The Fantastic Career of Robin Williams
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Robin Williams is beloved and deeply missed by many. Williams is a gifted and versatile performer, both comedically and dramatically. Let’s celebrate his life by exploring the top fifteen best Robin Williams films.
15. FernGully: The Last Rainforest
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Robin Williams has done plenty of voice-over work, including Aladdin, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Robots, Happy Feet, and FernGully: The Last Rainforest. It makes sense. Williams is the man with a thousand voices and can even act cartoony in real life. Williams played the loveable, hyperactive bat named Batty Koda. Like many of his roles, Williams improvised much of his dialogue. The film is an entertaining, family-friendly fantasy that teaches about environmental conservation. It was ahead of its time, and as Mary Poppins says, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” It is a great hybrid of education and fun, with Williams as comic relief.
14. World’s Greatest Dad
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World’s Greatest Dad is written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, a fellow comedian and close friend of Robin Williams. The film is one of the great dark comedies. Watching the film now might be hard to watch for some, as only five years later, Robin took his own life. In the film, Lance Clayton, played by Williams, reframes his son’s death by writing a fabricated suicide note. Kyle Clayton, played by Daryl Sabara, was disrespectful, annoying, and a troublemaker. Clayton makes his son Kyle appear more sympathetic. The lie gets out of hand when Clayton writes a fictional journal claiming his deceased son wrote it. Clayton was an inspiring writer and is now becoming famous for work for which he cannot take credit. It is an interesting study of grief and how the living only wants to be seen and validated.
13. Patch Adams
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Based on a true story, Patch Adams is a film about a doctor who tries an alternative healing method. Dr. Hunter Adams, also known as Patch, is played by Robin Williams. Dr. Adams strongly believes humor and connecting with his patients have long-term medical benefits. In very Williams fashion, in preparation for the role, he visited real hospitals to cheer real patience while staying in character. William was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. There are some dark scenes with Patch’s suicide attempt and the death of Carin, which is Patch’s love interest. However, the film has scenes of levity, like when Patch dresses as a clown in the children’s hospital or when Patches takes an older woman to a pool filled with cold spaghetti.
12. Good Morning, Vietnam
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Good Morning, Vietnam is based on a true story about a radio DJ who brought up the spirits of the Vietnam troops. Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, who cheers up the soldiers with comedy and some fun rock and roll beats. The real Cronauer consulted on the film, which gave the film a more authentic feel. It was a phenomenal script, but some of Williams’s radio broadcasting dialogue was not surprisingly improvised. The performance earned William an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film does a wonderful job of balancing comedy and drama, making it both entertaining and engaging.
11. Jumanji
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Jumanji is a quintessential 90s movie, a classic in its own right. Robin Williams plays the lead, Alan Parrish, who ends up being trapped in the board game Jumanji for twenty-six years. The family-friendly action-adventure film takes us on a journey as the game comes to life. William, a kid at heart, plays Parrish as an adult. However, he is stuck in arrested development and must learn to shave and drive a car. There are many creepy crawly foes, but the main antagonist is Van Pelt, an expert hunter resembling Parrish’s father. Van Pelt represents the pressure he felt from his father. Parrish faces Pelt head-on but with the help of fellow board game players and friends. The film was successful, and eventually, the reboot Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was released, as well as the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level.
10. Awakenings
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Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall, was based on Oliver Sacks’s memoirs. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams, is a brilliant doctor who discovers a drug that gives catatonic patients temporary mobility. It is another tearjerker that will probably make you cry. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, Williams was snubbed for his subtle but poignant performance. However, his co-star, Robert De Niro, plays Leonard Lowe, who is Dr. Sayer’s patient and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Lowe’s character had been catatonic for decades until this blessing and curse of medicine temporarily allowed him to move and speak again.
9. The Fisher King
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Director Terry Gilliam, the mind behind Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, made the unique film The Fisher King. It stars Jeff Bridges, who plays Jack Lucas, and Robin Williams, who plays Parry. They make a great duo on-screen but are also real-life friends off-screen. Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying an unhoused man on an epic quest for the Holy Grail. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Parry experienced severe trauma when his wife was murdered. Lucas feels partially responsible when he indirectly inspires a listener to commit mass murder in a restaurant. The film explores mental illness and the literal and spiritual journey it takes to combat it.
8. What Dreams May Come
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What Dreams May Come is a visually striking, thought-provoking film about a grieving widower, Chris Nielsen, played by Robin Williams, who dies in a car accident and tries to find his wife in the afterlife. Grab your tissues because this is a tearjerker. It is a film about loss and grief and the torment when you lose a loved one, especially when it is untimely and, in this case, his wife’s suicide. It is especially upsetting to watch now, knowing Williams himself has taken his own life. The film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and it is a crime that Williams was not nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in this film.
