Hello and welcome to a very special edition of Dustin's Dirty Dozen to honor a recent loss in our entertainment industry. Robin Williams was a man with a large, eclectic body of work that has touched many people of my generation and earlier. From voice acting to comedic stand up, from comedy to suspense he has truly left this world with a body of work to be remembered for generations to come. My goal today is to touch on what I feel are his best performances in the film industry. So, let us get this memorial started.
Giving us a good impression of Robin Williams' wit, we start our list off with "Toys." A movie about a military General who inherits a toy company, leaving Robin Williams and friends to keep the toy company in tact before the general tarnishes it. This movie showed us how child like Robin Williams could be, and how quick his delivery is.
One of his earliest (or first attempt) to get to the big screen Robin Williams gave life to this cartoon in ways no one imagined. We saw how good he could portray a different face, and how far he could take it. Without Williams this movie would have definitely been easily forgotten.
Showing us his more serious side, this movie is still shown to psychology classes in high school when the teacher doesn't have a lesson plan for the day, or there is a sub. This movie shows Williams as a doctor in charge of mental patient Robert De Niro, which I always thought was a charming a bit of role reversal when I first saw it (since his roles in the past suggested that he would have made the perfect mental patient).
A pleasant moment from my childhood, "Jumanji" brought us a board game that made the effects of a wild jungle come to life. This movie was so well received that it was made into a cartoon serial sometime later, which you could have taken or left. Despite the lack of technology available during it's release this movie still holds up with the adults that saw it as a child.
There are quite a few people that can remember Robin Williams' interpretation of an adult Peter Pan, even though it was heralded as a critical disaster. Whether someone says "Hook" and it makes you break out into the chant "Hook, hook, give 'em the hook" or you just want to scream 'Bangarang!" at the top of you lungs. There is no denying that this movie registered with children of all ages, despite the fact that I still wish I could remember all of Robin Williams' insults to Rufio.
One of my favorite interpretations of the afterlife this movie always manages to reinstate my faith of something yet to come. A brilliant design team at the helm made this movie not only memorable; but, also a work of art to behold. Filled with enough twists to make M. Night Shyamalan wet his pants this movie became a roller-coaster and we all loved the ride.
Another movie used as a a lazy day for teachers (this time English teachers) this movie has been remembered for giving us the teacher we always wanted. I actually have talked to a few choice people that used this (among other movies) as their reason for perusing a career in education. Regardless of if it made you want to teach, made you laugh or made you cry there is no denying that this was one of his finest works.
This movie finally gave us a look at just how many characters Robin Williams could portray when he took on the role of a DJ that was deployed overseas during the Vietnam War. To me, this movie was the role that launched Robin Williams' career, and gave us the best look at his true talent. To this day, it can still brighten my mood and make me laugh.
Even among the great talents of Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Hank Azaria, Robin Willaims still shined in his role of a gay cabaret owner. He gave us an insightful look at the life of a gay man trying to play straight for the benefit of his son. He also gave some inspiring speeches for the benefit of LGBTQ community after its release, and I can only assume that this movie had a fair amount to do with the reasoning.
Probably one of his most notable roles among the rest on this list we all can remember the time Robin Williams dressed as an old woman. This movie not only gave us a good message about smoking (which I didn't listen to), and a message about keeping true to your values in the first five minutes. It let us know the reasoning behind divorce in a time where divorce was every where, and showed kids that it had nothing to do with them.
Probably the most amount of characters Robin has portrayed in a movie, his quick timing and wit put animators to the test of keeping up with him. The final count of characters in this masterpiece was supposed to be in the ballpark of 52, which should be a triumph to any actor. This movie has lit my T.V. Screen multiple times every year, and never gets old.
Of course the movie that got Robin Williams the "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" award at the Oscars was going to be number one on this list. It is still one of my favorite movies, regardless of what comes out because it was so smart. It may not have been Robin Williams in a comedic role, but it was Robin Williams at his absolute acting best.
