When it comes to hamminess, the AoStH Robotnik really is in a position to give himself a promotion.
"You dumb bots wouldn't know success if it bit you on the bumper! But I... the baron of badness... the knight of nastiosity... am on the brink of my greatest success!"
Lemongrab, from Adventure Time. Sweet mother of Glob, Lemongrab. What is his first line in the show, and the first thing he says when he enters the Candy Castle? "This Castle Is... In... Unacceptabllle Conditiiion! UNACCEPTABLLLEEE!!!" Though many, if not most, of the characters in Adventure Time are large hams, our pal LG takes the cake as the largest ham, thanks to his shrill, high-pitched, constantly shrieking voice, unnecessary charisma, and sheer, undiluted rage towards everything that even remotely disagrees with him.
How could we not mention the Ice King? The man is total ham.
Ice King: I'm TOYING with you! PSYCOLOGICALLY!
In Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog, Long John Baldry did a fantastic portrayal of Dr. Robotnik this way. Here are a few choice lines.
"Sonic is trapped in there! And the rest of Mobius is out here! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! And it's mine! IT'S MINE! All mine! ALL MINE!!!"
"How dare anyone on Mobius laugh at the great Dr. Robotnik!? No one makes fun of me! No one! Whoever is responsible for this outrage will be my first prisoner! (jumps into the air)BRING ME THE VILE CREATURE WHO DREW THIS CARTOON!!!"
"Sonic fell for it! Tails is ours! I'll have to give myself a Prrrromotion!"
Megatron from Transformers: Beast Wars. He's over-the-top because he's an egotistical megalomaniac with a flair for drama, but a credible threat nonetheless; suave, intelligent, and ruthless. At one point, he mugs for the camera while stepping on someone he'd just shot to prevent them from getting up. His megalomania is rather charming in its way, yeeeessss....
Blackarachnia: Why do you always talk to yourself? Megatron: A penchant for intelligent conversation.
And he's not the only Megatron/Galvatron to have a taste for pork. Note that the Unicron Trilogy version is also voiced by David Kaye. While he's not supposed to actually be the Beast Wars version, the ham will sometimes emerge. Especially in Armada, in which he is obsessed with his Evil Laugh. (Basically, take his laugh from this clip and multiply it by basically every episode. At times, he'll even start laughing, wind down... then spontaneously start up again.)
Frank Welkerdid say, about his role as G1 Megatron, that "my goal in this business was always to see if I could make [Peter Cullen] laugh water through his nose".
The Animated version of Starscream is a strong contender for biggest ham of the series, and still quite dangerous. When Bumblebee blasts him with electricity while he was talking to Megatron, his reply is to grab Bumblebee, pull him to within an inch of his face, and shout, "You interrupted MY SPEEEEEEEEEEECH!"
In Cybertron, after growing to giant size BY TRANSFORMER STANDARDS, that series' Starscream becomes an incredibly large ham. And Megatron's hamminess only increases after he becomes Galvatron.
The Original Series Starscream was hamtastic at times too. And speaking of...
Cobra Commander, "RETREAT, RETREAT!". But he was out-hammed by Serpentor. "THIS, I COMMAND!"
Rampage from Beast Wars, especially in his first appearance. "Yes, feel it! FEEL THE FEAR!"
In the same series, Terrorsaur seems to get significantly hammier in "Power Surge" after being supercharged.
Caliburst, a Nebulan Targetmaster, was such a ham actor it's said that his work isn't appreciated so much as endured. He does, however, put up a convincing front of bravery in and out of battle, encouraging his partner Slugslinger in the process.
Who could forget the literally planet-sized ham that is Unicron? Especially when he's voiced by Orson Welles himself.
While Unicron's good counterpart, Primus, isn't nearly as talkative, when he does speak up, it is with an appropriate tone of Biblical proportions.
Optimuses tend to be rather hammy by default. They don't say anything particularly hammy; they don't even raise their voice all that much. It's just that, especially when voiced by Peter Cullen, they simply exude enough gravitas to choke a yak, which is more than enough to compensate. You can feel the weight of their words.
Which is made all the better in War for Cybertron, where if you play on the Autobot team in multiplayer, Optimus Prime becomes your announcer. "Punch of Kill Everything equipped!", anyone?
Lugnut. Especially when it came to his grand and GLORIOUS leader.
Also Foghorn Leghorn, the boisterous—I say, boisterous, motor-mouthed rooster.*
Motor-mouthed, that is.
In the cartoons where he has a voice, Wile E Coyote.... SUUUUUPERRRRR GEEEEEEENIUSSSSSSSS!
