Carol Burnett: Glad We Had This Time

Lucille Ball is arguably, the first woman in the history of show business who made it possible for women to be funny. Her portrayal of Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy (1951-1957) is a staple in reruns. And today there are many women who are exceptionally talented comedians, i.e.: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Ellen DeGeneres, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey, and many others. Another woman who really “paved the way,” for women to be funny was Lucy’s protege, Carol Burnett. The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978) was the first variety show to have a female host. Carol Burnett’s then-husband, Joe Hamilton, was a producer on the show, similar to how Lucille Ball’s then-husband, Desi Arnaz, was the executive producer of “I Love Lucy.” “Carol Burnett,” which also starred, Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vickie Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner, made millions of people laugh, both in the studio audiences and “throughout TV Land.” Beyond all the laughs, however, Carol Burnett’s real life, was anything, but humorous.

Carol Burnett was born in San Antonio Texas on April 26th, 1933. She relocated to Hollywood, CA as a young child with her sister, Chris, where they were raised by their grandmother “Nannie,” due to their parents struggle with alcohol and ultimate divorce. As a young child, Carol Burnett became a huge fan of movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood and instantly developed the desire to break into show business. After graduating Hollywood High School, she went to study journalism at UCLA, but spent her spare time performing in plays at the University. After doing a special performance at a University party, a man and his wife approached Carol and complemented her on her performance, and asking if she had any future plans. She replied that she would like to someday go to New York to perform on Broadway. The man then asked her why she wasn’t already there and she replied that she simply did not have the money. To her great surprise, the man took out his wallet and gave her a check for $1,000 to go to New York and try her luck. He gave it to her on three conditions: she would pay it back to him in five years, no interest, she would also help others get started as well if she found success, and that she would also never reveal her benefactor’s name. Astonished, she was on her way. 

  After relocating to New York with her college sweetheart, Don Saroyan, whom she would later marry, Carol Burnett immediately began auditioning for Broadway musicals. She auditioned for the female lead role in a show called Babes in Arms, a Rodgers and Hart musical that opened on Broadway in 1937, was adapted for film in 1939, and was to be revived in the mid-1950’s. The producers were planning on having it open in Florida and ultimately bring it to Broadway. Carol Burnett made it all the way through the audition process and the producers of the show, and even Richard Rodgers himself, were pleased with her, and the director wanted to give her the role, but sadly the producers decided they wanted a name for the show rather than a newcomer. However, after receiving rejection via a phone call, Carol’s telephone rang again just a few minutes later, in which she received an invitation to audition for an off-Broadway production of a show called Once Upon a Mattress, a musical-comedy based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Princess and the Pea. She auditioned, and was cast in the leading role of Princess Winifred the Woebegone, which earned her a Tony Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. (Meanwhile, the revival of Babes in Arms, closed in Florida, before having even made it to Broadway.)   

Around the time of being cast in “Mattress,” Carol Burnett also earned a regular spot on The Garry Moore Show (1958-1967), a program that had begun as a radio program in 1950, but transitioned to television in 1958 and was produced by CBS. The show featured comedy skits, monologues, singing, and Q&A sessions with the audience, all of which Carol later brought to her own show. It was because of Garry Moore that Carol Burnett not only learned, understood, loved television. It was also on “Garry Moore,” that Carol Burnett invented her famous “ear tug,” which she did on both “Garry Moore,” and later her own show. After an unfortunate divorce from Saroyan, Carol Burnett met her second husband, Joe Hamilton, who was a producer on “Garry Moore,” and later on her own show. He was also the composer/lyricist of the song “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.” 

CBS was initially reluctant to give Carol Burnett her own show, despite how talented she was as a performer. They simply told her that comedy variety is a “man’s game.” Carol Burnett was determined to do her own thing with CBS as she was under contract with the network, and she and her husband both continued to persist. Even after CBS gave in, neither CBS nor Carol and her “rep players” were entirely confident that they would last even one season. Surprisingly they lasted for 11 hysterical years! The show won eight Golden Globes, five of which were for Carol Burnett herself, and 25 Primetime Emmys. The show premiered on September 11th, 1967 and closed on March 29th, 1978. Besides applying what she had learned on “Garry Moore,” to her own show, i.e.: Q&A sessions and musical numbers, what made “Carol Burnett,” unique from “Garry Moore,” was that she also invented the idea of movie parodies on her show. One of the most popular parodies was that of “Went With the Wind,” a parody of Gone With the Wind (1939) in which she plays Starlett O’Hara who walks out on stage wearing a ridiculously large dress made of curtains, but the curtains are still attached to a curtain rod. Carol Burnett also became known for her “Tarzan yell,” which she did numerous times on her show.    

