25 Facts You Might or Might Not Know About Beauty and the Beast

On November 22nd, 1991, Walt Disney Animation Studios released a film that Walt Disney himself had unsuccessfully attempted to adapt for the screen twice throughout his career. The film would be the very first animated feature ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as 5 additional nominations, and like its predecessor from 2 years earlier, The Little Mermaid (1989), it also received the Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. On November 22nd, 2016, Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991) will celebrate 25 years of being one of the most beloved movie-musicals of all-time, in the history of Disney and in the history of films in general.

The film received 6 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score, Best Original Songs “Beauty and the Beast,” “Belle,” and “Be Our Guest.” (The film won Best Original Score and Best Original Song “Beauty and the Beast.”)

Before Paige O’Hara was cast as the voice of Belle in the film, Disney originally considered casting Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” in the part. Disney ultimately moved forward with O’Hara as Belle, believing that she could give the character a more “European,” sounding voice.

“Beauty and the Beast,” was the very first Disney movie ever to be readapted for the Broadway Stage. The show opened on April 18th, 1994 at the Palace Theatre and played 5,461 performances. The show received 9 Tony Award Nominations including Best Musical and won the trophy for Best Costume Design.

Tony Nominee Susan Egan received her nomination for originating the role of Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” on Broadway. Egan later went on to provide the voice of Megara in the film version of Hercules (1997).

Christy Carlson Romano, who played Ren Stevens in the Disney Channel Original Show Even Stevens (2000-2003) and voiced Kim Possible in the Disney Channel Animated Series Kim Possible (2002-2007), also played Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” on Broadway.

Howard Ashman who wrote lyrics for “Beauty and the Beast,” and also served as the film’s executive producer. He was terminally ill with AIDS throughout production of the film and unfortunately died at the age of 40, six months before the release of the movie. There is a special dedication to him that can be seen in the end credits.

Before Disney cast Angela Lansbury as the voice of Mrs. Potts, the studio originally considered Julie Andrews in the role. 

David Ogden Stiers, who provided the voice of Cogsworth initially auditioned for Lumiere. When the studio cast Jerry Orbach as Lumiere, he accepted the role of Cogsworth, though the studio also cast him as the narrator for the film’s opening sequence, which is a role that he reprised for the Broadway version.

When it came time for Angela Lansbury to fly into New York to record the song “Beauty and the Beast,” her flight was delayed due to a bomb scare. The film’s producer, Don Hahn, offered to postpone the recording until the next day, and tell the film’s orchestra, the New York Philharmonic to go home, but she insisted that she would just change planes and still come. When she finally got there, the first take of the song recorded wound up being used in the movie.

Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, the fin’s co-writers/co-directors, also went on to write and direct The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001).

David Ogden Stiers improvised Cogsworth’s line “Flowers, Chocolates, Promises you don’t intend to keep.”

The dancing scene between Belle and the Beast at the very end of the film is actually the exact same dancing scene used from Sleeping Beauty (1959) with Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip. The scene was redrawn with Belle and the Beast when the animators ran out of time during production of the movie to create a completely unique ending scene for Belle and the Beast.

The Beast’s real name is Prince Adam, and it is never mentioned in the film, but is acknowledged in the Broadway show.

Andreas Deja was the supervising animator for Gaston in the film, and was also the supervising animator for many other classic Disney villains including: Jafar in Aladdin (1992), Scar in The Lion King (1994) and Queen Narissa in Enchanted (2007).

The supervising animator for Belle, Mark Henn, was also the supervising animator for many other classic Disney Princesses, including Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” Jasmine in “Aladdin,” Pocahontas in Pocahontas (1995), Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Tiana in The Princess the Frog (2009).

The voice of Gaston in the film, Richard White, was also in consideration to voice the villainous Governor Ratcliffe in “Pocahontas.” However, the studio decided that viewers would hear his voice and confuse the character for Gaston, so they cast David Ogden Stiers as Governor Ratcliffe instead. 

You can see a very brief cameo of Mrs. Potts and Chip in Disney’s Tarzan (1999) in the “Trashin’ the Camp,” sequence.

Walt Disney attempted to adapt “Beauty and the Beast,” for the silver screen in the ‘30s and the ‘50s. The movie was released in 1991, 25 years after his death in 1966.

