Maya Rudolph’s ‘Big Mouth’ Role Is the Best Voice Acting Performance on TV

Nelson’s laugh in The Simpsons. Cartman’s pronunciation of the word “authority” in South Park. Rick’s burps in Rick and Morty. Line delivery is always important for any show, but in animation it can be the difference between telling a solid joke and gifting the world with a sound bite that will resonate throughout TV history. And thanks to her marvelous work on Big Mouth, Maya Rudolph is taking the throne as one of the funniest voice actors currently on television.

The mark of a great voice actor lies in their ability to make even a mundane line memorably funny. To understand it, it’s best to look at one of the greatest voice acting executions of the past few years — Adventure Time‘s Lemongrab. On paper the short-fused Earl of Lemongrab lies somewhere between obnoxious and forgettable. He’s a rule-obsessed tyrant who throws temper tantrums when arbitrary decorums aren’t followed. But thanks to Justin Roiland’s controlled screeches, he’s one of the funniest and weirdest characters in that perpetually weird show.

That’s exactly what Rudolph does with her Hormone Monstress character, Connie. Even if she was played by any other actress, Connie would still be funny. She’s an over-the-top drama queen who gleefully channels the misplaced angst of every teenage girl who has ever existed. She has a limitless supply of cutting insults. She knows how to smoke pot and shoplift. She never wears deodorant. In the eyes of any teenage girl, Connie is awesome.

But Rudolph transforms this wonderful character into a walking legend. All you have to do is hear Connie say the words “bubble bath” — pronounced “buhbuhl baath” — to fall in love. Everything Connie says, from pronouncing the most mundane household objects to announcing plot-changing developments, is immediately funny. Golf balls are now “garf bahls.” And Jessi (Jessi Klein) doesn’t just take a selfie with the popular girl to prove that she’s cool. She does it “so everyone knows that you fucks with the big dogs.” Hell yes, Connie.

As great as it is listening to episode after episode of Connie’s quippy turns of phrase and mispronunciations, there’s a subtle brilliance lurking beneath the surface of Rudolph’s performance. Connie is endearing and cool because that’s exactly what she’s supposed to be. Her magnetic holier-than-thou attitude is what lures in Jessi as completely as she lures in us. It’s only at the end of Season 2 that Jessi herself has to spell out exactly what has happened. Both she and the audience have become so enchanted by this cool girl, we’re both unable to see trail of needless destruction she’s caused.

If that doesn’t capture what it’s like to be a teenage girl, nothing else does.

With Big Mouth Rudolph has accomplished something really rare. Just about every line she delivers is laugh-out-loud funny while also weaving into a larger, more complicated, and more ambitious portrayal of puberty. There are a lot of stunning voice acting performances currently on television, but none are nearly as fun nor as subtle as this.

Watch Big Mouth on Netflix