From The Little Mermaid to Moana

I have written often in this blog about how “big hit” Disney movies which achieve great fame for its participants, are often connected by those participants (i.e., directors, writers and voice actors) to many other great movies…and the trial often leads right to Broadway. The Little Mermaid (1989) is one such movie hit. In an earlier blog we talked about Ben Wright (voice of Grimsby). Here are some more interesting “Mermaid” connections…

Jodi Benson, who provided the voice for Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), also provided the voice of Barbie in Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Hawaiian Vacation (Toy Story Toon Shorts (2011)). She was also the voice of Weebo in Flubber (1997), Lady in the direct-to-video sequel, Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp’s Adventure (2001), and Anita in the direct-to-video sequel, 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure (2003). She reprised the role of Ariel for the direct-to-video sequels, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000) and The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008). Besides those, she played Sam, Patrick Dempsey's secretary in Enchanted (2007). Before lending her voice to “Mermaid” Benson had previously starred in a Broadway show entitled Smile, featuring the lyrics of Howard Ashman, who would ultimately go on to write the lyrics for “Mermaid,” as well as recommend her for the role of Ariel. She received a Tony Award Nomination for originating the role of Polly Baker on Broadway in the musical, Crazy For You. In 1989 (the same year as “Mermaid”) she appeared in another Broadway musical entitled Welcome to the Club, opposite Samuel E. Wright.   

Samuel E. Wright voiced Sebastian in The Little Mermaid (1989), and Kron in Dinosaur (2000) and received a Tony Award Nomination for originating role of Mufasa in The Lion King on Broadway in 1997. He reprised his role of Sebastian for both of the “Mermaid” direct-to-video sequels.

John Musker and Ron Clements co-wrote and co-directed “Mermaid” and a number of the studio’s other treasured films. They wrote and directed The Great Mouse Detective (1986) with Burny Mattinson and David Michener and they made additional story contributions to The Black Cauldron (1985). Since then, they have written and directed Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), and The Princess and the Frog (2009), and received 2 Best Animated Feature Academy Award Nominations for “Planet” and “Princess/Frog.” 

The same team has a brand new animated movie-musical in the works for the studio, entitled Moana (2016), which will be released on November 23, 2016. It’s a story a young teenager who teams up with a mythological being, Maui, for a sea expedition. The film will feature the music and lyrics of Tony-Award-Winner Lin Manuel-Miranda (of Broadway’s In the Heights and Hamilton) as well as the voice talents of newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Maui.  

Disney’s Father Time

As with others I’ve discussed in this blog, David Ogden Stiers was another one of Disney’s most frequently used voice-over talents. In addition to receiving two Emmy Nominations for his role as Major Charles Winchester on M*A*S*H (1972-1983), and originating the roles of General Henry Waverly in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (2010) and Feldman in The Magic Show (1974) on Broadway, he voiced many of Disney’s most memorable characters. David Ogden Stiers could probably be referred to as the “father time” of Disney voice-overs because he lent his distinctively booming voice to a lot of “timely,” if you will Disney characters, including Cogsworth (the clock) in Beauty and the Beast (1991).

      Stiers's Disney roles include Cogsworth and the Narrator of the opening sequence in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Governor Ratcliffe and Wiggins in Pocahontas (1995), the Archdeacon in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Mr. Harcourt in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Lilo and Stitch (2002). In addition to these theatrical films for Disney, Stiers was the narrator for Disney’s direct-to-video films Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004) and Winnie the Pooh: 123s (2004), and for Disney Television he voiced Mr. Jolly/Congressman/Narrator in Teacher’s Pet (2000-2002) (he reprised the role of Mr. Jolly for Teacher’s Pet the movie in 2004), Gryzlikoff in Darkwing Duck (1991-1995), and recreated the role of Dr. Jumba Jookiba for Lilo and Stich: The Series (2003-2006). He voiced the King and the Prime Minister for a Disney short film called The Cat That Looked at a King (2004) based on a section of the book, Mary Poppins Opens the Door (1943), which is featured on the Special 40th Anniversary Edition DVD release of Mary Poppins (1964). He reprised each of his characters from the theatrical films for numerous Disney Video Games, including Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005), Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (2010), as well as for direct-to-video sequels to the films, including Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World (1998), Stitch! the Movie (2003), and Leroy & Stitch (2006). Stiers also provided the opening narration for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway in 1993 and appeared in Disney’s live-action film Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). 

Outside of Disney movies, Stiers received a 3rd Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Dr. William Milligan Sloane in the TV mini-series The First Olympics: Athens 1896 (1984). On Broadway, he played the roles of Kulygin in the play The Three Sisters (1973) and Peachum in the operetta The Beggar’s Opera (1973), and in movies he starred opposite Jim Carrey in The Majestic (2002). His M*A*S*H (1972-1983) co-star, Harry Morgan, who portrayed Colonel Sherman T. Potter, served as his acting mentor.

David Ogden Stiers role as Major Charles Winchester on M*A*S*H (1972-1983) and each of his Disney voice-overs have earned him potential to be remembered for generations. Whether he is acting on Broadway, Television, Film, or as a Disney Cartoon, his characteristic voice never ceases to captivate an audience.  