Two years following the closing of her show, Carol Burnett made a special guest star appearance as herself on The Muppet Show in 1980. She unfortunately endured her second divorce from Joe Hamilton in 1984, but remained close with him afterwards. In 1987, she hosted the “Great Moments in Disney Animation,” special on The Wonderful World of Disney (1954-present), which back then was called the Disney Sunday Movie from 1987-1990. Carol Burnett also hosted the Walt Disney World 4th of July Spectacular in 1988 and Walt Disney World’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in 1991. In 2001, besides the tragedy of 9/11, Carol Burnett’s oldest daughter, Carrie Hamilton was also diagnosed with lung cancer that summer and she died in January the following year at the age of 38. More positively, however, Carol Burnett married for the third time to Brian Miller, the principal drummer and contractor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra on November 24th, 2001, and she and Miller have been happily married for 17 years. In 2005, Carol Burnett collaborated with ABC as both an executive producer and star of the made-for-television movie-musical Once Upon a Mattress, though in the film she portrayed Queen Aggravain, who is Princess Winifred’s main antagonist, while Winifred herself was played by Tracey Ullman. Carol Burnett also voiced Haru in the Disney/Studio Ghibli film, The Secret World of Arietty (2012).

Carol Burnett is one of the funniest ladies ever. For almost seventy years, she has made the whole world laugh, from performing on Broadway, to her incredibly hilarious variety show, to some performances in film, to even writing some memoirs: This Time Together in 2010 and In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox. She truly has created a unique legacy of humor that will never be forgotten.  

Disney’s Americana

Knowing that the 4th of July, otherwise known as Independence Day, will be here in three days from now, I thought in this blog we could acknowledge some of the artifacts produced by Disney that acknowledge the history of America. We will talk about movies, television shows, and theme park attractions and why many of them are special today. 

For starters, in 1953 the Disney Studios produced a short called Ben and Me. The short told a fictional story of how a mouse named Amos met and befriended Benjamin Franklin and collaborated with him in contribution to the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The short featured the voice talents of Disney film veterans Sterling Holloway as Amos and Charles Ruggles as Benjamin Franklin. The short also featured Hans Conried as Thomas Jefferson and Bill Thompson as Governor Keith. (Ironically Conried and Thompson also lent their voices to Captain Hook and Mr. Smee in Peter Pan (1953), which was released the same year as “Ben and Me.”) It received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Subject, Two-reel, but was beaten by Bear Country (1953) which is a documentary in Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventure Series. (Concidentally, “Ben and Me,” played in front of another one of the True-Life Adventure Series, The Living Desert (1953), which won the first-ever Oscar for Best Documentary!)

In 1954, on the ABC Network, Walt Disney began airing the Davy Crockett series, starring Fess Parker as Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as his sidekick Georgie Russell. The show also featured Hans Conried as Thimblerig. The mini-series had a total of three episodes which aired from December ’54 to February ’55. Later, the mini-series was combined into a feature-length movie called Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier. The show was an incredible hit, and led to production of all kinds of “Crockett,” merchandise, including coonskin caps. More significantly, the show has been referred to as the very first television mini-series ever, though it was a little longer before that term was officially labeled. All of that led to a sequel/prequel production film called Davy Crockett and the River Pirates which aired as a two-episode series from November ’55-December ’55, and was later edited together as a movie in 1956. The show also led to the creation of Davy Crockett Ranch, which opened at the Euro Disney Resort in April 1992. 

Disney has also made short films acknowledging figures in American folklore. In 1948, the studios created Melody Time, which featured a short about the character of Johnny Appleseed and the song “Lord is Good to Me.” Ten years after the film, Disney released the short Paul Bunyan with Thurl Ravenscroft as Bunyan—who in addition to having many Disney voice-over roles—was also known for having voiced Tony the Tiger in all the Frosted Flakes commercials. The short received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Short Subject, Cartoons. Like “Ben and Me,” it can only be seen on the DVD collection Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Five, released in 2005. In 2000, Mark Henn, who was the supervising animator on many of Disney’s princesses, directed a short called John Henry, featuring the voices of Geoffrey Jones and Alfre Woodard—who will next be seen in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of The Lion King (2019).                   

Walt Disney’s all-time favorite U.S. President was Abraham Lincoln, and he was such a huge fan of Lincoln, that as a child he dressed up as Lincoln in school for a special project where he recited the Gettysburg Address from memory in front of his class. His performance was so well received, that he was even asked to give encores to the other classes at school. The memory of this experience stayed with Walt the rest of his life, and ultimately it hatched an idea in his head to build an attraction at Disneyland that would be an homage to Lincoln.