Zapp Brannigan in Futurama. In fact, the character was originally pitched as "What if William Shatner were the captain of the Enterprise instead of Kirk?"
Also from Futurama, Calculon, with his literally "unholy.. acting.. TALENT!!"
Your ham fills me with [beat] sorrowww, [beat] ANGER!, [beat] feeear, every emotion an actor can display.
And all of the Omicron Persei VIII aliens, especially Lrrr and his wife Ndnd. (Would you like to buy a vowel?)
This concept of hamCONFUSES and INFURIATES US!!
MORBO!!
HAM DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!! GOODNIGHT!!!
MORBO MOCKS YOUR FOOLISH HAM!!! IT WILL BE DESTROYED IN THE UPCOMING INVASION!!! Now for sports.
HELLO TINY HAM, I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!!!!
"Welcome, to the WORLD of TOMORROW!"
"Shut up, Terry."
Hilariously lampshaded in the movie Beast With A Billion Backs:
Number 9 Guy does this Into the Wild Green Yonder, with coaching from Fry:
Nine: So dig this, Fry. Our commune has been monitoring the universe's life energy for, like, a really long time, and we're grokking some super weird junk.
Fry: Um, I don't mean to be rude, but it's kind of hard to take you seriously when you say junk like "grok" and "junk."
Nine: What about "commune"?
Fry: Especially "commune." Come on, it's the fate of the universe, puff it up a little. Like you could say your ancient order is sensing deep upheaval in the cosmic life energy field.
[Everybody murmurs.]
Nine: Okay. I'll try. So, like, a really, really long time ago... [Fry motions "longer" with his hands.] Eons ago? [Fry nods, approvingly] EONS ago!
Storm felt the need to shout loud proclamations and poetic verses while using her powers in X-Men. One of Rogue's very first lines in the series is a comment that she should ease up a little.
Hell, Storm even said normal things dramatically, like once when she and Cyclops had to split up, Storm's parting words were "I SHALL MEET YOU AT THE MONORAIL!"
This troper is particularly fond of the line "It is an AMBULANCE!"
Pretty hammy? He is as much hammier than mutants as they are above you. He is the ham ETERNAL! And he's voiced by no less than John Colicos - aka Kor, the first Klingon in Star Trek. Who of course returned in DS9 even hammier than he was in TOS.
"Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable ham! But, a foolish samurai warrior, wielding a magic sword, stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I TWORE open a portal in time, and flung him into the future, where my evil is LAW! Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is AKU!!!"
The Spanish dub out-hams it, as Aku has... well, this voice.
"ENOUGH! This next story is true to its utmost detail! Once, there was an all-powerful, all-mighty wizard, and a pathetic little samurai. And the wizard DESTROYED HIM!!! THE END!"
The series has another large haggis- er, ham, in the Scotsman. Big, bold, brash, and very strong, his voice just doesn't seem to have a volume control*
except when stealthing past Celtic demons, of course
. In his first appearance, there's a point where Jack is surprised that an attack of his did not break the Scotsman's sword. The Scotsman's response?
"MAGIC RUNES, laddie!"
Limburger from the original Biker Mice from Mars series was a bit like this on most occasions and also a Small Name, Big Ego. From the new series there's Ronaldo Rump and also Hairball.
It's probably telling that the Joker had the most frequent Do Not Adjust Your Set plots, so he could broadcast his villainous (and hammy) acts to the world. Hell, let's just say if you're playing the Joker, you're gonna ham it up.
DCAU Joker was played by MarkHAMill, who would practice his evil laughs when driving along LA highways, trying to be as hammy as possible.
Scarecrow: I am the master of fear! The lord of despair! Cower before me and witness terror! Harley Quinn: Hi, Professor Crane. Scarecrow: Good evening, child... Worship me, fools! Worship me! Scream hosannas of anguish to Scarecrow, the all-terrible God of Fear!
The Penguin has his moments as well. Lampshaded in the episode Almost Got 'im:
Penguin (telling his story to the other crooks): Greetings, Batman! You have taken the bait, as I knew you would. Now, prepare to meet your end, within my Aviary of Doom! Poison Ivy (interrupting): Aviary of WHAT? Joker: Yeesh, Pengers! How corny can you get? Penguin: Fah! Just because you mundane miscreants have no drama in your souls! Anyway, there he was in my av... uh, big birdhouse...
Invader Zim: "WHO??? WHO DID THIS??? WHO DARES TO SOIL MY NORMAL BOY HEAD WITH THIS... PORK COW?"
Zim is the king of this trope. Pretty much every single line he says has him screaming something.
