Annie Potts

Listen to Janine Melnitz in Ghostbusters (1984): the receptionist has a New York accent Potts devised herself. It helps establish an outspoken character quickly, which is one of her useful skills in a supporting part. We rate that ability to make someone distinct without delaying the comedy.

Television gave her longer to work with a character. Mary Jo Shively in Designing Women (1986–1993) meant seven seasons in a central ensemble role. Connie “Meemaw” Tucker in Young Sheldon (2017) returned her to the Southern women she knows how to play. These sustained roles offer more room than a brief appearance built around a wisecrack.

Between those television roles came Bo Peep in John Lasseter’s Toy Story (1995), her first major voice part. We recommend the film without hesitation: it is funny, tightly made and unusually good at making awkward characters worth caring about. Potts’s quick character definition fits an ensemble in which the voices have to do so much of the work. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen’s quarrelling needs little musical assistance, and Randy Newman’s music sometimes overstates things; the performances are already giving us enough to hear.

Toy Story 2 (1999) brings her back as Bo Peep, and earns another strong recommendation, despite a few dutiful action passages. We were moved by the toys’ fear of being forgotten, which makes their comedy matter and gives the account of childhood ending its force. Our pleasure in Potts here is in hearing a clearly defined supporting character within that ensemble, rather than a performance being pushed forward for attention.

Potts returned as Bo Peep in Toy Story 4 (2019). Typecasting is the reservation with this career: being dependable at a wisecrack can become an invitation to repeat it. Her next good role should ask for more than another sharp reply.