Kathleen Barr is one of the most prolific Canadian voice actors around. She's also one of the most elusive, rarely attending conventions and public meetings. Even finding recent photos of her online is tricky.
While information about her is rather shallow, her body of work is vast. From animated home-release films to television shows of all kinds, Barr has voiced heroes, villains, boys, girls, and animals of all shapes and sizes.
10 Mr. Kat
Though he might look like a hairless sphinx cat, Mr. Kat is an evil alien sent to infiltrate Earth. He is adopted by a young girl named Millie Burtonburger (Barr), which gives him cover as he enacts various evil schemes. However, Millie's brother, Coop (Erin Mathews), learns of Mr. Kat's identity, and constantly tries to thwart him.
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Barr joins the ranks of Dee Bradly Baker and Frank Welker as talented voice actors who can play convincing animals. Though Mr. Kat doesn't speak, his lively animation and Barr's convincing vocalizations always get across whatever emotion he's feeling. His rivalry with Coop is entertaining enough, and they even know when to set aside their differences to stop a common foe.
9 Gali
In a time before time, on the island of Mata Nui, six tribes of biomechanical robots, called Bionicles, are plagued by the forces of evil. Six powerful warriors, called Toa, arrive to serve as the guardians of the tribes. Their only female member, Toa Gali, pushes for unity among her teammates and uses her power over water to patrol Mata Nui's waterways.
Gali's voice in Bionicle: Mask of Light is deep like the ocean, which Barr pulls off well. This gives her an air of wisdom to her words, and when upset, her voice can be cold and commanding. Yet there is also an air of concern, showing that no matter how often she fights with her teammates, she cares deeply for them.
8 Evil-Lyn
An evil sorceress of great power, Evil-Lyn joined forces with Keldor (Brian Dobson) to overthrow King Randor (Michael Donovan) and take over Eternia. The coupe failed, and Keldor's face was scarred by acid, turning him into Skeletor. She continued to serve him loyalty while trying to amass more power for herself.
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Barr does an admiral job as Evil-Lyn in this underrated reboot of He-Man. She plays the full range of villainous emotions, from playful and sadistic to loud and aggressive. It's also interesting to see her back and forth with Skeletor as she struggles between loyalty, ambition, and the consequences of giving in to either.
7 Botanica
A Maximal scientist bent on exploration, Botanica's crew landed on a planet populated by sentient plants, so took plant-based alternate modes to study them. Upon returning to Cybertron, she was shot down by Megatron's (David Kaye) defenses, causing her to turn feral. She was repaired and reformatted into a techno-organic body by Optimus Primal (Gary Chalk) and joined his fight to liberate Cybertron.
In the dark, nihilistic landscape of Beast Machines, Botanica offers a ray of light. She possesses a more optimistic attitude than her jaded teammates, and her nature as a scientist means she prefers to avoid combat when she can. Her interactions with the team's infiltration specialist, Rattrap (Scott McNeil), begin as humorous bickering that leads to a tender romance.
6 Wheezie
Within the Dragon Land, all sorts of colorful dragons live and get up to misadventures. This is most evident in the conjoined twins, Wheezie and Zak (Jason Michas). While Zak is neat, orderly, and pessimistic about many things, Wheezie is energetic, bold, and free-spirited, leading to many clashes of personality.
Barr goes all out with Wheezie, delivering every line like she can't contain it inside anymore. Her relationship with Zak offers moments of comedy from their contrasting personalities, but also lessons in compromise and how opposite people can have similar personalities. The two both love music and enjoy playing in a one-dragon band.
5 Lila Test
Of all the members of the Test household, the least concerning is Lila. While her daughters are working in their lab, her son is getting into mischief and mayhem, and her meatloaf-obsessed husband, Lila works hard at her job as the family breadwinner. Though she's often on the phone or meeting with clients, she tries to make time for her family.
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Compared to some other career-focused mothers, Lila is pretty neutral. She's not so obsessed with work that she neglects her family, and is often willing to help Johnny (James Arnold Taylor) with his schoolwork if he asks. Should anyone threaten her family, she won't hesitate to go full mother-bear mode, either.
4 Dot Matrix
The daughter of Mainframe's leading scientist, Dot became the surrogate mother to her brother, Enzo (Christopher Gray, Jesse Moss, Matthew Sinclair, and Giacomo Baessato) when their father died in the destruction of Twin City. She established herself as a savvy businesswoman, first by running a diner, and then by expanding into other businesses in Mainframe. Over time, she grew close to Mainframe's Guardian, Bob (Michael Benyaer and Ian James Corlett).
Dot's business skills make her the brains of the operation to defend Mainframe. Her organizational skills allow her to come up with any plan and execute it to amazing effect, provided that she has enough time to work out the kinks. This leads to her eventually leading Mainframe in the battle against evil viruses.
3 Queen Chrysalis
Of all the threats that plague Equestria, none are as persistent as Queen Chrysalis. She and her Changeling subjects use their shapeshifting powers to infiltrate Pony society in order to take over communities and feed on positive emotions like love. Though she is toppled from her throne at the end of season six, she refuses to give up on her ambitious conquests.
Barr's performance really helps Chrysalis stand out among the show's other equally enjoyable villains. It hits the right combination of arrogant, sadistic, and megalomanic that you want from a magical tyrant. Her shapeshifting powers and skilled manipulation techniques leave the audience with a nagging feeling of doubt as to which characters in the background could be her or one of her minions in disguise.
2 Kevin
In a suburban cul-de-sac, the neighborhood kids are plagued by a trio of con men called the Eds who want to scam them out of money for jawbreakers. Their biggest rival is Kevin, the de facto leader of the kids. His father works at the jawbreaker factory, but since he detests the Eds, he'd rather drive them off than share.
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Kevin fills the role of neighborhood jock, being skilled at sports, caring for his bicycle, and loved for his laid-back personality. His massive ego means that sometimes he can stray into jerk territory, but this is usually reserved for the Eds. Barr captures the energy of a peacocking young boy very well, which likely helped Kevin's catchphrase, "Dork," to become an internet meme.
1 Trixie Lulamoon
While Equestria is a land brimming with magic, ponies still enjoy watching magicians. One unicorn, Trixie, specializes entirely in using her magic to delight audiences. She also has a habit of boasting about her achievements, which puts her at odds with the more humble and magically talented Twilight Sparkle (Tara Strong).
Barr's habit of rolling her Rs works with Trixie's larger-than-life personality and gives her an air of playfulness in her showboating. She can't help but make whatever she is involved in a grand spectacle, for her ego demands no less. Though initially an antagonist bent on proving her superior talent, she later reforms and becomes an ally to the citizens of Ponyville.