Country News

Country News

Country News

Country music stars have dabbed in acting since the 1960s when stars like Glen Campbell spent time in Hollywood. Campbell joine John Wayne in the 1969 classic True Grit. The part earned Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. Glen also had his own variety series in the 1960s that welcomed many music stars from the day.

In the 1970s, country stars like Jerry Reed, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash all took to acting like it was second nature. Reed, who was known for the Smokey and the Bandit movies with his buddy Burt Reynolds, even played himself as an animated character in The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Fellow Country Music Hall of Famer Kris Kristofferson also played animated characters like Old Donkey from the animated holiday movie The Star in 2017.

In the 1980s, Dolly Parton was the country star who acted in many movies, including the Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin movie 9 to 5 that we all know and love, making Dolly a household name worldwide. The 1990s brought many country stars into acting, including Tim McGraw, whose first acting appearance came in a 1997 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy’s rival. Randy Travis also dabbled a lot in acting, playing in movies and television; he even played an animated character in the 1997 movie Annabelle’s Wish. In that movie, he played adult Billy, the narrator, who, as a child, can’t speak.

Many country stars like Wynonna Judd, Travis, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels, Brad Paisley, and others played themselves in the Fox animated classic series King Of The Hill, which is said to be making a comeback in the next few years on Hulu. Nelson has also co-starred in a number of movies, starting with The Electric Horseman in 1979.

We started to look at county stars today who have played animated characters in movies and TV and came up with five who made the transition to cartoon characters seem easy.

RELATED: Top 5 Kelly Clarkson / Reba McEntire Moments

  • Blake Shelton - Movies: "Angry Birds" (2016) - "UglyDolls" (2019)

    Blake has played two animated characters in his career. In 2016, he played his first animated role as Earl The Pig. Blake also contributed to the movie’s soundtrack with the song “Friends,” in which he sings along with many of his Angry Birds friends.

    In 2019, Shelton played the character OX, the unofficial Mayor of Uglyville. He plays opposite his buddy Kelly Clarkson, who plays Moxy in the film, described “as a friendly, big-hearted UglyDoll who leads her friends on an adventure to find her perfect kid in The Big World.”

  • Reba McEntire - Movies: "The Fox and The Hound 2" (2006) - "Spies in Disguise" (2019)

    In The Fox and The Hound 2, Reba plays a chicken named Dixie, who quits her country music band. Patrick Swayze, Vicki Lawrence, and Jeff Foxworthy also voiced characters in part two of the Disney classic 1981 The Fox and The Hound.

    Reba played a different role in 2019’s “Spies In Disguise,” playing Joy Jenkins, the boss of a spy agency whose employees include Will Smith and Tom Holland. The movie hits theaters on Christmas Day. McEntire said her character was the boss who had a crush on her leading man, Lance Sterling, played by Wil Smith.

  • Dolly Parton - Movie: "Gnomeo & Juliet" (2011)

    Dolly plays Dolly Gnome, the lawnmower race announcer, in this cute movie featuring the voices of music icons Elton John and Ozzy Osborne. Over the years, Parton has told me in various interviews that she considers herself an animated character, and that’s why she appeals so much to children. For her 2020 Christmas album, she was animated in a few of the music videos for the songs.

  • Taylor Swift - Movie: "The Lorax" (2012)

    Taylor played the animated character Audrey in the 2012 film The Lorax. It was when she was enjoying country music superstardom before she moved to pop music and ruled the world. Her character, Audrey, is described in the film as “A teenage girl and a local environmentalist girl. She dreams of one day being able to see a real tree, as she lives in a city where everything is artificial. She’s the neighbor of Ted, who has a crush on her and tries to fulfill her wish to see a real tree.”

  • Kacey Musgraves - "Scobby Doo And Guess Who?" Episode (2020)

    This is just classic. Kacey Musgraves appeared as herself (in animation) on a 2020 episode of the Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? series. The gang was investigating a haunted theater in Nashville, and Kacey joined Vemla, Daphany (her bestie), Shaggy, Fred, and Scoob to help them solve the mystery.

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