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.

The Odd Couple Women

Do you remember “The Coo-Coo Pigeon Sisters,” from The Odd Couple, Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon? They were played by two British actresses, Monica Evans portrayed Cecily and Carole Shelley played Gwendolyn. They are best known throughout the world for those two roles. They performed the roles in the Original Broadway Company with Walter Mathau and Art Carney in 1965. The play opened at the Plymouth Theatre on March 10th and ran for a total of 964 performances till July 2nd, 1967 (with two additional previews). They then recreated the roles for the hit 1968 film version with Walter Mathau and Jack Lemmon. The reprised them for a second time for a few episodes The Odd Couple (1970-1975)  television series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.

Evans and Shelley were also no strangers to the Walt Disney Studios. Together, they voiced the two Geese sisters, Abigail and Amelia Gabble, in The AristoCats (1970). Evans voiced Abigail and and Shelley voiced Amelia. They were cast in Robin Hood (1973) 3 years later, with Evans as the voice of Maid Marian and Shelley as the voice of Lady Kluck. Shelley was also featured in Disney’s Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) and voiced Lachesis the Fate in Disney’s Hercules (1997). (The Odd Couple (1968) also featured two other Disney veterans. John Fiedler, who is best known throughout the world as the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh, played Felix and Oscar’s poker playing buddy Vinnie, and Herb Edelman who played Dorothy’s ex-husband, Stanley Zbornak, on Disney/ABC’s The Golden Girls (1985-1992) played Felix and Oscar’s other poker buddy, Murray.)

Evans and Shelley maintained a close friendship throughout each adaptation of The Odd Couple that continued into the early 1980s. At that point, their careers begun to take different paths, and they just lost touch with each other. Although, Evans did serve as Shelley’s maid of honor at her wedding to Albert G. Woods in 1967. After lending her voice to Robin Hood (1973), Evans retired from the acting world and relocated to her native UK, while Shelley remained in the US and continued acting in television, film, and theatre. In 1979, she won her one and only Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mrs. Kendall for the dramatic play, The Elephant Man. She appeared in revivals of the musicals Show Boat and Cabaret in the 1990’s, but she is also known throughout the world today for originating the role of Madame Morrible in the smash hit musical, Wicked, in 2003. She reprised the role in the show’s national touring company 2005, and in the Chicago Production of 2006. She appeared in the 2005 film Bewitched as Samantha’s loony Aunt Clara under the direction of Nora Ephron (Director of Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and You’ve Got Mail (1998)) and opposite Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, and her Wicked co-star, Kristin Chenoweth.

    Monica Evans and Carole Shelley will be forever remembered as the two sisters from England whose laughter resembles the noise of pigeons cooing in The Odd Couple. They did, however, go on to have other notable and enjoyable roles throughout the durations of each of their careers. In each of their collaborations with one other, we as an audience, always get to hear their distinctive laughter. Their laughter is what really makes the pairing of the two of them work, so it really is quite extraordinary that the chemistry of two actors work so well, simply because of unique laughing. 

John Ratzenberger: The Man Behind the Pig

When you think of John Ratzenberger, you might, at first, think of him as Cliff Clavin from Cheers (1982-1993). You might also remember him as the voice of Hamm the Piggy Bank in Toy Story (1995). But would you also remember him as Rebel Force Major Derlin in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)? Or have you recognized his voice in any of Pixar’s other films? You might be surprised to know that John Ratzenberger has lent his voice to all 16 of Pixar’s feature-length films. With each of those, a bit part in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and 2 Emmy Nominations for his role of Cliff Clavin on Cheers (1982-1993), John Ratzenberger has undoubtedly had a quite remarkable career throughout Hollywood. His roles for Pixar include:

• “Hamm” in Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), and Toy Story 3 (2010). Ratzenberger also reprised this role for all of the recent Toy Story Toon Shorts including Hawaiian Vacation (2011), Small Fry (2011), and Partysaurus Rex (2012).
• “P.T. Flea” (the Bug Circus Ringmaster) in A Bug’s Life (1998).
• “The Abominable Snowman” in Monsters, Inc. (2001) and Monsters University (2013)
• “The Fish School” in Finding Nemo (2003)
• “The Underminer” in The Incredibles (2004)
• “Mack” in Cars (2006), Cars 2 (2011), and Cars 3 (2017). Ratzenberger also voiced the “Hamm truck” and the “Abominable Snow Plow” for the humorous credits sequence at the end of Cars (2006).
• “Mustafa” in Ratatouille (2007).
• “John” in Wall-E (2008).
• “Construction Foreman Tom” in Up (2009).
• “Gordon” in Brave (2012).
• “Fritz” in Inside Out (2015).
• “Earl” in The Good Dinosaur (2015). 
• "Husband Crab (Bill)" in Finding Dory (2016)
• "Juan Ortodoncia" in Coco (2017)

John Ratzenberger will be forever remembered as Cliff Clavin, but also as one of Pixar Animation Studio’s most favored voice-talents. His unmistakable, “wisenheimer-toned” voice never ceases to serve as an entertaining and humorous asset to each of Pixar’s films. If Walt Disney himself had lived to meet John Ratzenberger, I’m sure he would have seen the same potential that he saw in his other frequently used voice talent (i.e. Verna Felton, Sterling Holloway, Pinto Colvig, etc.).