Howard Ashman’s death occurred when “Aladdin” was in-production at Disney as well. Prior to that, he and Alan Menken wrote the songs for the film “Arabian Nights,” “Friend Like Me,” and “Prince Ali.” To finish writing the rest of the material, Disney hired Sir Tim Rice to collaborate with Alan Menken on the songs “A Whole New World,” “One Jump Ahead,” and “Prince Ali (Reprise).” Rice reunited with Alan Menken for the Broadway versions of “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Aladdin,” and also collaborated with Sir Elton John for the film and Broadway versions of The Lion King (1994).

Each of the film’s original voice cast members reprised each of their characters for the direct-to-video sequels to “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) and Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World (1998).

In addition to being the very first animated feature ever to receive an Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture, the fact that “Beauty and the Beast,” was nominated in that category also marked the first time that the Disney Studios had received an Best Picture Oscar Nomination since Mary Poppins in 1964.

As a child, Angela Lansbury knew a cook with a very friendly cockney accent named Beatrice whom she called “Beatty.” Beatty’s voice served as Lansbury’s character voice for Mrs. Potts.

Tony Jay who provided the voice of Monsieur D’Arque in the film was hired on the spot in his try-out to voice the character by Don Hahn, Gary Trousdale, and Kirk Wise. He was later re-hired by the exact same 3 men to voice the main antagonist, Judge Claude Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”  

“Beauty and the Beast,” will be readapted as a live-action film to be released on March 17th, 2017. The cast includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, and Sir Ian McKellen. It is under the writing/direction of Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Bill Condon.

Jesse Corti who voiced Lefou in the film was a Spanish dignitary in “Frozen.” Josh Gad voiced Olaf the snowman in “Frozen,” will portray Lefou in the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” film.                                 

“Beauty and the Beast,” still reigns as one of Disney’s best films and will be remembered for many, many years. While every Disney movie has its own unique history at the studio, “Beauty and the Beast’s,” history truly is one of the studio’s most special chapters.  

The Spielberg Effect

Steven Spielberg is a movie director who needs no introduction! From Jaws (1975) and the Indiana Jones series (1981-2008) to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Bridge of Spies (2015), each of his films have never ceased to entertain us and they will continue to do so for years to come. Like Garry Marshall, Steven Spielberg also invites repeat performances by actors in continuing his work. And several of the actors who have worked with Spielberg have received Academy Award nominations for their performances. They have also been in films that are Disney-produced or have had the Disney label, and I thought we could discuss that today.

Richard Dreyfuss appeared under Spielberg’s direction with in Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). For Disney, Dreyfuss voiced the Centipede in James and the Giant Peach (1996), starred in Disney/ABC’s non-musical adaptation of Oliver Twist (1997), and for Touchstone Pictures, made the movies, Stakeout (1987), What About Bob? (1991), Another Stakeout (1993), Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995), and Krippendorf’s Tribe (1998). (His “Close Encounters” co-star Melinda Dillon received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Jillian Guiler.)

Whoopi Goldberg received a Best Actress Oscar Nomination for her performance as Celie Johnson in The Color Purple (1985), and Oprah Winfrey received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nomination her performance as Sofia. For Disney, Goldberg voiced Shenzi the Hyena in The Lion King (1994) and Winfrey voiced Eudora, Tiana’s mother in The Princess and the Frog (2009).

Anthony Hopkins was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as John Quincy Adams in Spielberg’s Amistad (1997). 2 years prior to that, he received a Best Actor Oscar Nomination for impersonating another former president, Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995), which was produced by Hollywood Pictures, another one of many film companies spawned by Disney. Hopkins also starred in the Touchstone Pictures film Bad Company (2002) and currently portrays the role of Odin in the Disney/Marvel Thor franchise (2011-present).

Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes were both nominated for their performances (Neeson in Best Actor and Fiennes in Best Supporting Actor) as Oskar Schindler and Amon Geoth in Schindler’s List (1993). While Ralph Fiennes has never made anything for Disney, Liam Neeson starred in Touchstone’s, The Good Mother (1988). He also made Hollywood Pictures films Before and After (1996) and Gun Shy (2000). He portrayed Qui-Gon Jin in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999) and for films under the Disney label, he voiced Aslan the Lion in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008). (He reprised the role for “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which was released under 20th Century Fox.) He also voiced Fujimoto in the Disney English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo (2008). Ironically, Liam Neeson was beaten for the Best Actor Oscar in 1993 by frequent Spielberg collaborator, Tom Hanks for his performance as Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia (1993). 