Don't forget GIR. "I WAS THE TURKEY ALL ALOOOONG!!"
"DUMB LIKE A MOOSE!"
Richard actually pointed this out several times, saying that Zim is the hardest role he's ever done, because even his NORMAL speaking voice is shouting.
Interestingly enough, when Dib breaks into his house during the Halloween special, he doesn't start yelling until after Dib ignores pretty much everything he says.
Zim: Help?! You?!
Dib: You're the only one with the technology—
Zim: HELP?!?! YOU?!?! Come to me? Your greatest, most amazing enemy? Your future slave-master and you ask for HELP?!?
Ham seems to be a class feature of Irkens, whether it's the Almighty Tallest ("Soon, all the races of the universe will serve... the IRKEN EMPIRE!"), Tak ("I should have been an Invader! I should have been part of the Great Assigning! I shouldn't have to be stealing this planet from you!"), or even little Skoodge ("So that no Irken boot has to come into contact with any unsavoury alien filth! HOO-AH!")
"Mortal enemies, teaming up for THE GREATER GOOD!"
Since Daggett was mentioned, Norbert Beaver also qualifies as a Ham.
With his trusty HELMUUUUUUTTTTT!!!!!!
Powerpuff Girls. "You cannot defeat me, for I am undefeatable, I am Moooooojoooo Jojo! That is my name, Mojo Jojo. The name I am telling you, for it is mine."
Do not be too hasty to enter. For I had... TACO BELL FOR LUNCH.
Fetch me my BLUE WINDBREAKER!
And the Monarch can ham it up with the best of them when he's in his full-on villain mode.
With every fiber of my being, I stab at thee! As long as blood flows through this heart, I will hunt you down! I will be the stuff of your children's nightmares! *muffled* ...AND THEN, when nothing can be heard but your cries of agony, I will PULL THE CHAIN and let the beast devour you! Mark my words...I will have my revenge... DOCTOR VENTURE!!
IGNORE ME!!!
"...Yes, Dr. Venture, WIRED! Like a bomb strapped to a killer whale, set to go off the moment you try to free yourself!!"
Mr. Impossible has some of it as well, in early episodes. Being played by Stephen Colbert didn't hurt. He tends to be hammy in the Mad Scientist sense.
Avatar The Last Airbender is a series just bursting with Large Hams. Not only villains and main characters, but lots of secondary and even one-time characters as well.
Over reacting to almost everything, Sokka hams it up a couple of times every spisode.
Jeong Jeong. Every line that Jeong Jeong said was super serious and dramatic, especially when he angsted about how much of a BURDEN firebending is. Add to that that his voice itself is quite hammy, no matter what he is saying. Hey, his pupil Zhao had to get it from somewhere.
"What would a boy know of destiny? If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river's destiny? NO! Only that it runs on and on out of his control! He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean!"
"I've always wished I were blessed like you [[Katara]]. Free of this BURNING CURSE."
"Water brings healing and life. Fire brings only DESTRUCTION and PAIN."
And let's not forget Ozai (HAMill again) in the finale
"You're weak! Just like the rest of your people! They did not deserve to exist in this world, in my world! Prepare to join them! Prepare to DIIIIIIE!"
Like in everything else, Azula follows closely in her father's footsteps. Unlike lots of other Large Hams, she doesn't have to resort to shouting every single one of her lines. Instead she has the overwhelming charisma and just the right amount of insanity to make almost everyone cower before her instinctively. Then, once they are shaking with fear, THE HAM IS UNLEASHED!
Azula appears just right after Season One villain Zhao was defeated (even the same episode). When it came to hamminess, her predecessor was just like her.
Zhao: "I am... a legend now. The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon! They will call me Zhao the Conqueror! Zhao the Moon Slayer! Zhao, the INVINCIBLE!!!"
While usually more of the Deadpan Snarker type, Toph also enjoys some really good hamming from time to time. Usually while beating the crap out of large numbers of much larger men by throwing around boulders. Among other things, giving the (intentionally) most hammy performence of the entire series:
"Please, do people really want to see two little girls fighting?"
Before any of that, we were given the "Professional Earthbenders", especially "The Boulder." Let's see...he's a pastiche of Dwayne Johnson, both in looks (sort of) and personality (Johnson's legendary character The Rock), and is voiced by another professional wrestler, Mick Foley, who is a friend of The Rock's and can be — and has been — as over-the-top and cheesy as other wrestlers. One listen to The Boulder's lines tells you that Mick was having a grand old time voicing The Boulder.
Being one of the greatest Self Parodies in recent years, The Ember Island Players are overacting the entire time, trying to out ham each other.