The Actor Who’s Voice “Never Quite Made it Through Puberty”

Pat Buttram is an actor who is best known for his role as the greedy Mr. Eustace Haney on the television show Green Acres (1965-1971). In addition to his role as Mr. Haney, he was also a very frequently used Disney voice-over artist. His high-pitched, drawling voice is instantly recognizable whether you see him live on-screen or as a cartoon character. His voice and his role as Mr. Haney were the two trademarks of his career. He once said that his own voice “never quite made it through puberty.”

Buttram lent his voice to five animals in five different movies for Disney. He voiced Napoleon the Hound Dog in The AristoCats (1970), The Sheriff of Nottingham-A Wolf in Robin Hood (1973), Luke the Muskrat in The Rescuers (1977), Chief the Hunting Dog in The Fox and the Hound (1981), One of the Toon Bullets in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and the Possum Park Emcee in A Goofy Movie (1995) was his final Disney and final film role, released a year after his death in 1994. 

Two of Pat Buttram’s co-stars from Green Acres (1965-1971) also lent their voices to Disney cartoons. Eva Gabor, who portrayed Lisa Douglas on Green Acres (1965-1971), lent her voice to The AristoCats (1970) and The Rescuers (1977) with Buttram, though in neither film did their characters interact with each other. (The Aristocats (1970) was in production at Disney while Green Acres (1965-1971) was still airing on television). Gabor played Duchess the Cat in The AristoCats (1970) and Miss Bianca the Mouse in The Rescuers (1977) and it’s sequel The Rescuers Down Under (1990). (Buttram didn’t reprise his role as Luke the Muskrat for the sequel). Eleanor Audley, who played Mother Eunice Douglas on Green Acres (1965-1971), provided the voices for the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella (1950) and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959).

Buttram’s career primarily consisted of television roles, but he did act in some movies, including Gene Autry’s The Strawberry Roan (1948), Twilight of Honor (1963), and Back to the Future part 3 (1990). The same year that Back to the Future part 3 (1990) was released, he reprised his role as Mr. Haney for a Green Acres reunion television movie entitled Return to Green Acres (1990).

Pat Buttram’s distinctive voice might have “never quite made it through puberty,” but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t entertaining. His voice was what made each of the roles that he played appealing. When you look at him on-screen, he does not look like an attractive, A-list, Hollywood leading man, but he will make you want to pay attention to his character just because of his voice. It is not the sort of voice that you hear every day. 

Disney’s Greatest Pairs: Part 1

The Walt Disney Studios spawned the careers of many adorable, young child stars whose legacy on film itself, lives on today. Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran are two former child stars that began their career with Disney and were often pared as each other’s older/younger brother for a number of the studio’s most memorable, live-action films. (You would recognize their faces!) 

Kirk and Corcoran (whose nickname at the studio was “Moochie”) appeared as brothers in Old Yeller (1957), The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), Bon Voyage! (1962), and Savage Sam (1963) (the sequel to Old Yeller (1957)). Both Kirk and Corcoran also appeared Babes in Toyland (1961), though they did not portray brothers in that picture. Babes in Toyland (1961), did however, also star Kevin’s real younger brother, Brian, as his on-screen brother. There was more to the “family affair” as Fred MacMurray played their father in The Shaggy Dog (1959) and Bon Voyage (1962) and Dorothy McGuire played their mother in Old Yeller (1957) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). 

They also appeared in a number of Disney films separate from one another. Corcoran was in Pollyanna (1960), opposite Hayley Mills, which was released the same year as Swiss Family Robinson (1960), where Mills’s real father, Sir John Mills, portrayed Corcoran’s on-screen father. Corcoran also starred in Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With a Circus (1960), A Tiger Walks (1964), and lent his voice to some of the studios's lesser-known cartoon shorts called Goliath 2 (1960) and Aquamania (1961). On television, he acted as numerous characters on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1957-1963). 

Kirk, on the other hand, who before making films for the studio, had started as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1996). (Corcoran, only appeared in 3 Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1996) serials). Kirk also acted in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and it’s sequel, Son of Flubber (1963) (both of which reunited him with his former, on-screen father, Fred MacMurray). Later, he starred in Moon Pilot (1962), The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964), and The Monkey’s Uncle (1965). 

After their time at Disney, Corcoran went to become an assistant director and producer for both Disney and non-Disney film projects. He unfortunately passed away on October 6th, 2015 at the untimely age of 66. Kirk remained an actor until the mid-1970s. Since then, he has been the owner of a carpet/upholstery cleaning business.  

Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran were very close throughout their time at the studio. Both were named “Disney Legends” on October 9th, 2006, alongside their Shaggy Dog (1959) co-star, Tim Considine. The chemistry of their on-screen brotherhood continues to stand the test of time, and when you look at each of their films—whether they are acting as brothers, opposite each other, or are acting by themselves alongside Hollywood A-list actors—it is impossible to imagine anyone else in their roles.