Actors who sing and move

Actors who have been fortunate enough to win the Academy Award/Oscar for their work have won for portraying all kinds of characters. Few, however, have received them for playing characters in a movie-musical. Interestingly enough, some of those actors created the role they won the Oscar for on the Broadway stage, and also received the Tony Award (the Broadway equivalent of the Oscar) for it. The winners include:

Judy Garland (Best Juvenile Performance by an Actor as “Dorothy Gale” in The Wizard of Oz (1939)). Garland would receive two other nominations throughout the rest of her career (Best Actress as “Vicki Lester” in A Star is Born (1954) and Best Supporting Actress as “Irene Hoffman” in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)) but she would loose both times.

Yul Brynner (Best Actor as “The King of Siam” in The King and I (1956)). Brynner previously won the Tony Award for the role of the King in the Broadway version of The King and I. He would go on to recreate the role for two revivals of the musical on Broadway, and for the second revival he would win a very special Tony Award for having played the King in the musical for a grand total of 4,625 performances.  

George Chakiris (Best Supporting Actor as “Bernardo” in West Side Story (1961)). Chakiris was the only principal cast member of the film version of West Side Story (1961) to do his own singing. He previously played the role of Riff in the London Company of West Side Story before acting in the film.

Rita Moreno (Best Supporting Actress as “Anita” in West Side Story (1961)). The majority of Moreno’s singing was dubbed by an actress named Betty Wand. Marni Nixon (who was already dubbing in for Natalie Wood’s singing voice in the film) however, sang a brief bit for Moreno during the “Tonight” sequence in the film. Despite that, Moreno won the Oscar nevertheless.     

Rex Harrison (Best Actor as “Professor Henry Higgins” in My Fair Lady (1964)). Like Yul Brynner, Harrison received the Tony Award for portraying Higgins in the acclaimed Broadway version of My Fair Lady starring opposite a then unknown Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle. Because Andrews had never been in a movie at the time, she was passed over for the film version of My Fair Lady for Audrey Hepburn. As talented of an actress that Hepburn was, her singing voice was deemed not conspicuously entertaining enough by the creative team of the movie, and she too was dubbed by Marni Nixon. 

Julie Andrews (Best Actress as “Mary Poppins” in Mary Poppins (1964)). Julie Andrews (whose feature film debut was Mary Poppins (1964)) also received the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy for Mary Poppins (1964), beating Audrey Hepburn for My Fair Lady (1964). Ironically, Audrey Hepburn wasn’t even nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for My Fair Lady, and to this day, it has never been concluded in Hollywood why that was so. It has, however, been highly believed that it was all because Hepburn had not done her own singing in My Fair Lady (1964).

Barbra Streisand (Best Actress as “Fanny Brice” in Funny Girl (1968)). Streisand created the role of Fanny Brice on Broadway and received a Tony Award Nomination for it, but lost Carol Channing for her role as Mrs. Dolly Levi, in the musical Hello, Dolly! Ironically, that would be a role that Streisand, herself, would go on to recreate for the film adaptation of that musical, released the following year in 1969.

Joel Grey (Best Supporting Actress as “Emcee” in Cabaret (1972)). Grey created the role of Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway and won the Tony as well. Despite The Godfather (1972) winning the Best Picture Oscar that year, Grey beat Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall for their performances in that film for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Liza Minnelli (Best Actress as “Sally Bowles” in Cabaret (1972)). Jill Hayworth originated the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway. The 1972 film adaptation was Minnelli’s only connection to the musical throughout her whole career.

Catherine Zeta-Jones (Best Supporting Actress as “Velma Kelly” in Chicago (2002)). Zeta-Jones had previously been approached to play Roxie Hart, but she was determined to play Velma Kelly. Renee Zellweger, who wound up taking the role of Roxie Hart, received the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy, beating Zeta-Jones. Zellweger also received the Best Actress Oscar Nomination for her performances as Roxie Hart, but was beaten by Nicole Kidman for her performance as Virginia Wolf in The Hours (2002).

Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress as “Effie White” in Dreamgirls (2006)). Like Julie Andrews, Hudson won her Oscar for her film debut. She beat out 782 actresses for that role.

Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress as “Fantine” in Les Miserables (2012)). Hathaway’s mother, Kate McCauley Hathaway played the role of Fantine in the first U.S. touring company of Les Miserables. It was through Anne’s father, Gerald T. Hathaway, that her mother learned the song “I Dreamed a Dream.”                

   These are just a few actors who go far beyond the level of just acting in movies to make their performances believable. If any other had been cast in any of these 12 roles, the movies themselves just wouldn’t be the same. Every one of these multi-talented actors made every one of these characters become indelible images throughout the history of movies, and they will continue to stand the test of time.