Joe Ranft far outpaced many in his storytelling ability, but his vocal abilities also held a special quality. His characters could steal a scene after only a few seconds. Two of the most notable voices he provided were for Wheezy in Toy Story 2 and Heimlich in A Bug’s Life. The characters made audiences laugh but they also made people feel. Ranft injected the voices with life and filmgoers had nothing left to do but fall in love with the animated characters. After a short period of time, the animated characters did not feel so animated anymore – actually, they jumped off the screen with a lifelike quality and Ranft’s vocal talent played a huge role in that. [Read more…]