7. Good Will Hunting
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Fully bearded and with a Boston accent, Robin Williams gives a grounded and complex performance in Good Will Hunting. Williams plays Sean Maguire, a therapist who takes on the unlikely genius Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, as a patient. The film was critically acclaimed and nominated for an impressive nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, and Williams won Best Supporting Actor. Even with a brilliant script, Williams, an unmatched improviser, improvised the well-known line “Your move, chief.” after a monologue he gave to Hunting about his fear of being vulnerable and opening up.
6. The Birdcage
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The Birdcage is an American remake of the French-Italian film La Cage aux Folles, which also was adapted to a Broadway musical of the same name. The chemistry between Robin Williams, who played Armand Goldman, and Nathan Lane, who played Albert, his partner, was electric. The film is hilarious but also does a brilliant job of shining a light on homophobia. Fun fact: Williams was originally going to play Lane’s character and vice-versa. Lane had not publicly come out at the time and was nervous about going on Oprah to promote the show. Williams is known for being an endearing, sweet person in real life, and he protected his co-star and friend from having to answer any question about his sexuality.
5. Dead Poets Society
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Dead Poets Society takes place at a stuffy prep school for boys. John Keating, played by Robin Williams, is a free-thinker who passionately teaches poetry. Mr. Keating ingrained in his students the “Carpe Diem” philosophy, Latin for seize the day. Wilton Academy, the boarding school in the film, is known for shaping boys into successful men. However, Mr. Keating wants his students to do what they are passionate about because they only have one life to live. It is a powerful message that inspires his students, like Neil Perry, to seek out his love of theater. However, Perry’s father is not supportive and forces him to quit. Consequently, Perry commits suicide by gun. Many see Mr. Keating as the reason for Perry losing his life and that he is too controversial to teach at the academy. However, in a memorable scene, all his students stand on their desks and quote the line, “O Captain! My Captain!” from a Walt Whitman poem. Williams’s touching, complex performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
4. One Hour Photo
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Robin Williams is regarded by many as one of the best comedians of all time. William has a lightning-quick mind and perfect timing and is primarily known for family-friendly comedies. Williams has also proven himself a serious actor, but he takes it to another level in the haunting film One Hour Photo. Seymour Parrish, better known as Sy, played by Williams, is an introverted, seemingly well-mannered photo technician. We see Williams’s incredible range when playing this unpredictable stalker, who creates a fictional relationship with a family member who frequents his one-hour photo lab. William disappears into the role and shows his range as a dramatic actor.
3. Mrs. Doubtfire
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Mrs. Doubtfire is a heartwarming story about Daniel Hillard, played by Robin Williams, a recently divorced dad trying to show up for his family and be there for his kids by any means necessary. Out of desperation, Hillard applies to be a nanny for his three children but goes incognito as an older Scottish woman named Mrs. Doubtfire. The film was successful, earning $441.3 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film in 1993. The film won an Academy Award for Best Makeup. Williams had to endure four grueling hours in the makeup chair each day of filming to transform into his alter-ego, Mrs. Doubtfire. Williams was also awarded a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. The beloved movie eventually became a Broadway musical.
2. Aladdin
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Aladdin is a classic princess Disney movie, but the character that stole the show was the Genie, played by Robin Williams. Williams was allowed to improvise a lot of his dialogue, and his silliness, quick wit, and impressions made the Genie one of the most memorable Disney characters of all time. Aladdin was a monster hit, grossing $504 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and was also the highest box office earner for 1992. The film won two Academy Awards for Best Orignal Score and Best Orginal Song, specifically for “Friend Like Me” — sung by Williams. However, Williams did not return for the sequel, The Return of Jafar, because they used his voice to sell merchandise for the movie after saying they would not. In total, there were three animated Aladdin movies, one animated TV series, one live-action remake, and one Broadway show.
1. Hook
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We are all familiar with the story of Peter Pan. Steven Spielberg reimagines the story of Peter Pan as a grown-up, forgetting the days of Neverland in the enchanting film Hook. Robin Williams dazzles us as the cellphone-holstering lawyer who learns to be a kid again using his imagination and a dash of magic. At the time, the film was not rated highly. Currently, on Rotten Tomatoes, it stands at twenty-nine percent. However, it has become a cult classic and has endured the test of time due to the warmth and playfulness of Williams’s performance. Despite some critics not liking it, the film still managed to snag five nominations for the Academy Awards.