Walt originally planned the idea as a theater show called “One Nation Under God,” with robotic figures of all the U.S. presidents before and after Lincoln, and he planned on testing out the attraction at the New York World’s Fair, before it would move to the Disneyland Resort. When the project was in production, Robert Moses, who was the head of the New York World’s Fair came to the Disney Studio to see it, and he was so impressed that he insisted on having the attraction open at the fair. Walt was satisfied but decided that there was not enough time for them to finish the entire attraction before the opening day of the fair. Thus, the project was made to focus only on Lincoln. With their reliance on historical artifacts and the breakthrough of audio-animatronics, Walt Disney’s imagineers brought to life Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, premiering at the New York World’s Fair just in time, along with three other attractions: It’s a Small World, Carousel of Progress, and Ford’s Magic Skyway. Walt hired actor Royal Dano to provide the voice of the animatronic Lincoln. “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” opened at the Disneyland Resort the day after the park turned ten years old on July 18th, 1965. In 2012, Disney-owned company Touchstone Pictures released Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, for which he won both the Oscar and the Golden Globe.

Walt’s original idea for the every-president animatronic attraction was later re-invented by his imagineers for attraction known for The Hall of Presidents, which opened on the Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort on October 1st, 1971. The hall includes every president from George Washington to Donald Trump, with Royal Dano reprising his role as Lincoln. (Dano appeared in Disney’s film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).) The Liberty Square is also home to The Haunted Mansion attraction, The Muppets Present…Great Moments in American History, and the Liberty Belle Riverboat.   

Disney has acknowledged American History creatively in many different forms, using entertainment to remind us all how our nation got to where it is today.

The Garner Files

James Garner was one of the very first actors who found success on both television and film. With his dashing looks and deep voice—and his ability to look good in a cowboy hat—one could easily compare him to John Wayne, though slightly more modern, of course. Ironically, John Wayne, himself, named James Garner as the best American actor in a 1973 interview. Throughout his 50-year-career, he played a remarkable variety of characters, some roguish, some gentlemanly, and some just flat-out wisecrackers. He even made some films for the Walt Disney Studios as well.

    James Garner was born in Norman, Oklahoma on April 7th, 1928. He was the youngest of three sons of Weldon Warren Bumgarner and Mildred Scott (Meek). He tragically lost his mother when he was just five years, so he and his brothers were sent to live with other relatives. He reunited with his family in 1934 when his father remarried. His father remarried more than once, though, and one of young James Garner’s stepmothers was a woman named Wilma, an abusive woman who beat James and his two brothers. She at one point even punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public. When James was 14 he fought her to the point of knocking her down and choking her in self-defense. As a result, the marriage broke up and Wilma left the family and was never heard from again, while Weldon relocated to Los Angeles, leaving his three sons in Norman.

James Garner enlisted in the United States Merchant Marines when he was 16 years old. He spent seven months serving in the California Army National Guard and then 14 months in the Korean War, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts. In 1954, when 26 years old, his friend Paul Gregory talked him into taking a non-speaking role in the Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. While in the play, James was able to study Henry Fonda, who later became a friend. After his run in the play, James Garner decided to pursue acting full-time, and he got bit roles in the pilot episode for the television series Cheyenne (1955-1962) and the movies The Girl He Left Behind (1956) and Toward the Unknown (1956). The same year as the two movies, he married Lois Fleischman Clarke, with whom he had two daughters, one biological Greta “Gigi,” Garner and one adopted, Kim, whom Lois had had from a previous marriage. James Garner finally got his first starring role in the series Maverick (1957-1962), playing Bret Maverick, a charming cardshark. He starred opposite Jack Kelly, who played his brother Bart Maverick. The show was a hit and won the Emmy for Best Western series in 1959.

As a result of the success of “Maverick,” Garner also began getting leading roles in movies. While on “Maverick,” he played Captain Bailey in Sayonara (1957) and Cash McCall in Cash McCall (1960). In 1963, he made two films with close friend Doris Day The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling. Garner made The Americanization of Emily (1964) with Julie Andrews the very next year. He later said that “Americanization of Emily,” was his favorite of all his movies. (“Americanization of Emily,” was also released the same year that Julie Andrews made Mary Poppins for Disney.) Garner also became close with Andrews, and later reunited with her nearly 20 years later in Victor Victoria (1982), alongside Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren, all four of whom appeared under the direction of Andrews’ late husband, Blake Edwards. James worked with Andrews for a third time in the made-for-television film One Special Night (1999).