Tom Hanks received his 4th Best Actor Oscar Nomination for his performance as Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan (1998). With Spielberg, Hanks also made Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Terminal (2004), and Bridge of Spies (2015). Hanks and Spielberg have also produced several projects together, including the HBO series, Band of Brothers (2001). You might remember from my previous blogs everything that Hanks has made for Disney.

Christopher Walken received an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can (2002). Walken's first film that was Disney-produced was Things to do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995). He portrayed Reed Thimple in the Disney live-action film The Country Bears (2002) and just recently provided the voice of King Louie in The Jungle Book (2016).

Daniel Day-Lewis won his 3rd Academy Award for impersonating Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012) making him the 1st Oscar Winner to win an Oscar for a performance in a Spielberg film as well as the 1st Oscar Winner ever to win 3 Oscars for portraying leading roles, having previously won for My Left Foot (1989) and There Will Be Blood (2007). “Lincoln” was released under Touchstone Pictures. Lewis was also nominated for his performance as William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002), which was also released under Touchstone.

Mark Rylance won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Rudolf Abel in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015) which was released under Touchstone. Rylance also portrayed the titular character in Disney’s The BFG (2016) which was also directed by Steven Spielberg. (The movie was also Spielberg’s first film released under Disney.)                   

Each of these movie stars arguably made some of the best movies of their careers under the direction of Steven Spielberg. The actors’ talents combined with Spielberg’s seem to be an extraordinary combination!

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Cast

In the early 1960s, Stanley Kramer assembled together a cast of some of the biggest names in show business for what would be his very first comedy movie, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). The film played to great critical acclaim and it became the 3rd highest-grossing film of 1963, garnering six Academy Award Nominations, and winning the trophy for Best Sound Editing. The talented group assembled for “Mad World” (see below for the list) are connected to Disney Animation, they also have worked in other TV/film efforts. Today we’re going to explore those interesting connections among a number of stars.       

Spencer Tracy portrayed Captain T.G. Culpepper in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” While Tracy never made anything for Disney, under the direction of “Mad World,” director Stanley Kramer, he made 4 films, including Inherit the Wind (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), “Mad World,” and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). “Dinner,” was his very last movie. He passed only 5 months before it’s release on June 10th, 1967. He received Best Actor Oscar Nominations for each film, except for “Mad World.” Tracy also won 2 Best Actor Oscars for Captains Courageous (1937), and Boys Town (1938), both of which co-starred “Mad World” cast mate Mickey Rooney.

Mickey Rooney played the role of Ding Bell in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” For Disney, Rooney starred in the original Pete’s Dragon (1977), and lent his voice to Adult Tod, the fox, in The Fox and the Hound (1981). Nine years after “Mad World,” Rooney lent his voice to the Scarecrow in ABC/Disney’s made-for-television movie, Journey Back to Oz (1972). The film featured the voice talents of “Mad World,” co-stars, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, and Paul Ford. (Liza Minnelli, daughter of Rooney’s good friend and frequent co-star, Judy Garland, voiced Dorothy in that film, and Margaret Hamilton, the original “Wicked Witch of the West,” provided the voice of Auntie Em.) Rooney also performed in one episode of ABC/Disney’s The Golden Girls (1985-1992).

Buddy Hackett played Benjy Benjamin in “Mad World.” The year before “Mad World,” Hackett and Paul Ford both starred in the film adaptation of Meredith Wilson’s smash-hit Broadway musical, The Music Man (1962). Hackett also starred in Disney’s The Love Bug (1968) which was the very first installment in the “Herbie” film franchise and lent his voice to Scuttle the Seagull in The Little Mermaid (1989). He reprised Scuttle for the direct-to-video sequel, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000).

Dorothy Provine portrayed Emeline Marcus-Finch in “Mad World.” Two years after “Mad World,” Provine starred in Blake Edwards’s The Great Race (1965) and Disney’s That Darn Cat! (1965). “Great Race,” featured “Mad World,” co-stars Peter Falk and Marvin Kaplan (who also acted in Disney’s original version of Freaky Friday (1976)). “Darn Cat,” featured “Mad World,” co-star William Demarest.

