Line #30 Creator/CreeSummer


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cs2.jpg]]
2
3	->''"My voice sounds like I dragged my vocal chords down a dirt road and then doused it in Jack Daniels and mentholated Cools."''
4
5	Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is an American-Canadian (born in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, raised in Saskatchewan) actress whose career began in 1983 when she was cast as the voice of niece Penny on the original cartoon version of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''. Her unique, throaty voice was instantly recognizable to casting agents (as well as viewers even today), who began frequently casting her in animated programs.
6
7	In all, Summer has voiced over 100 animated characters since 1983, many of them African-American girls[[note]]she herself is half-white, one-quarter African American, and one-quarter Native American. In fact, her name "Cree" is the name of one of the largest Indigenous groups in North America, and she was adopted into the Plains Cree Nation[[/note]], though she has voiced her fair share of white girls, such as Elmyra Duff from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' (and ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'') and Penny from ''Inspector Gadget''[[note]]she also auditioned to voice Meg Griffin on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', but show creator Creator/SethMacFarlane thought it would be in poor taste to have a black woman voice a white girl, despite that Cree Summer has done it before and there hasn't been any outrage over it[[/note]]. These have spanned the realm of video games, cartoon television series, animated films and commercials.
8
9	Fun facts:
10
11	* Her father is {{jazz}} musician Music/DonFrancks, and her younger brother is Creator/RainbowSunFrancks. There was a time where she was credited by her full name, but she dropped the last part, as she felt that name made her sound like a brand of hot dogs.
12	* She is married to filmmaker and photographer Angelo Pullen, and they have two daughters, Brave (born March 2011) and Hero (born January 2013).
13	* She also has a musical career. She was the lead singer of the short-lived band Subject to Change, whose album ''Womb Amnesia'' was canceled by Creator/CapitolRecords before its intended release in 1993, although some promo copies sneaked out. She released a solo album, ''Street Faërie'', in 1999.
14
15	----
16	!!Notable roles:
17	!!!Advertising
18	* Ms. Green from Advertising/MAndMs commercials
19
20	!!!Film
21	* Herself in ''Film/IKnowThatVoice''
22	* Princess[[spoiler:/Queen]] Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh in ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' (her first major role in an animated film)
23	* Mena in ''WesternAnimation/BambiII''
24	* Penelope in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel''
25	* TBA in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagiciansElephant''
26	* One of the talking seagulls in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater''
27	* Mercy Graves in ''WesternAnimation/SuperManDoomsday''
28	* Additional voices in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie''
29	* Additional voices in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4''
30	* Hippolyta and Medusa in ''WesternAnimation/WonderWomanBloodlines''
31
32	!!!Live-Action TV
33	* Freddy in ''Series/ADifferentWorld'' (one of her two significant ''live-action'' roles)
34	* Jan in ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows2019'' (the other significant live-action role Summer has had)
35
36	!!!Video Games
37	* Alison Crestmere/Magma in ''VideoGame/XMenLegends''
38	* Archangel Auriel in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm''
39	* Belgemine and young Tidus in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''
40	* Calli and Lenne in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''
41	* Evil Cynder from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning''
42	* Dr. Penelope Young in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum''
43	* Lynette in ''VideoGame/Fallout2''
44	* Medusa in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''
45	* Mindy in ''[[VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater Tony Hawk's American Wasteland]]''
46	* Dr. Sinclair in ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}''
47	* Protoss Executor Selendis in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII''
48	* Kit Brinny as well as several Chua [=NPCs=] in ''VideoGame/WildStar''
49	* Tandi in ''VideoGame/Fallout1''
50	* Tatjana in ''VideoGame/ArcTheLadTwilightOfTheSpirits''
51	* Teledoor in ''VideoGame/BrokenAge'' (as well as bit parts such as Vella's mother and the "fun size" maiden)
52
53	!!!Western Animation
54	* Ace on ''WesternAnimation/DinoTrux''
55	* Aka Pella in ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}''
56	* Anna on ''WesternAnimation/PuppyDogPals''
57	* Beast Girl in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo''
58	* Bethanie Ravencroft in ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman''
59	* Blackarachnia in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''
60	* Bunny and Grandma Tentacles in ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow''
61	* Catnip in ''WesternAnimation/HelloKittysFurryTaleTheater''
62	* Chilly Cooper in ''Slimer! and WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''
63	* Chloe in ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries''
64	* Cleo in ''Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog''
65	* [[spoiler:[=Cookie BaBoom=], the Mayor's deranged "exotic dancer" ex-girlfriend]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'' (episode - "Flight as a Feather")
66	* Denzel on ''WesternAnimation/HenryHugglemonster''
67	* Dulcy the Dragon in ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM''
68	* Edna Peopleson on ''WesternAnimation/VampirinaBallerina''
69	* Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain''
70	* Foxxy Love, Strawberry Sweetcake, Super Nanny, Ni-Pul, Xandir's Girlfriend, Captain She-Ro, Letta Lame, the other Foxxy Five members, Queen of Mexico, Georgina in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''
71	* Frightwig in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10''
72	* Geri on ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs''
73	* Granny May from ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl''
74	* High Priestess Haggar [[spoiler:and Honerva]] in ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender''
75	* Hailey in ''Weird Answer Kommand.''