In 1973, Garner was hired by the Walt Disney Studios to star in One Little Indian opposite Vera Miles and an 11-year-old Jodie Foster. The very next year, he reunited with Miles in Disney’s Castaway Cowboy (1974). After wrapping the movie, Garner made a huge comeback to television in the role of Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files (1974-1980). He won an Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 1977 and received three Golden Globe nominations for his performance. Tragically, however, he was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer after the show’s last season. He also separated from his wife around this time. Fortunately, he recovered and reconciled with his wife, though made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the role of Bret Maverick in a made-for-television film called The New Maverick, where Bret passes his “cardshark” torch to his younger cousin Ben Maverick, but the network didn’t pick it up. As a result, he returned to movies.

In 1986, James Garner received a Best Actor Oscar Nomination for his performance as Murphy Jones in Murphy’s Romance (1985) opposite Sally Field. In 1994, he played Marshal Zane Cooper, father of Bret Maverick in Maverick (1994), a film based on the series. He also returned to the role of Jim Rockford in the television movie The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits (1996), and reprised the role for five more movies. In 2000, he lent his voice to a series called God, the Devil and Bob where was the voice of God, and he was the voice of the evil Commander Rourke in Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). He also played Jim Egan on the ABC series 8 Simple Rules (2002-2005). He played Duke, the older version of Ryan Gosling’s character in The Notebook (2004). His final theatrical film appearance was in the role of Howard “Red” Stevens in The Ultimate Gift (2006). 

James Garner passed away in Los Angeles, California due to heart difficulties on July 19th, 2014 at 86 years of age. From his roles in dramas, comedies, and westerns to television shows, to a few voice-overs, he has truly left a unique legacy in entertainment.      

Disney Dads

In honor of the fact that today is Father’s Day, I thought it would be a good idea for this blog to be a tribute to fathers of Disney story-telling. From Goofy to Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964), to King Triton in The Little Mermaid (1989), the fathers/fatherly figures in Disney movies always love their children despite the fact that in their stories there are often complicated obstacles to overcome between them in order for their relationship to completely heal. I’m going to acknowledge some of them, the actors who portrayed them, and anything else the actors have done for Disney. Please feel free to comment and tell me which one of these is your favorite.