Jonathan Winters received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as Lennie Pike the truck driver in “Mad World.” Winters worked with “Mad World” co-stars Carl Reiner and Paul Ford in the movie, The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming (1966) and appeared in an episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1991). On his television show, The Jonathan Winters Show (1967-1969), “Mad World,” co-star Arnold Stang, was a regular.  

Paul Ford played Colonel Wilberforce in “Mad World.” Like Spencer Tracy, Paul Ford never made anything for Disney throughout his career either, but in addition to all of his pairings in the aforementioned paragraphs, Ford was also a regular on “Mad World,” co-star Phil Silvers’ television show, The Phil Silvers Show (1955-1959). Ford originally was lined up to play Principal McGee in Grease (1978), which would have reunited him with “Mad World,” co-star, Sid Caesar, but unfortunately passed away before production on the film even began, so the part was re-written for Eve Arden. 

   

Don Knotts, in addition to being best-known throughout the world as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), played the nervous motorist in “Mad World.” For Disney, Knotts starred with good friend and frequent co-star, Tim Conway in The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) and it’s sequel, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979). In between those films, he also made Gus (1976) and Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978). One of his very last acting jobs ever, was voicing Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Disney’s Chicken Little (2005).

Charles Lane played the Airport Manager in “Mad World.” Lane starred opposite Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), played Constable Locke in The Music Man (1962), and for Disney, had bit parts in The Ugly Dachshund (1966), The Gnome-Mobile (1967) and voiced Georges Hautecourt in The Aristocats (1970).

          

Terry-Thomas played J. Algernon Hawthorne in “Mad World,” and Andy Devine played the Sheriff of Crockett County. Both Thomas and Devine lent their voices to Disney’s Robin Hood (1973). Thomas voiced Sir Hiss the snake and Devine voiced Friar Tuck.

Stan Freberg played the Deputy Sheriff in “Mad World.” Freberg voiced the Beaver in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp (1955) and narrated two compilations of Disney cartoon shorts featuring Goofy entitled, More Sport Goofy (1983) and An All New Adventure of Disney’s Sport Goofy (1987).

  

Disney voice veteran Sterling Holloway played the role of the Fire Chief in “Mad World.” Holloway voiced of Mr. Stork in Dumbo (1941), Adult Flower in Bambi (1942), Professor Holloway in The Three Caballeros (1944), the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951), Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book (1967), and Roquefort the Mouse in The Aristocats (1970). He also narrated several of Disney’s lesser-known shorts including Peter and the Wolf (1946), Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952), and Goliath 2 (1960), and he voiced Amos Mouse in a short about a fictional story about Benjamin Franklin’s friendship with talking Mouse called Ben and Me (1953). Holloway was also the original voice of Winnie the Pooh. 

It’s been more than 50 years since the release Stanley Kramer’s “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” but it remains one of the best comedies of all-time. It was voted #40 on the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 Laughs in 2000. While the film didn’t spawn any sequels, it did serve as inspiration for the creation of other films with similar, but different plot lines, including Scavenger Hunt (1979), Million Dollar Mystery (1987), Rate Race (2001), and Three Kings (2011). 

Trapped Twice

Walt Disney first produced The Parent Trap, starring Hayley Mills, in 1961. The film was Mills’s 2nd film for the studio after she had previously appeared in Pollyanna (1960), where she acted under “Parent Trap,” director David Swift and won the Academy Award for Best Juvenile Performance by an Actress in Leading Role, being the last recipient of that award. 37 years later, Nancy Meyers, and former husband Charles Shyer, re-adapted The Parent Trap for Disney, starring a then-unknown Lindsay Lohan in 1998. (Lohan beat out Mara Wilson and an unknown Scarlett Johannsson for the role.) Both films have roughly the same plot line: two pre-teen identical twin girls discover they are sisters and decide to set a trap in order to get their divorced parents back together. Besides sharing a plot, there are both intriguing similarities and differences between the films as well that doesn't exactly meet the eye.

In the 1961 version, one of the sisters, Sharon, brings the mother, Maggie (played by Maureen O’Hara) from Boston, Massachusetts, out to Monterrey, California where the other sister, Susan and the Dad, Mitch (played by Brian Keith), live. When Mitch and Maggie are reunited, they feel very resentful of one another, and the fact that Mitch is engaged to a Vicky Robinson, doesn’t make it any less awkward. Ultimately, Mitch and Maggie discover that they are still in love, when Vicky’s true nature is revealed in the camping trip scene in the film. Mitch discovers that she is, in fact, a gold digger, who is marrying him for his money (definitely not for love), and he remarries Maggie, and everyone is happy in the end.