76	* Haruna's mother on ''WesternAnimation/MilesFromTomorrowland''
77	* Hyena in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''
78	* Jamzy and the Flexer Teacher in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}''
79	* Lady Macbeth in ''WesternAnimation/ProjectGeeker''
80	* One of the Lemoncarb twins in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeFionnaAndCake''
81	* Lizard and [=DeeDee=] in ''WesternAnimation/SpiritRangers''
82	* Madame Xanadu and Aquagirl in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''
83	* Maxine Gibson in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''
84	* Miranda in ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger''
85	* Nebula in ''WesternAnimation/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2015''
86	* Nefertina in ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive''
87	* Numbuh 5/Abigail Lincoln and her sister [[TheDanza Cree]] Lincoln in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''[[note]] While Abby is Cree using her more or less standard 'character' voice, she uses her actual speaking voice for the character Cree.[[/note]]
88	* The offscreen singer for the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 "Tiger Prince"]] episode in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''
89	* Panthera in ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011''
90	* Penny in early seasons of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''
91	* Penelope in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel''
92	* Pilgrim the dog, Kermit's star, and Kermit's mother in ''Film/KermitsSwampYears''
93	* Prince Louie in the later episodes of ''WesternAnimation/JungleCubs''
94	* Princess Kitana in ''WesternAnimation/MortalKombatDefendersOfTheRealm''
95	* Princess Kneesaa in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ewoks}}'' (season 1)
96	* Queen Xhan in ''WesternAnimation/KidCosmic''
97	* Raishan and Salda on ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina''
98	* Richard's mother and Mrs. Torres on ''WesternAnimation/TheRocketeer''
99	* Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Hippolyta in ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls2019''
100	* Sheba Beboporeba in ''WesternAnimation/TheTwistedTalesOfFelixTheCat''
101	* ComicBook/SheHulk in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk1996'' (season 2)
102	* Skeeter on ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies2018''
103	* Spitfire in ''WesternAnimation/RobotAndMonster''
104	* ComicBook/{{Storm\|MarvelComics}} in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow''
105	* Susie Carmichael in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp''
106	* Tessa and Vanessa James in ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn''
107	* Thunder on ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls''
108	* [[BetaBitch Tiff]] on ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''
109	* Valerie Gray in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''
110	* ComicBook/{{Vixen}} in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''
111	* Wuya in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinChronicles''
112	----
113	!!Tropes associated with Cree Summer:
114	* ActingForTwo:
115	** As sisters Abigail and [[TheDanza Cree]] in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''.
116	** As Lenne and Calli in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' she had also voiced Tidus's younger self (who doesn't appear in the second game).
117	** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeXIInvasionOfTheTinysauruses'' as Lizzie and Bonehead.
118	** As Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.
119	** In ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' she voices eight other characters in addition to Foxxy Love.
120	* ActorAllusion: In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' she voices an original character named Penny Young, a reference to her first major role - Penny in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget''.
121	* ActorInspiredElement: Miranda Killgallen was going to be white, but was changed to a black girl when Cree was cast.
122	* TheCastShowOff: Susie becomes an aspiring singer in ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'', allowing Cree to show off her singing talents.
123	* CrossCastRole: She's voiced white characters before, as well as voiced little boys. WordOfGod has stated that where she'd be stuck only playing the TokenBlackFriend on-camera, as a voice actor she has the range to play anyone/thing whether it's the ''white'' girl in that situation or an AnimateInanimateObject.