1. Brian Keith played Mitch Evers, father of Hayley Mills as Sharon McKendick and Susan Evers in the original version of The Parent Trap (1961). In addition to his role in “Parent Trap,” Keith, the year prior he starred in Disney’s Ten Who Dared (1960). Two years after “Parent Trap,” he starred in Savage Sam (1963), the sequel to Old Yeller (1957). Following that, he made A Tiger Walks (1964) which reunited him with “Savage Sam,” co-star Kevin Corcoran, and in 1965 Those Calloways (1965) which reunited him with “A Tiger Walks,” co-star Vera Miles. He also made Scandalous John (1971) and various episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1954-1961). Brian Keith also reunited with close friend/“Parent Trap,” co-star Maureen O’Hara for the western film The Deadly Companions (1961) which was released the same year as “Parent Trap.”  
2. Dennis Quaid played Nick Parker, father of Lindsay Lohan as Hallie Parker and Annie James in Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap (1998) which celebrates 20 years since its release this year. Quaid also portrayed renowned baseball player Jim Morris in The Rookie (2002). Quaid also made Touchstone Pictures D.O.A. (1988) opposite former spouse Meg Ryan, and in 2003 he made back-to-back Touchstone’s Cold Creek Manor and The Alamo where he played Sam Houston. In both “Rookie,” and “Alamo,” Quaid not only played two different people who really existed, but he was also directed by John Lee Hancock who later directed Saving Mr. Banks (2013), the biopic on the making of Mary Poppins (1964) at the Walt Disney Studios.
3. For the last 30 years, Bill Farmer has been the voice of Goofy, father of Max Goof. Farmer made his Goofy debut in Touchstone’s blockbuster film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and has been the voice of Goofy for all of his appearances since that film, including A Goofy Movie (1995) and its direct-to-video sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000). In addition to voicing the hilarious dog, Bill Farmer has also been the voice of Pluto since 1990, as well as the voices of the Tiki Bird in the Walt Disney Family Museum, Ant #3 in A Bug’s Life (1998), and numerous other characters. In 2015, Bill Farmer won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated/TV Broadcast Production for voicing Goofy and Goofy’s grandma in the Disney Channel Series Mickey Mouse (2013-present). 
4. Kenneth Mars provided the voice of King Triton, father of Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989) and its direct-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (2000). Prior to “Mermaid,” Mars played Marshall Wolly Bill Hitchcock in The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979), the sequel to The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975). Kenneth Mars also lent his voice to several Disney channel shows including: TaleSpin (1990-1991), The Little Mermaid (1992-1994) where he voiced both King Triton as well as the evil Doctor Vile who only seen in the show, Darkwing Duck (1991-1992), Bonkers (1993-1994), and Jungle Cubs (1996-1998). Besides his Disney roles, Kenneth Mars is also known for having his roles in Mel Brooks films including: Franz Liebkind in The Producers (1968) and Inspector Kemp in Young Frankenstein (1974). 
5. David Tomlinson is best-known for playing the role of Mr. George Banks, father of Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins (1964). After playing the resolute, though good-hearted Mr. Banks, Tomlinson later played the ruthless Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug (1968) and three years after that, the goofy Professor Emelius Brown in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). In each of those three films, Tomlinson appeared under the direction of Robert Stevenson, and Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. Tomlinson also provided the voices of the parrot handle on Mary Poppins’s umbrella and a few of the other cartoon characters in “Poppins.” 
6. Douglas Seale was the voice of the Sultan, father of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin (1992). Two years prior, Seale voiced Krebbs the koala in The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Douglas Seale also played Santa Clause in Touchstone Pictures Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) and Mr. Destiny (1990) and also appeared in two episodes of The Golden Girls (1985-1992). For unknown reasons, Douglas Seale never reprised the role of the Sultan for the direct-to-video sequels to “Aladdin,” Aladdin: The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) and he was replaced by Val Bettin who made his Disney debut as the voice of Dr. David Q. Dawson in The Great Mouse Detective (1986).
7. Fess Parker made his Disney debut as Davy Crockett in the Davy Crockett mini-series (1955-1956). The studio had originally considered Buddy Ebsen for the part, but when Walt Disney saw Parker in a movie called Them (1954) they cast Parker as Crockett and Ebsen as Crockett’s companion, George Russell. The show was an incredible hit, and it led to Parker’s contract with Disney and to starring in films such as The Great Locomotive Chase (1956), Westward Ho, The Wagons! (1956), Old Yeller (1957), and The Light in the Forest (1958). “Old Yeller,” was a reunion for Parker with Jeff York, whom Parker had worked with on “Davy Crockett,” and “Great Locomotive Chase.”
8. You might remember in Hercules (1997) that the character of Hercules had two fatherly figures. He had a mythological father who lived on Mount Olympus, Zeus the thunder God, and an earthly foster father named Amphytryon, who lived with his wife in ancient Greece. Rip Torn was the voice of Zeus and Hal Holbrook was the voice of Amphytryon. Besides their roles in “Hercules,” Rip Torn also appeared in the Wonderful World of Disney made-for-television film Balloon Farm (1999) and Hal Holbrook lent his voice to Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014), the sequel to Planes (2013).
9. Kevin Kline just recently played Maurice, father of Belle in Disney’s smash hit live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (2017). Previously, Kline voiced Phoebus in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and its direct-to-video sequel The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 (2002). In “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Kline was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, who also directed Disney’s original animated film of Beauty and the Beast (1991). Kline also appeared in Hollywood Pictures 1992 thriller Consenting Adults. 
10. Neil Flynn recently wrapped up nine season of portraying the Heck family patriarch, Mike Heck on ABC’s The Middle (2009-2018). Neil Flynn also voiced the characters of XR on the Disney Channel Original series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001) (succeeding Larry Miller in the part) and Mr. Bannister on the Disney XD series Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja (2012-2015). He also played George on ABC’s Ellen (1994-1998) which starred Ellen DeGeneres.                            

Each of these actors performances as dads helped make the movies themselves successful. And their exceptional performances helped us treasure the stories.

Dunder Mifflin’s Disney Clientele

On July 9th, 2001, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) began to air a sit-com about a group of office co-workers who reluctantly work together underneath a tyrannical manager named David Brent, played by Ricky Gervais. The series won two Golden Globes for Best Television Series-Comedy or Musical and Best Actor in a Television Series Comedy or Musical for Gervais. The show ran for two seasons on the BBC. Two years after it went off the BBC, it was reinvented with a cast of American actors on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and on that network it aired for nine seasons from 2005-2013, winning one Golden Globe and five Primetime Emmy Awards. Many of the stars of this beloved sit-com, have been in films for Disney.