The 1998 version is more modernized. Just like before, the Dad, Nick (played by Dennis Quaid) lives in California and is engaged to be married (to Meredith Blake, played by Elaine Hendrix). One of the sisters, Hallie, brings the mother, Elizabeth (played by Natasha Richardson), to Napa, California where he and the other sister, Annie live. However, what makes the 1998 version very different is that Elizabeth lives in London, England, rather than Boston and they are reunited at the Stafford Hotel in San Francisco, rather than Nick’s house. When Nick and Elizabeth are reunited in the film, they do experience similar awkwardness just like Mitch and Maggie in the 1961 version, but they are actually quite happy to see each other and do not feel resentment. Instead fear blinds them from the idea of reuniting, because they’re both afraid that if they get back together, it just won’t work out. When Nick finally discovers Meredith’s true nature, he and Elizabeth both find they don’t need to be afraid.

In both versions of “Parent Trap,” each parents have servants who work for them in their households. In the 1961 film, the servants just do their job and have no real involvement in the story whatsoever. In the 1998 film, Nick’s housekeeper, Chessy, and Elizabeth’s butler, Martin, meet, fall in love, and get engaged to be married at the end of the movie.

In the 1998 film, Lindsay Lohan plays Hallie Parker and Annie James. Both twins are named after Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyers real-life daughters who both have bit parts in the movie. (Both girls have had bit parts in the parents’ other films as well.)

Joanna Barnes played Vicky Robinson in the 1961 film. When the 1998 film was in-production, Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer asked her to play Meredith Blake’s mom, Vicky Blake, in the film. It is ironic that both of Barnes’s character names in the films were the same in both movies. And in the 1998 film, she called Lindsay Lohan “pet,” just like her mother in the 1961 film called Hayley Mills “pet.” It’s very likely that Barnes was basically playing the exact same character in both movies. 

Both films of “The Parent Trap,” did exceptionally well for Disney. The 1961 adaptation received 2 Academy Award Nominations and spawned 3 television sequels. While the 1998 adaptation received no major award nominations, it was positively received by critics and the public and Lindsay Lohan did go on to make several other films for Disney, including Freaky Friday (2003) (which, just like her first Disney film was based on an earlier film of the same name, which starred Jodie Foster), Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). She also made 2 Disney Channel films, Life-Size (2000) and Get a Clue (2002).

Tom and Meg: Romance in Movies

Film studios have, of course, cast dozens and dozens of pairs of actors as “couples” in both dramatic films and romantic comedies. For the most part, the pairs are used only once, but on occasion the pairs are reunited for different movies (i.e. Bogie and Bacall, Hepburn & Tracy, etc.). Sometimes the actors’ first pairing is a hit, and they have good chemistry, but there’s likely no pair with as much success as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and their four onscreen appearances.

Having won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the romantic comedy, Moonstruck (1987), John Patrick Shanley cast Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in his directorial debut, Joe Versus the Volcano (1990). The film did only moderately well with critics, audiences, and finances, but despite that, writer/director Nora Ephron immediately saw the chemistry in Hanks and Ryan being together on-screen, and she cast them in her next film at the time, Sleepless in Seattle (1993). (Ephron had previously written and received an Oscar Nomination for Best Original Screenplay for When Harry Met Sally (1989), which also starred Meg Ryan. She received another nomination for “Sleepless.” Ephron also cast Tom Hanks’s real spouse, Rita Wilson, as his sister, Suzy in “Sleepless.”) Five years after “Sleepless,” Nora Ephron reunited Hanks and Ryan for a 3rd time in You’ve Got Mail (1998). (In both “Volcano,” and “Mail,” Tom Hanks’s character’s first name was Joe.) Recently, Meg Ryan, herself made her directorial debut with the indie drama, Ithaca (2016), which she also starred in and was paired with Hanks and her real son, Jack Quaid. Both Hanks and Ryan became close on “Volcano” and have remained good friends.

In addition to their four films together, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan both have been in a number of Disney-produced/distributed films both for the Disney label as well as other Disney-owned companies like Touchstone and Miramax.