124	* TheDanza: As Cree Lincoln in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', though her more prominent role in the show is Cree's little sister Abigail, a.k.a Numbuh Five.
125	* InkSuitActor: When voicing Princess Kida, the animators modelled her movements and gestures off Summer while she was in the studio.
126	* MagnumOpusDissonance: The favourite character of hers that she's voiced is actually Princess Kida. She jokes that she considers her a Franchise/DisneyPrincess even if she isn't in the line-up.
127	* NonSingingVoice: She provides Lenne's speaking voice in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' but the singing is done by Jade Villalon, who also sings for Yuna. However in ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' she does sing for Susie.
128	* OldShame: Her voice acting work for Nelvana in Canada for three reasons: 1. Nepotism as her father was also doing voices there, 2. She was more focused on her music career and 3. "The ''[[PrecisionFStrike fucking]]'' Franchise/CareBears."
129	* OnlySoManyCanadianActors: One of the few examples of this trope to break out of this, since only her pre-''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' resume consisted of Canadian works.
130	* TheOtherDarrin:
131	** She's the Other Darrin for minor character Calli in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', but is two years older than the first game, justifying the change.
132	** She was on the other side of this trope with Tandi between ''VideoGame/Fallout1'' and ''VideoGame/Fallout2''. This is justified in that eighty years pass between those games.
133	* TheOtherMarty: Was originally cast as Meg Griffin in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' before getting replaced by Lacey Chabert - who was likewise replaced by Mila Kunis. On the flip side, she replaced Ralph Hall on ''Henry Hugglemonster''.
134	** She was also the original Lisa, Will Smith's love interest on Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelair for one episode before Nia Long permanently took the role.
135	* PigeonholedVoiceActor: Need a SassyBlackWoman? Cree Summer is your girl. Half the examples on the page are voiced by her.
136	* PlayingAgainstType:
137	** Miranda Killgallen in ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' is not particularly sassy and is actually a manipulative scheming BetaBitch. Cree Lincoln from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' is in a similar vein. Not coincidentally Summer uses a similar voice as Miranda's.
138	** Princess Kida in ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' is TheChiefsDaughter.
139	** Both characters she voices in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' - Calli is an AdorablyPrecociousChild, while Lenne is a MysteriousWaif. In the previous game she voiced Tidus's younger self as a BrattyHalfPint.
140	** She voices Edna Peopleson on ''WesternAnimation/VampirinaBallerina'', Poppy and Edgar's nice, but normal mom.
141	* PlayingWithCharacterType: Susie in ''{{WesternAnimation/Rugrats}}'' has some sass from time to time but she's usually the OnlySaneMan or the moralistic {{Foil}} to the more exaggerated personalities on the show.
142	* RaceFetish: Her song, "Curious White Boy" calls out this trope that the titular curious white boy may like sleeping with her, but ''doesn't'' want to let his parents know about her out of shame.
143	* RoleReprise: Voiced [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget Penny]] again on ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' where Gadget got taken over by [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} SkyNet]] as well as an [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Elmyra]] {{Expy}}.
144	* RomanceOnTheSet: She was in a long term relationship with Kadeem Hardison during the run of ''Series/ADifferentWorld''.
145	* TheStoner: [[SarcasmMode Shockingly, the daughter of hippies used to smoke pot]], which gave her the signature rasp in her voice. Since she quit, the rasp has faded over the years.
146	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
147	** Creator/SethMacFarlane initially chose Summer to play Meg in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' before she was replaced by an uncredited Creator/LaceyChabert and later Creator/MilaKunis, but, depending on who you ask, either Creator/SethMacFarlane thought having a (half-white) black woman play a white girl would be in poor taste[[note]] which would be baffling considering that nearly every pre-''Cleveland Show'' black character was voiced by a white cast member [[/note]] or Summer turned down the offer because she didn't want to voice white girls anymore. In other interviews she's said that she simply wasn't the right choice for the role.
148	** Miranda on ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' was written to be white, but changed to a black girl when Summer was cast - also in an attempt to diversify the cast.
149	** She almost didn't get the role for [[WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether Foxxy Love]] because she self-admittedly phoned it in until Creator/TaraStrong [[WhatTheHellHero called her out on it]] and went back for a proper audition.
150	----
151	-->"[[WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}} What's the dilly-o with]] ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}} that]]?''"

Context Creator / CreeSummer