Steve Carrell won a Golden Globe for his performance as Michael Scott, the manager of Dunder Mifflin. In the midst of the show’s 3rd and 4th seasons, Carrell played Dan in Touchstone Pictures’ Dan in Real Life (2007). Carrell departed “The Office” toward the end of the show’s seventh season in 2011, and later portrayed Ben Cooper, father of Alex Cooper in Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014). He was the voice of Mr. Delancey in the Toon Disney Series Filmore! (2002-2004), Hammy the squirrel in Dreamworks’ Over the Hedge (2006) and Felonius Gru in the Despicable Me series (2010-2017). Steve Carrell is also known for having made three films with Jim Carrey, (who ironically appeared in one of the “Michael-less,” episodes of “The Office,”): Bruce Almighty (2003), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) and both lent their voices to Blue Sky Studios’ animated film of Horton Hears a Who! (2008).

John Krasinski played Jim Halpert in all 188 episodes of “The Office.” For Disney, Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, both made cameos in The Muppets (2011). He also provided the voice of Frightening in Monsters University (2013) and narrated the Disneynature documentary, Born in China (2016). Krasinski is also a skilled director, having directed three episodes of “The Office,” the drama comedies Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (2009) and The Hollars (2016) and this year’s horror flick A Quiet Place (2018). Outside of his acting and directing skills, John Krasinski received two Primetime Emmy Nominations for appearing as himself on the show Lip Sync Battle (2015-present).

Phyllis Smith played Phyllis Vance on “The Office,” and Mindy Kaling played Kelly Kapor on the show as well. Smith and Kaling were the voices of Sadness and Disgust in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out (2015). Kaling also was the voice of Taffyta Muttonfudge in Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and portrayed Mrs. Who in A Wrinkle in Time (2018). Smith appeared in an episode of Disney/ABC’s The Middle (2009-2018), and like Kaling, has reprised her character from “Inside Out,” for the short Riley’s First Date? (2015) and for the Disney Infinity 3.0 (2015) video game.

B.J. Novak played the role of Ryan Howard on “The Office.” He also wrote 15 episodes of “The Office,” and even served as one of the show’s executive producers. The year the show went off the air, B.J. Novak was cast as Robert B. Sherman, brother of Richard M. Sherman, in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Disney’s biopic on the making of Mary Poppins (1964) in which Novak and Jason Schwartzman played the Academy-Award-winning composer/lyricist team of “Mary Poppins.” His character of Ryan Howard had an on-again/off-again relationship with Kelly Kapor on the show, and that ironically mirrored a real life relationship that Novak had with Mindy Kaling. While they are no longer together, they reunited on Mindy’s show The Mindy Project (2012-2017), in which he acted and was a consulting producer through the show’s first season.

Melora Hardin portrayed Jan Levinson-Gould, a love interest of Michael’s on “The Office.” At just 12 years of age, Melora Hardin made her feature film debut in Disney’s The North Avenue Irregulars (1979). At 24 she played the South Seas Singer in The Rocketeer (1991). She later played Claire Poulet in the Wonderful World of Disney film Tower of Terror (1997) based on the Disney Park Attraction of the same name, Mrs. Carol Spencer in Buena Vista’s The Hot Chick (2002) with Rob Schneider, and Lorelai in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). Hardin also played Trudy Monk/Cameron on the Universal/ABC show Monk (2002-2009), and currently stars on Freeform’s drama series The Bold Type (2017-present).

Each of these actors will be best remembered for who they played on “The Office,” though they have managed to achieve versatility with their roles in both Disney films and by writing, producing, directing, etc. They are all truly talented!

Disney Nature Voices

The Disneynature film company was founded on April 21st, 2008. It is headquartered in Paris, France and run by Jean-Francois Camilleri who also serves as senior vice president and general manager for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures France. Disney decided to create this company as a result of the Warner Bros. documentary March of the Penguins winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 2006. It is reminiscent of Walt Disney himself, who produced the True-Life Adventure Series from 1948-1960 (which also won a great deal of Academy Awards). Today the Disneynature company has produced several interesting films. Most of them have had theatrical releases, though some have been direct-to-video. Each of them, however, has been narrated by talented actors who have also worked on other films for the Disney Studios.

James Earl Jones was the narrator of Disneynature’s very first film Earth (2007). Jones provided the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King (1994) and it’s direct-to-video sequel The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (1998). He will portray Mufasa again in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of The Lion King in 2019. Besides Mufasa, James Earl Jones was also one of the segment introductory hosts in Fantasia 2000 (1999) and narrated Disney’s American Legends (2002) which is a direct-to-video compilation of shorts about people like John Henry and Johnny Appleseed. He narrated the “Lion King” segment of the feature “The Story Behind the Story,” for the 2001 DVD edition release of Beauty and the Beast (1991) and was the voice of Santa Claus in the Disney Channel Original series Recess (1997-2001) and its direct-to-video movie, Recess Christmas: Miracle on 3rd Street (2001). Jones also reprised his trademark voice-over performance as Darth Vader for the Disney Park Attraction Star Tours: The Adventures Continue and the Oscar-nominated film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2014). 

