This is a perfect article illustrating how important it is to pick the right voice for a part. Some animated movies fail because of a poor voice cast or one character doesn't seem right because a voice doesn't seem to match what you are seeing.  Pat Carroll works as Ursula....though Elaine Stritch would have been interesting as well. Plus, Ursula is a great Disney villan. She is well animated with all her tentecles moving and her heaving chest    

I agree with the above comment.

Voice casting is one of the MANY reasons I hate Lion King. Almost ALL of the voices are WAY too recognizable. I kept on expecting Mutasfa to say, "Simba, I am your father" (even though I DO love James Earl Jones).

I think it MAY have been a better movie with different voice casting.

Thank you for this article! Little Mermaid is my favorite animated Disney movie, and I got chills through and through reading the article. Much appreciated.

I agree with you, jedited! I much prefer an animated movie with voices that I do not recognize over those with big name stars.

Amen to that, although it really depends on the character.  There are definitely cases where the actor is just cast for their name or they're recognizable to the point where it's distracting (dreamworks is horribly guilty of this).  There's a big difference between having Tom Hanks or Billy Crystal and losing them in a character and having "Jay Limo" or "Bob Cutlass" - a big annoyance with Cars - every time one of those popped up I felt like I was watching Shark Tale.

Of the films that comprised the "renaissance" period of animation, it's still "The Little Mermaid" that tops my list. One of the reasons I admire it so much is for the fact that they ended up casting actors with rich, distinct voices that could really bring something to the role, rather than just hiring typical 'A' list actors for box-office appeal like they regrettably do too often these days. I'd never heard of either Jodi Benson or Samuel Wright before "Mermaid", and only knew Pat Carroll from her turn as an ugly stepsister in the TV version of "Cinderella" by Rodgers and Hammerstein. But all three of these actors brought their characters to life. I'm very happy that Pat Carroll ultimately won the role of Ursula - she was perfect!

For my part, I had no problem with the celebrity voices in "The Lion King" - mostly because the characters' appeal didn't rely on the celebrity voice. The characters were so strong in their own right that the voices served the characters, not the other way around. My only complaint regarding the voices of LK is Matthew Broderick's (as the adult Simba). He gave a very bland, by-the-numbers performance IMO and really weakened the impact and personality of Simba. IMO Michael J. Fox would have been a better choice. He would have been far more believeable as a grown-up version of Jonathan Taylor-Thomas - kind of brash and sassy, plus he's a good enough actor to have added a layer of melancholy. Oh well. The film rocked anyway. Thanks for the article, Jim - and Pat Carroll did a magnificent job as Ursula. She even got a few laughs by the way she delivered certain lines - something not everyone playing a villian can do!

The Wall*E trailer is up!!!!!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/walle/

Fantastic article!

The more I read about Howard Ashman, the more I am impressed by what a creative force he was. He wasn't just a lyricist; he was a storyteller and creator through and through!

There are so many reasons that "Beauty and the Beast" carries a dedication to the late Howard Ashman, but badlactose hit it squarely on the head. Beyond being an gifted lyricist who could write in the vernacular better than anyone ("I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty, I've got whosits and whatsits galore; You want thingimabobs? I've got twenty!", etc.), or a talented writer, Howard was a consummate storyteller which also made him a helluva producer. And he recognized talent. Fresh out of the BMI workshop, he found Alan Menken to help write "God Bless You, Mrs Rosewater" as a musical and that began a partnership that lasted almost 20 glorious, inspirational years.

A toast, Ladies & Germs:

To Howard Ashman:

Who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul -

We will be forever grateful.

@ TechGuy: it's a teaser, but it's still great :)

So you're opening mail directed to Walter Scott's Personality Parade now?

Sometimes -- and all too rarely I'm afraid -- a person who has truly worked hard and parid their dues is fortunate enough to experience something extraordinary in their career or personal life. It's so gratifying to know that Pat Carroll, who "kicked around" show business for decades, will be immortalized for a truly outstanding performance that helped define the character forever. Even if people don't know her name, they'll always know her work. How many people know what Betty Lou Gerson looks like, yet how much of her talent made Cruella DeVil such a great creation?

It's wonderful to know that such a genuinely delightful person as Pat Carroll is enjoying this aspect of her career. In addition to playing Lesley Ann Warren's Stepsister in R&H's Cinderella, she also stole the show on Laverne & Shirley as Shirley's mom ("Call me Barb!"). She's one of those performers who can take a piece of material and really run with it to make it even better than expected.

In an age where shallow celebrities of questionable ability earn millions and receive endless media coverage, it's good to know that sometimes talents does win out.