Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#96
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Kari Wahlgren works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Kari Wahlgren appears in 54 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Kari. Swapped is the clearest case: a film rated 8.6 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, adventure, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with John Donkin, Nathan Greno, Andrew Stanton and others, Kari Wahlgren helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Swapped (2026) as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice) · Tangled (2010) as Additional Voices (voice) · Paperman (2012) as Meg (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #96 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
54
2007–2027
Career length
20 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.6
Swapped
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.9
Swapped
Most frequent director
Genndy Tartakovsky
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Genndy Tartakovsky
Most common genre
Animation
51 titles
Average runtime
1h 8m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.6
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2010s
7.0 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Spirit Riding Free: Spirit of Christmas, DC Showcase: Death, Frozen II — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
7.0
Across 24 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
7.1
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Aliens in the Attic, Bolt, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning.
Most productive era
2020s
26 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 7.41 film | 7.02 films |
| Action | — | 7.04 films | 6.76 films |
| Comedy | 6.43 films | 6.913 films | 6.315 films |
| Crime | — | 6.91 film | — |
| Romance | — | 7.71 film | — |
| Horror | — | — | 6.41 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2007Shrek the Third
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Old Lady (voice).
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2026Swapped
8.6 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Baby Scrat (voice).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
54 of 54 films
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
Directed by Nathan Greno
as Meg (voice)
Directed by John Kahrs
as Additional Voices (voice)
Directed by Byron Howard
as Charlotte (voice)
Directed by Sam Liu
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
Swapped (2026)
Performance score8.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice) gives Kari Wahlgren a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Meg (voice)
Paperman (2012)
Performance score8.0
Paperman asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Meg (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Additional Voices (voice)
Tangled (2010)
Performance score7.6
Tangled asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Additional Voices (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Charlotte (voice)
DC Showcase: Death (2019)
Performance score7.5
DC Showcase: Death asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Charlotte (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
Start here. Swapped is the clearest statement of what Kari Wahlgren does — accessible, 102 minutes, and rated 8.6 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Kari at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Tangled (2010)
Keeps the adventure register of Swapped but asks for a colder reading of it.
Paperman (2012)
Keeps the family register of Tangled but asks for a colder reading of it.
DC Showcase: Death (2019)
Keeps the fantasy register of Paperman but asks for a colder reading of it.
Luck (2022)
Keeps the fantasy register of DC Showcase: Death but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Sam Liu
Director
3 films together
Notably DC Showcase: Death
Brandon Vietti
Director
3 films together
Notably Watchmen: Chapter II
Genndy Tartakovsky
Director
3 films together
Notably Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Byron Howard
Director
2 films together
Notably Tangled
Chris Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably Shrek the Third
Bradley Raymond
Director
1 film together
Notably Pixie Hollow Games
John Kahrs
Director
1 film together
Notably Paperman
Bobs Gannaway
Director
1 film together
Notably Planes: Fire & Rescue
Steve Loter
Director
1 film together
Notably Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast
Ethan Spaulding
Director
1 film together
Notably Son of Batman
Jay Oliva
Director
1 film together
Notably Batman: Bad Blood
Kelly Asbury
Director
1 film together
Notably Smurfs: The Lost Village
Stephen Sandoval
Director
1 film together
Notably Tangled: Before Ever After
Matt Peters
Director
1 film together
Notably Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown
Kevin Peaty
Director
1 film together
Notably The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween
Doug Murphy
Director
1 film together
Notably Curious George: Royal Monkey
Chris Buck
Director
1 film together
Notably Frozen II
Kevin Wotton
Director
1 film together
Notably Spirit Riding Free: Spirit of Christmas
Jos Humphrey
Director
1 film together
Notably Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal
Chris Columbus
Director
1 film together
Notably The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two
José Luis Ucha
Director
1 film together
Notably My Little Pony: A New Generation
Melchior Zwyer
Director
1 film together
Notably Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob
Kirsten Lepore
Director
1 film together
Notably The Little Guy
Katie Rice
Director
1 film together
Notably Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse
Darrell Van Citters
Director
1 film together
Notably Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!
Christo Stamboliev
Director
1 film together
Notably The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus
Michael Cusack
Director
1 film together
Notably The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!
Ryan Kramer
Director
1 film together
Notably Taz: Quest for Burger
Bret Haaland
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday
Jeff Wamester
Director
1 film together
Notably Justice League: Warworld
Zac Moncrief
Director
1 film together
Notably A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas
Kang Hei Chul
Director
1 film together
Notably The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep
Angela Stempel
Director
1 film together
Notably Lulu Is a Rhinoceros
Andrew Stanton
Director
1 film together
Notably Toy Story 5
Nathan Greno
Director
1 film together
Notably Swapped
John Donkin
Director
1 film together
Notably Ice Age: Boiling Point
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Sam Liu
Director
3 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
DC Showcase: DeathBrandon Vietti
Director
3 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Watchmen: Chapter IIGenndy Tartakovsky
Director
3 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer VacationByron Howard
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
TangledNathan Greno
Director
1 film together · 8.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SwappedJohn Kahrs
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PapermanAndrew Stanton
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Toy Story 5Chris Buck
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Frozen IIJosé Luis Ucha
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
My Little Pony: A New GenerationMatt Peters
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's ShowdownSteve Loter
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeastMelchior Zwyer
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the ScoobEthan Spaulding
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Son of BatmanKirsten Lepore
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Little GuyDoug Murphy
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Curious George: Royal MonkeyJay Oliva
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Batman: Bad BloodBradley Raymond
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pixie Hollow GamesKang Hei Chul
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Witcher: Sirens of the DeepJeff Wamester
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Justice League: WarworldDarrell Van Citters
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!Stephen Sandoval
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tangled: Before Ever AfterAngela Stempel
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lulu Is a RhinocerosChristo Stamboliev
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Boss Baby: Christmas BonusChris Columbus
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Christmas Chronicles: Part TwoKevin Wotton
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Spirit Riding Free: Spirit of ChristmasKelly Asbury
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Smurfs: The Lost VillageChris Miller
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Shrek the ThirdBret Haaland
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Bad Guys: A Very Bad HolidayMichael Cusack
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!Jos Humphrey
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to StealKevin Peaty
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-weenBobs Gannaway
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Planes: Fire & RescueZac Moncrief
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Chuck E. Cheese ChristmasRyan Kramer
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Taz: Quest for BurgerKatie Rice
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the MultiverseJohn Donkin
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ice Age: Boiling PointSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Frozen II
as Additional Voices (voice)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Kari Wahlgren has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
20 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Animation Legend
Awarded
51 catalogue titles in animation, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob
as Female Peasent (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Swapped
as Female Pookoo / Nurse Javan (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Batman: Bad Blood
as Ms. Bannister / Kori (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Paperman
as Meg (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween
as Mia/Dennis (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Tom Hanks
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Bonnie Hunt
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tim Allen
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Joan Cusack
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Greta Lee
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
Community
Which Kari Wahlgren performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
Join the conversation
Reference
Continue exploring
Trending performers
Directors they work with
Collections to read next