Pierce Brosnan narrated Disneynature’s Oceans (2010). When Brosnan played James Bond from 1995-2002, he made a guest appearance on the show Muppets Tonight (1996-1998) as James Bond. He is also the current voice of Grimsby, Prince Eric’s elderly guardian from The Little Mermaid (1989) whenever the character makes an appearance in a Disney video game. He will next be seen reprising his role as Sam Carmichael, one of the three “fathers” in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), the sequel to Mamma Mia! (2008) with Meryl Streep.

  

Meryl Streep narrated Wings of Life (2011) which was Disney’s first direct-to-video film. For Disney, Streep played the Witch in Into the Woods (2014) which earner her a 19th Academy Award Nomination. She will next be seen as Mary Poppins’ cousin Topsy in Disney’s upcoming sequel Mary Poppins Returns (2018), which will reunite her with “Into the Woods,”/The Devil Wears Prada (2006) co-star, Emily Blunt as the title character and “Into the Woods,” director Rob Marshall.

Samuel L. Jackson narrated African Cats (2011). Jackson voiced Frozone in The Incredibles (2004) and he will be back for the sequel as well. He is also known for portraying the role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe including the films: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winder Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He also portrayed the character in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-present) and will do it again in the upcoming films Captain Marvel (2019) and Avengers 4 (2019).

Tim Allen narrated Chimpanzee (2012). Allen made his Disney debut as Tim “The Toolman” Taylor in the ABC series Home Improvement (1991-1999), which is a role that earned him five Golden Globe Nominations and one Primetime Emmy Nomination. He later lent his voice to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995) and since then has voiced the character for all of its sequels and short films, including the upcoming Toy Story 4 (2019). Prior to the first “Toy Story,” he played the role of Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in The Santa Clause (1994), and reprised that role for two sequels The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). “The Santa Clause 3,” reunited him with Martin Short, with whom Allen worked on Disney’s Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). He also made a remake of The Shaggy Dog for Disney in 2006 and in 2007, he made Touchstone’s Wild Hogs.

John C. Reilly narrated Bears (2014). Reilly voiced Wreck-It Ralph in Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018). Reilly is also given screen credit for having made story contribution to the first film. Besides “Ralph,” Reilly played Rhomann Dey in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). He also had roles in Touchstone’s Boys (1996), Gangs of New York (2002), Dark Water (2005), and he played Amos Hart in Mirimax’s smash hit film adaptation of Chicago (2002) which earned him an Academy Award Nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the performance.

Tina Fey narrated Monkey Kingdom (2015). Fey also voiced Lisa in the Disney/Studio Ghibli film Ponyo (2008) and she played Nadya in Muppets Most Wanted (2014). She was the  voice of Jenny Johnson on the Disney Channel Series Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015). Fey has written and collaborated with close friend, Amy Poehler (who is known at Disney as the voice of Joy in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out (2015)) on three films: Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), and Sisters (2015).

   

John Krasinski narrated Born in China (2016). Before narrating that film, Krasinski made a cameo as himself in The Muppets (2011) and also voiced Frank McCay in Monsters University (2013), the prequel to Monsters, Inc. (2001). Krasinski is also known for playing the role of Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office (2005-2013).

A Disneynature documentary is appealing for all kinds of reasons: scenic locations, cute subjects, etc., but one of the things that makes the story worth hearing is a well-chosen narrator. And while each of these people are exceptional actors, they also have done noteworthy work as narrators. And thanks to each of their talented voices, the movies themselves have all done reasonably well for the studio. 

Simply Incredible

On November 5, 2004, Disney and Pixar released a film called The Incredibles. The film told a story about a family of superheroes, despite attempting to live a quiet suburban life, team up for an adventure to save the world from evil. On the way, they discover what makes themselves unique both individually and as a family. It was the very first film that Disney produced with Pixar that told a story in which the main characters were humans, and it won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing. And on June 15th, 2018, the family Incredible will finally be coming back to movie theaters in Incredibles 2 (2018). Many of the cast and crew members from “The Incredibles,” have worked on other films for the Disney Studios as well, both before and in between production of the “Incredibles,” films.

