Honestly, it’s a weird feeling seeing a piece of 1960s underground counterculture get a glossy, high-budget animated reboot on Tubi. Gilbert Shelton’s original The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics were about as anti-establishment as it gets—scruffy, drug-addled, and definitely not meant for a mainstream streaming audience. But when the animated series dropped, the biggest shock wasn't the animation style or the 50-year time jump; it was the cast of The Freak Brothers. We’re talking A-list movie stars voicing three hippies and a cat who have been asleep since 1969.
It shouldn't work. Usually, when you stack a voice cast with massive names like Woody Harrelson or Pete Davidson, it feels like a gimmick. It feels like a studio trying to mask a thin script with star power. But in this case, the casting is actually the smartest thing about the show.
The Heavy Hitters Behind the Freak Brothers
Let’s get into the specifics of who is actually behind these voices. Woody Harrelson plays Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek. This is basically the role Harrelson was born to play. He’s the "leader" by default, mostly because he’s the one who usually has the plan, even if that plan is just finding more weed. Harrelson brings that specific brand of laid-back, Texas-infused gravel that makes Franklin feel authentic. He’s not just reading lines; he’s channeling that same energy he’s brought to films like Zombieland or The Highwaymen, but dialed up to eleven for the absurdity of the 21st century.
Then you’ve got John Goodman as Fat Freddy Freekowtski. Goodman is a legend in voice acting—think Monsters, Inc.—but here he’s doing something much cruder. Fat Freddy is the bumbling heart of the group, and Goodman gives him this lovable, albeit perpetually confused, resonance. It’s a far cry from Dan Conner, but the comedic timing is just as sharp.
Rounding out the trio is Pete Davidson as Phineas T. Phreakarsky. This was a polarizing choice for some old-school comic fans, but honestly, it’s perfect. Phineas is the "intellectual" of the group (relative to the others), and Davidson’s naturally scratchy, somewhat frantic delivery fits the character’s paranoid tendencies. He represents the bridge between the old-school stoner humor of the 60s and the modern, self-aware vibe that Davidson has built his entire career on.
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The Cat and the Supporting Players
You can’t talk about the cast of The Freak Brothers without mentioning Tiffany Haddish. She voices Kitty, the group's sharp-tongued, cynical cat. In the original comics, the cat was mostly a silent observer or involved in his own side-plots, but in the show, she’s a main character. Haddish provides a necessary foil to the brothers. While they are stumbling through San Francisco trying to figure out what a smartphone is, Kitty is the one actually keeping things moving.
The supporting cast is equally stacked.
- Andrea Savage voices Harper, the tech-savvy millennial who ends up being the brothers' landlord/babysitter.
- La La Anthony plays Gretchen, a social activist who represents the modern political landscape the brothers are totally unprepared for.
- Schoolboy Q even makes appearances as himself, leaning into the show's hip-hop and stoner-culture crossover.
Why This Specific Cast Actually Matters
Why spend this much money on a voice cast for a Tubi original? It’s a fair question. You could hire talented, unknown voice actors for a fraction of the price. But the cast of The Freak Brothers serves a specific purpose: legitimacy.
The original comics were part of the "comix" movement—underground, radical, and often offensive. By bringing in Harrelson and Goodman, the producers basically signaled that this wasn't just a cheap cash-in. It was an homage. These are actors who have personal connections to the "counterculture" era or have built brands around being outsiders.
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Harrelson, in particular, has been an outspoken advocate for hemp and cannabis for decades. Seeing him voice a Gilbert Shelton character feels like a full-circle moment for a specific generation of fans. It bridges the gap between the 70-year-olds who remember buying the comics in head shops and the 20-year-olds watching clips on TikTok.
Addressing the "Stoner Show" Stigma
There is a common misconception that The Freak Brothers is just another "stoner show" like Disjointed or The Big Lez Show. While the weed is definitely there—it's the driving force of almost every plot—the show is actually a "fish out of water" story.
The brothers smoke a strain of weed in 1969 that puts them into a 50-year coma. They wake up in 2020s San Francisco. The humor comes from the culture clash. They are horrified by gentrification, confused by the internet, and terrified by the fact that you can now buy weed in a store that looks like an Apple Store.
The cast had to play this straight. If the voice acting was too "cartoony," the satire wouldn't land. Because Goodman and Harrelson bring a certain weight to their performances, the brothers feel like actual relics of a lost time rather than just caricatures. It’s the difference between a parody and a character study.
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The Production Quality and Longevity
The show is produced by WTG Enterprises and distributed by Lionsgate, which explains how they secured such a high-profile lineup. It’s not a low-budget indie project. The animation, handled by Starburns Industries (the folks behind the first season of Rick and Morty and Anomalisa), is fluid and captures Shelton's sketchy, chaotic art style while modernizing it for HD screens.
Is there a downside to having such a famous cast? Scheduling. Getting Harrelson, Goodman, and Davidson in the same "booth" (even virtually) is a logistical nightmare. This is likely why seasons are relatively short and take a while to produce. However, the result is a show that feels like an "event" rather than just another procedural animation.
Common Questions About the Voice Actors
People often ask if the actors are actually together when they record. Usually, no. In modern animation, especially post-2020, most actors record their lines solo from home studios or local booths. Yet, the chemistry between the cast of The Freak Brothers is surprisingly tight. The editors do a phenomenal job of pacing the dialogue so it feels like the quick-fire banter of three guys who have lived together for decades.
Another frequent point of confusion is whether the show is a direct adaptation. It isn't. The comics were vignettes; the show is a narrative. The cast had to flesh out characters that, in the 60s, were mostly just vessels for gags.
Moving Beyond the Hype
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of The Freak Brothers, don't just stop at the show. The voice cast is the hook, but the writing and the history are the real meat.
- Check out the original comics: You can find the The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers omnibuses online. It’s fascinating to see how Harrelson’s delivery matches the "voice" you hear in your head when reading the 1968 strips.
- Watch the "behind the scenes" clips: Tubi and the official Freak Brothers YouTube channel have interviews with the cast. Watching John Goodman talk about the legacy of Fat Freddy is genuinely heartwarming for any animation nerd.
- Compare the eras: Pay attention to how the show handles the 1969 flashback scenes versus the modern-day scenes. The vocal performances change slightly—the brothers are more confident in their own time and more hesitant in ours.
The cast of The Freak Brothers turned a potential disaster into a cult hit. They took characters that could have easily been forgotten and made them relevant for a world that, quite frankly, is just as crazy as the one they left behind in 1969. Whether you're a fan of Pete Davidson's brand of chaos or John Goodman's legendary gravitas, there is something in this lineup that makes the show more than just a trip down memory lane. It’s a genuinely funny, well-acted piece of satire that proves some things—like the search for a good time—never change.