress has applied her vocal cords to various roles over the years, long before she was heard breaking down Barbie's routine perfect day. For some, it might seem like a surprising choice in a world of wonderful and quite literally weird Barbies, but when it comes to Mirren's back catalog of vocal work, it makes total sense.

In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made many people angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. One right move, however, was casting Helen Mirren in the cult classic that should be considered one of the better big-screen adaptations of a beloved page-turner, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Boasting an impressive on-screen cast of Martin Freeman, Mos Def, and Zooey Deschanel, Mirren was one of many massive talents that applied her regal rasp as the supercomputer, Deep Thought.

Joining the likes of Stephen Fry and the late Alan Rickman, who also provided their voice talents for the film, Mirren was the highly advanced bit of hardware that was tasked to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything — only to come up with 42 as the answer. She may only be briefly in the film, taking on a role that's over 7.5 million years apart, but she'll certainly be immortalized as the computer with a huge noggin trying to find the answer to the question she didn't have.

Among the many Pixar installments to franchises that no one asked for, 2013's "Monsters University" might well be one of the most forgetful. It's a shame, really, because aside from John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles as younger versions of Sully and Mike, the film also starred Helen Mirren as the hard-faced faculty, Dean Hardscrabble. Being the tough teacher for our favorite Scare Pair was a job Mirren jumped at when speaking to Empire, deeming her part in the pantheon of Pixar films as one of the "major ambitions" of her career.

Describing the signature standard that Pixar has provided over the years, she said, "I think they have such a universality about them. About human nature, the fundamentals of human nature." Of course, like "Monsters University," so many other projects caught under that iconic desk lamp all have key traits in common. "They're so beautiful to look at," Mirren added. "They always seem to inhabit a world that is not specific to our world, our culture." Well, it's something they're scarily good at.

Of the many entries on Helen Mirren's acting resume, "The One and Only Ivan" is, unfortunately, one of the few that you'll now struggle actually to sit down and watch. Initially planned to arrive in theatres before COVID struck, the film arrived on Disney+ in 2020 and saw Sam Rockwell — who coincidentally starred in "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" with Mirren — as the titular gorilla. Supporting voice artists included Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, and Brooklyn Prince, with Mirren stepping in as Snickers, the spoiled poodle.

While it might sound like a bit of classic family fun from Disney, sadly, getting a glimpse of it isn't possible anymore. As part of Disney's massive digital cull in May, "The One and Only Ivan" was purged from the streaming service and is now unavailable anywhere to see. 

If you thought Helen Mirren dropping pearls of wisdom to Dominic Torretto was a wild career choice, just wait until you hear her talk dirty with a Depression Kitty called Kitty Bouchet in "Human Resources." An animated spin-off to the Emmy-winning series "Big Mouth," Mirren has made brief appearances in the show highlighting what the Hormone Monsters get up to when they're not trying to guide youngsters through puberty. Mirren is a Shame Wizard and mother to Lionel (David Thewlis). While only appearing in a handful of episodes, they are understandably standout moments for Mirren, who became an addition to the show that even one of its creators still couldn't quite believe.

In an interview with Consequence, Andrew Goldberg explained that getting Mirren on board for the series was a one-in-a-million shot that surprisingly paid off, along with the likes of Hugh Jackman, who also makes an appearance. "A lot of times it was like, 'Gosh, this, this character should be somebody incredible and powerful and demanding, like Helen Mirren.'" Well, if you have a name, you might as well go for it, right?" Goldberg said. "And it's like, 'Well, let's ask and see if she'll do it.' And then she says, 'Yes,' and you're like, 'Okay.'" From then on, she became the bargaining chip that never got old, as Goldberg added, "When you're asking somebody else, you can be like, 'Well, Hugh Jackman and Helen Mirren are doing it. So you might as well.'"