Honorable Mention(s) )
Robin Williams plays a serial killer
Robin Williams is the voice of a bat
Robin Williams is a grown child, true to himself
Robin Williams is a doctor
Robin Williams is a robot
Robin Williams is the voice of a robot
Robin Williams is mentally handicapped
Robin Williams is the voice of a penguin
Robin Williams is Teddy Roosevelt
Robin Williams is an inventor
Robin Williams is Russian
......and more
12) "Toys"
Giving us a good impression of Robin Williams' wit, we start our list off with "Toys." A movie about a military General who inherits a toy company, leaving Robin Williams and friends to keep the toy company in tact before the general tarnishes it. This movie showed us how child like Robin Williams could be, and how quick his delivery is.
11) "Popeye"
One of his earliest (or first attempt) to get to the big screen Robin Williams gave life to this cartoon in ways no one imagined. We saw how good he could portray a different face, and how far he could take it. Without Williams this movie would have definitely been easily forgotten.
10) "Awakenings"
Showing us his more serious side, this movie is still shown to psychology classes in high school when the teacher doesn't have a lesson plan for the day, or there is a sub. This movie shows Williams as a doctor in charge of mental patient Robert De Niro, which I always thought was a charming a bit of role reversal when I first saw it (since his roles in the past suggested that he would have made the perfect mental patient).
9) "Jumanji"
A pleasant moment from my childhood, "Jumanji" brought us a board game that made the effects of a wild jungle come to life. This movie was so well received that it was made into a cartoon serial sometime later, which you could have taken or left. Despite the lack of technology available during it's release this movie still holds up with the adults that saw it as a child.
8) "Hook"
There are quite a few people that can remember Robin Williams' interpretation of an adult Peter Pan, even though it was heralded as a critical disaster. Whether someone says "Hook" and it makes you break out into the chant "Hook, hook, give 'em the hook" or you just want to scream 'Bangarang!" at the top of you lungs. There is no denying that this movie registered with children of all ages, despite the fact that I still wish I could remember all of Robin Williams' insults to Rufio.
7) "What Dreams May Come"
One of my favorite interpretations of the afterlife this movie always manages to reinstate my faith of something yet to come. A brilliant design team at the helm made this movie not only memorable; but, also a work of art to behold. Filled with enough twists to make M. Night Shyamalan wet his pants this movie became a roller-coaster and we all loved the ride.
6) "Dead Poets Society"
Another movie used as a a lazy day for teachers (this time English teachers) this movie has been remembered for giving us the teacher we always wanted. I actually have talked to a few choice people that used this (among other movies) as their reason for perusing a career in education. Regardless of if it made you want to teach, made you laugh or made you cry there is no denying that this was one of his finest works.
5) "Good Morning, Vietnam"
This movie finally gave us a look at just how many characters Robin Williams could portray when he took on the role of a DJ that was deployed overseas during the Vietnam War. To me, this movie was the role that launched Robin Williams' career, and gave us the best look at his true talent. To this day, it can still brighten my mood and make me laugh.
4) "The Birdcage"
Even among the great talents of Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Hank Azaria, Robin Willaims still shined in his role of a gay cabaret owner. He gave us an insightful look at the life of a gay man trying to play straight for the benefit of his son. He also gave some inspiring speeches for the benefit of LGBTQ community after its release, and I can only assume that this movie had a fair amount to do with the reasoning.
3) "Mrs. Doubtfire"
Probably one of his most notable roles among the rest on this list we all can remember the time Robin Williams dressed as an old woman. This movie not only gave us a good message about smoking (which I didn't listen to), and a message about keeping true to your values in the first five minutes. It let us know the reasoning behind divorce in a time where divorce was every where, and showed kids that it had nothing to do with them.
2) "Aladdin"
Probably the most amount of characters Robin has portrayed in a movie, his quick timing and wit put animators to the test of keeping up with him. The final count of characters in this masterpiece was supposed to be in the ballpark of 52, which should be a triumph to any actor. This movie has lit my T.V. Screen multiple times every year, and never gets old.
1) "Good Will Hunting"
Of course the movie that got Robin Williams the "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" award at the Oscars was going to be number one on this list. It is still one of my favorite movies, regardless of what comes out because it was so smart. It may not have been Robin Williams in a comedic role, but it was Robin Williams at his absolute acting best.
Honorable Mention(s) )
"Insomnia"
Robin Williams plays a serial killer
"FernGully: The Last Rainforest"
"Jack"
"Patch Adams"
"Bicentennial Man"
"Robots"
"House of D"
"Happy Feet"
"Night at the Museum" series
"Flubber"
"Moscow on the Hudson"
......and more
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