Tom Hanks made his Disney debut in Touchstone Pictures’s fantasy/romantic comedy Splash (1984). (Because “Splash” was a hit for the studio, it ignited production on The Little Mermaid (1989)). Next, he starred in Touchstone’s Turner & Hooch (1989). Following that, he was hired by the Pixar Studios to provide the voice Woody in Pixar’s first collaboration with the Disney Studios, Toy Story (1995). He reprised the character for Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010), each of the Toy Story Toon Shorts (2011-) and television spin-offs, i.e. Toy Story of Terror (2013) and Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), and is currently set to reprise the character yet again for the upcoming sequel, Toy Story 4, set to be released in 2018. In between the “Toy Story,” theatrical sequels, Tom Hanks starred in the Coen Bros. film, The Ladykillers (2004), which was also produced by Touchstone Pictures. And After voicing Woody for the 3rd time, Hanks portrayed Walt Disney himself in the “Mary Poppins,” biopic, Saving Mr. Banks (2013). Hanks’s most recent Disney film was Bridge of Spies (2015).

Meg Ryan made her Disney debut starring in the ABC original series Wildside (1985). Next, she starred opposite future husband Dennis Quaid in Touchstone’s D.O.A. (1988). She also made Touchstone’s When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) starring opposite Andy Garcia and Mae Whitman, who is Disney’s current voice for the Tinker Bell movie series (2008-). In 1997, Ryan lent her voice to 20th Century Fox’s animated movie-musical, Anastasia, in which she was under the direction of former Disney animators, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. In 2001, she was paired Hugh Jackman in Miramax’s (then-owned by Disney) Kate & Leopold (2001).

The chemistry that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have in each of their movies has continued to entertain the world for nearly 30 years now. One might characterize Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as a “modern Rock Hudson and Doris Day.” (Like Hanks and Ryan, Hudson and Day were good friends, and made three romantic comedies together, Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964)). Hanks and Ryan make it look easy, as real-life friendship appears to help their on-screen romance seem more believable and entertaining. Had they not befriended one another on “Joe Versus the Volcano,” they more than likely, never would have made “Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail,” or “Ithaca,” which continue to entertain their fans!

The Xerox Orthodox

The Xerox Process was invented at the Walt Disney Studios in 1959. Around that time, every studio in the motion picture industry was having to modernize their styles of filming because of how much cultures around the world were changing at that time. All the gaudy, colorful movie-musicals that they had produced in previous decades had lost their touch with film audiences. The Disney Studios were no exception. They released Sleeping Beauty on January 29th, 1959, and it unfortunately turned out to be a flop. At that point, they considered closing down the entire studio, something they also considered 10 years earlier before Cinderella (1950). When “Beauty,” flopped they had to fire 5% of their employees, and they were in desperate need of a film that could be a hit for the studio. That hit turned out to be 101 Dalmatians (1961), which was the first film produced by the studio completely on “ the Xerox Process” and that played a huge role in making “Dalmatians,” so successful.

This process was invented by Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney’s long-term business partner who was “in charge of special processes at the studio.” He invented a Xerox camera that transferred drawings by animators directly to animation cels. It excluded the “inking” process (painting each cel) thus saving time and money while maintaining the spontaneity of the penciled elements. However, because of its limitations the camera was not able deviate from a black scratchy outline and lacked the fine lavish quality of hand inking. When “Dalmatians” was released, it earned the studio back all the money they had lost on “Sleeping Beauty.” The Xerox Process continued to be used on every film that the studio produced, even after Walt’s death, from The Jungle Book (1967) and The Aristocats (1970) all the way to The Fox and the Hound (1981). 

In the 1980s, computer animation was first beginning to make its way into the Hollywood limelight. At that time, the Disney Studios invented the Computer Animation Production System, or CAPS, for short. CAPS allowed them to use computer generated imagery for special sequences in their movies, while the rest of the movie would maintain the Xerox style. It was first applied to The Black Cauldron (1985), then to The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and The Lion King (1994). It was also applied to Pocahontas (1995) but with the triumphant success of Toy Story (1995), the very first film produced completely with computer animation, CAPS began to decline. CAPS was applied to every animated film that Disney produced from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) to Home On the Range (2004), but has since then been shut down and disassembled and with the success of films like Frozen (2013) and Zootopia (2016). It is unlikely that CAPS or Xerox will ever make a return to the big screen. (Disney’s more recent hand-drawn animated films, i.e. The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Winnie the Pooh (2011) were produced with more updated version of CAPS entitled “Toon Boom Harmony” computer software.)