"I'm so filled with hope that I'm TEARBENDING!"
"HONOOOOOOOOOOR!"
The prison warden who imprisons Haru. It helps that he's voiced by George Takei.
Freakazoid. Know what? Considering both Freakazoid and the previously-mentioned Chuckles the Silly Piggy, can we just say that any character voiced by Paul Rugg falls under this?
I guess so. Mr. Director from Animaniacs and Nostradamus from Histeria! also fall under this, as does Rugg's live-action character of Manny the Uncanny from Disney's One Saturday Morning.
Mr. Guitierrez definitely counts. If you need proof, just remember that "HE IS NOT A WHEENIE! YOOOOOOU ARE THE WHEENIE!!!"
"You can start by making me a FRESH POT OF COFFEE!" *Dramatic Thunder*
The Histeria! episode with the Wright Brothers has Froggo asking them for a bag of marshmallows and a crate of leeches, and then later for a tambourine and a vat of spam; both times they tell him no. His responses: "NO?! NO?! OH NOO! NO, IT CAN'T BE!! AAAHHHHH!!!!" and "NO! NO!NOOOOO!! THIS IS A DISASTER!!!"
Most cartoon knocks off of Elvis Presley in cartoons such as Johnny Bravo.
Also to a lesser extent, Matt Frewer as Jackal. Come to think of it, Matt Frewer is a ham overall. So... says... the LEADER!
And, of course, Puck.
"Don't interrupt! I'm on a roll!"
Let's not forget Dr. Sevarius, played by the always-hammy Tim Curry.
And Thailog, who actively cultivates an Evil Laugh and genuinely revels in his villainy, though he can be dangerously understated when he really wants to be scary.
The Archmage is also a pretty melodramatic guy.
Don't forget Xanatos's occasional forays into Large Ham territory, though he always manages to Lampshade them. Which makes the moments hammier, since he's obviously playing it up for the sheer joy of it.
Goliath has his hammy moments as well.
"I've been denied everything...even my REVENGE!"
Skull Master from Mighty Max. I think Tim Curry's favorite food is ham, such as when he returns to the surface.
The Sun? THE SUN. to feel the sun (beat) again, to feel the wind, To be... IN THE DAY WORLD, to be... FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
I don't offer you just anything - I OFFER YOU EVVVVVVVERYTHING!
I'm the biggest thing since World War III!
She can sing or SHE CAN SCREAM! (calmly) But she still pissed me off.
YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I... AM... MOK!
The title character from Darkwing Duck, particularly when he's monologing. Over on the villain side, we have Negaduck (whose hammy nature is befitting, as he's DW's Evil Twin), and Tuskerninni, an ex-actor/director turned criminal:
Darkwing: I caught that hateful, underhanded ham Tuskerninni robbing a bank!
Wait! I haven't tried toadying, kowtowing and butt-kissing yet! I'm still begging here!
Your duck? Bah! I belong to the world.
Hey, come here! Come here! Give me a close-up. A close-up!
All right. Enough is enough. This is the final, the - the very, very last straw! Who's responsible for this? This... I demand that you show yourself! Who are you? Huh?
And his hammiest line of all.
(Coming out of Porky's refrigerator dressed in winter gear) "What a trip! What a trip! Blizzards all the way! Snow 20 feet deep! But we had to get that serum through! It was mush, mush, mush all night! (Grabbing the dog and pushing him like a sled dog) Come on, mush, mush, mush, mush, mush!Suddenly, the glacier cracks! There's a roar! Tons of ice! No escape! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!How things been with you?"
Heck, most Looney Tunes characters have their moments of ham. Even Yosemite Sam:
His brother, the Heat Miser, might actually be an even bigger ham.
That's a mystery but they're hammy in their own special as well.
Both Jabba The Hutt and his evil uncle Ziro in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Ziro in particular seeing as his voice is based on Truman Capote. One day Ah'll rule tha hutts!.
Most characters on My Gym Partner's a Monkey act like this. Jake Spidermonkey being the most obvious example.
The Spectacular Spider Man has Mysterrrrrio, who, true-to-form, embodies and revels in this trope. Only when he's "performing", though
Spiderman The Animated Series from the early nineties, which has pretty much every character fall into hamminess at one point, especially the villains.
Special mention goes to Neil Ross as Norman Osborn / the Green Goblin, who has not a single line that isn't pure 100% pork.
Codename: Kids Next Door gives us Moosk, who is both an exceptionally large ham and an affectionate parody of Minsc, also voiced by Jim Cummings. "Spray starch?! SPRAY STARCH!!!"