Craig T. Nelson was the voice of the family patriarch Mr. Incredible in “The Incredibles,” otherwise known as Bob Parr, and he will reprise his role for the sequel. Before he lent his voice to Mr. Incredible he won one Emmy and received four Golden Globe nomination for his role as Coach Hayden Fox in the ABC sit-com Coach (1989-1997). The same year that “Coach,” went on the air, he appeared in the Touchstone Pictures film Turner & Hooch (1989) with Tom Hanks and 20 years after that, he was in Touchstone’s The Proposal (2009) with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Nelson also played Dr. Rovinsky in Soul Surfer (2011), and in addition to “Incredibles 2,” he has a part in the upcoming comedy Book Club (2018) which reunites him with Diane Keaton, whom he worked with in The Family Stone (2005) and Mary Steenburgen who played his wife in “The Proposal.”   

Holly Hunter provided the voice of the fiercely independent, though loving wife and mother, Mrs. Incredible, and she also will voice the character in the sequel. Before lending her voice to Mrs. Incredible, like Craig T. Nelson, she acted in two different Touchstone Pictures film also. She played Penny Wharvey McGill in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), opposite George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson and then she played Mona Camp in Moonlight Mile (2002) opposite Dustin Hoffman and Jake Gyllenhaal. In “Brother,” she was directed by Ethan and Joel Coen. Having been roommates with Coen brothers in the early 1980s, Hunter’s first leading female role was in the Coen brothers’ romantic comedy Raising Arizona (1987). The same year, she starred in Broadcast News (1987), which earned her first Academy Award Nomination as Best Actress. (Her “Broadcast News,” co-star Albert Brooks, was the voice of Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003) which was released the year prior to “The Incredibles.”) She lost that year to Cher in Moonstruck, though she won six years later for the film The Piano (1993), making her the only “Incredible,” to win an Oscar.

Samuel L. Jackson voiced the Incredibles best friend Frozone, and he will be back for the sequel as well. Jackson was the narrator for the Disneynature film African Cats (2011). He is known for portraying the role of Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe including the films: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winder Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He also portrayed the character in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-present) and will do it again in the upcoming films Captain Marvel (2019) and Avengers 4 (2019). Jackson is also known for portraying Jedi Master Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for his performance as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction (1994).

Jason Lee lent his voice to the character of Buddy Pine, who grew up to be the villainous Syndrome in “The Incredibles.” After voicing the main antagonist in the film, he voiced the heroic Underdog in the live-action/CGI animatronic Disney film Underdog (2007). He also acted in Buena Vista’s Enemy of the State (1998) opposite Gene Hackman and Will Smith, Touchstone’s Mumford (1999), Mirimax’s Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back (2001), Jersey Girl (2004), the last two both of which he starred opposite Ben Affleck. While he will not be returning for the “Incredibles,” sequel, he will have a part in Disney’s upcoming sequel to Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018). He also received two Golden Globe nominations for his role as Earl Hickey in the NBC comedy series My Name is Earl (2005-2009).          

Brad Bird is the writer/director of both “Incredibles,” movies. In addition to winning the Best Animated Feature Film for the first “Incredibles,” he won a second Best Animated Feature Oscar for Ratatouille (2007) and directed the “Incredibles” short film Jack-Jack Attack (2005), which was released as a special feature on the ’05 DVD release of the first “Incredibles.” He was the voices of Edna Mode the superhero costume designer in “The Incredibles,” and Ambrister Minion in “Ratatouille.” Besides animation, he also has directed live-action films including: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011), the fourth film in the series, and Disney’s Tomorrowland (2015). He made his film directorial debut with Warner Bros. The Iron Giant (1999). (Both “Iron Giant,” and “The Incredibles 2,” featured caricatures of Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston who were members of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men.”)

Michael Giacchino composed the music for both “Incredibles,” movies. Before writing music for movies, he began his career writing music for short films and video games such as: Gargoyles (1995) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). His music made its feature film debut in the film Sin (2003) with Gary Oldman and Ving Rhames. He reunited with Brad Bird to write the music for “Ratatouille,” “Tomorrowland,” and “Ghost Protocol.” Besides his collaborations with Bird, he has also written the music for a variety of classic Disney animated and live-action films including: Up (2009) which awarded him the Oscar for Best Original Score, Inside Out (2015), Zootopia (2016), and Coco (2017). And he wrote the music for Marvel’s Doctor Strange (2016) and Spiderman: Homecoming (2017). Outside of Disney, Pixar, and Marvel, he wrote the music for Star Trek (2009), Jurassic World (2015), and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

“The Incredibles,” is one of Disney/Pixar’s best films. Whether or not the sequel will be as “incredible” as the first remains to be seen. The contributions that each of these people made to the first film made it an absolute blockbuster.