Walt Disney Animation has progressed a great deal since Walt was alive. From the Xerox Process, to CAPS, to complete CGI. Today, the CAPS and complete CGI films might resonate with us as a film audience better than the Xerox films, but if Xerox hadn’t been invented, CAPS and complete CGI more than likely never would have come along. The Xerox process paved the way for filming styles we see in animated movies today, so it deserves every movie lover’s respect.  

As They Wish

October 9th, 2017, will mark 30 years since Rob Reiner’s Oscar-nominated, cult-classic film, The Princess Bride was released. There a great deal of reasons of why “The Princess Bride,” is a special film. It features a heartwarming story-and for its fans-a great deal of quotable dialogue from screenwriter William Goldman, (who also wrote the original book). Plus each of the characters within the story are brought to life by the wonderful talents of a star-studded. Did you happen to know that many of the film’s stars went on to lend their voices to Disney Animation?

Wallace Shawn, who played Vizzini in “Princess Bride,” provided the voice of Rex the Dinosaur in the Toy Story Trilogy, Principal Mazur in A Goofy Movie (1995), and Principal Crosby Strickler in Teacher’s Pet the television series (2000-2005) and the movie (2004). He also voiced Bob’s irritating boss, Mr. Gilbert Huph, in The Incredibles (2004), and Billy in the direct-to-video sequel to Air Bud (1997), Air Buddies (2006). Shawn also had a small part in The Haunted Mansion (2003), based on the Disney Park attraction of the same name. Shawn had one of “Princess Bride’s” most quotable lines with “Inconceivable!” Due to a fear of heights, he was very scared to shoot the “Cliffs of Insanity” scene in the film, but Andre the Giant assured him that he would take care of him, and his fear lessened as a result. 

Billy Crystal, who played Miracle Max in the film, voiced Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. (2001) and its prequel, Monsters University (2013). Crystal was reunited with Rob Reiner for his next film after “Princess Bride,” released 2 years later, When Harry Met Sally (1989). During the filming of the “Miracle Max” scene in the film, Crystal was so hilarious and made everyone laugh so hard, that Reiner had to leave the set and co-star Mandy Patinkin, (who played Inigo Montoya) bruised a rib, trying to withhold his laughter.

Carol Kane, who played Miracle Max’s wife Valerie, lent her voice to many Disney Channel television shows. She provided the voices of Brawnhilda in Aladdin (1994-1995), Nana Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015), and the Sea Witch in Jake and the Neverland Pirates (2011-present). She also had small parts in the live-action Disney films, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and The Pacifier (2005). Aside from her film career, in 2006, she permanently took over the role of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked on Broadway, succeeding Rue McClanahan who reprised the show’s original, Carole Shelley. Prior to that, she originated the role in Wicked’s 1st National Tour (which I got to see in Dallas!)

Chris Sarandon, who portrayed Prince Humperdink in “Princess Bride,” provided the speaking voice of Jack Skellington in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He shared the role with Danny Elfman, who provided Jack’s singing voice. (Elfman also scored and wrote the songs “Nightmare Before Christmas,” and has written material for the majority of all of Tim Burton’s movies). Chris Sarandon brought his children to the set of the film because they had heard that their father was starring opposite a large giant, and when his son took one look at Andre the Giant he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran away as a result. Cary Elwes who played Westley and Fred Savage who played the Grandson in the film have also done voice work for Disney.

We might remember each of these people as their characters from “Princess Bride,” better than as the cartoon characters they voiced for Disney, though their roles for Disney did give more versatility to their careers. Some of them were even fortunate enough to receive Oscar nominations in their careers, including Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon and Peter Falk. (Kane: Best Actress in Hester Street (1975), Sarandon: Best Supporting Actor in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Falk: Best Supporting Actor in Murder, Inc. (1960) and Best Supporting Actor in Pocketful of Miracles (1961)). But it was thanks to their acting, William Goldman’s beautiful words, and Rob Reiner’s direction (and co-production with Andrew Schienman) that “The Princess Bride,” became the classic that it remains to this day!