You are styoopid! You are styoopid! And you know what else? YOU ARE STYOOPID!! (and this wasn't even the regular voice actress!)
"AT LAST! MY GRRRREATEST CREATION IS COM-PLEEEE-TED!" *holds up a plate of cookies*
Dr Weird from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. There's his Catch Phrase "Gentlemen...BEHOLD!" and then there is his tendency to announce even the most mundane of actions in a loud booming voice. "Observe, as I...ADJUST THE HEAT! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!!"
"Gentlemen... BEHOLD! I have made LOVE to this MACHINE! And now, upon retrospect, I ASK WHY!"
On the villain side, Doctor Wongburger and balloon Hitler.
Mother Brain of Captain N: The Game Master, who was voiced by the lead singer of The Four Tops. Always dramatic, always flamboyant, always fantastic.
The eponymous Big Guy of Big Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot is prone to making pronouncements like this one: "No not of this Earth surgical probe wielding invaders are going to deprive this planet's children, and their growing bones, of even one glass of wholesome milk!" The contrast between the understated, somewhat cynical Lieutenant Hunter and the overblown, jingoistic personality he takes on while piloting the Big Guy mech goes a long way to explain why almost no one ever catches on that they are one and the same.
Technus from Danny Phantom defines this. "I...AM TECHNUS! GHOST MASTER OF SCIENCE AND ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY!"
Sam actually uses this against him the first time they fight by asking him to shout out his name and motive. He happily complies, giving Sam and Tucker time to upload a virus.
Let's not forget Super Danny from Identity Crisis. "I'm not alright, I'm DANNY FENTON!"
And brilliantly, Technus fights Super Danny in Identity Crisis, so. . .
Brother Blood from Teen Titans has a flair for the dramatic and a tendency to go quite over the top when his plans are working (or when they're not and he's angry at someone because of it, for that matter). Word Of God says this was done deliberately to make a contrast with the previous two seasons' Big Bad, Slade.
Although she usually behaves like the very opposite of a ham, Misery from Ruby Gloom sometimes gets into this role with remarkable ease:
"I'm also the Queen of Disasters, by the way. And the Princess. And the Baroness. And the Countess!! And the Viscountess!! THE EMPRESS!!!"
"BEWARE!!!...of the cupboard!"
"As my great-great-great-aunt used to say whenever she got BLASTED out of a volcano...well, she mostly just screamed. But the point is: Try, try and try again!"
Misery seems to be some kind of inflatable ham, who can slip in and out of hammy acting at the drop of a hat. Many of her lines are half ham, half deadpan.
Bluster Kong needs to be listed simply for this one scene from the episode "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster":
(while combing his hair) "There, how could Candy possibly resist me now? (looks at his comb) What's this?! Hair?! My hair?!? AAAAHHHH!!! My hair's falling out! Don't panic, don't panic. I've got just the tonic. 'For beautiful manageable hair'. 'For full-bodied hair'. 'For silky hair'. WHAT ABOUT FALLING OUT HAIR!? Keep calm, I'll... I'll combine them all together!"
(Later...)
"Ugh, what a smell. I can't use this. So what if I've lost a bit of hair? (looks at his comb again)AAAHH!! More hair! I'm shedding!!"
The Big Bad King K. Rool. I dare anybody to find a line of his that isn't hammy to some extent.
Filmations Ghostbusters is, in many people's opinion, a fairly tedious animated series. However, it does have the magnificently malevolent Prime Evil as portrayed by Alan Oppenheimer. Prime Evil alone makes it well worth the price of admission.
Tzekel-Kan: I KNOW what you are. and I KNOW what you are NOT. And you are NOT. GODS!!!
"Now EVERYONE will know the truth... of your... DIVINITY!"
Can Richard Newman, as the voice of M. Bison in the animated Street Fighter series, really compete with Raul Julia's live action portrayal of the character for sheer hamminess? Yes! Yes! See the context of this deliciousness here.
While the world of the Super Hero Squad is World of Ham, Dr. Doom stands out. Charles Adler must BATHE in Ham to do it. Thor, Wolverine, and Captain America are hammy but to a much lesser extent. Loki is another hammy villain.
THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT WAY OF HAMMING IT UP!
The Great and Powerful Trixie (surprisingly not voiced by St. Germain, but by Kathleen Barr) is pretty much made of pork, appropriate for her role as a Stage Magician and Fake Ultimate Hero.
Kung Fu Panda Legends Of Awesomeness: Po Ping is very much this. Also, the show's starting to fill up with villain hams. Heck, even the names of places tend to be a little hammy.
