The animation AND comedy community suffered a huge, huge loss on April 12, 2022 with the untimely passing of Gilbert Gottfried. Gilbert passed away at the far-too-young age of 67 after a years-long battle with a form of muscular dystrophy.
Gilbert Gottfried – Stand-up Comedian
This comedian’s comedian first came on my own personal radar back in April of 1987. That’s when Cinemax first aired this half hour-long special that featured Gilbert’s stand-up act at the time. This show was so hilarious that I made a point of taping it the very next time it aired. And I’m sure that that VHS — which then got replayed many, many times — is still in a box somewhere in the basement.
Anyway … Gottfried performed lots of great material as part of this episode of the “Cinemax Comedy Experiment” show. One moment that really stood out for me — as a Disney fan — was when Gottfried grabbed two round trays that the staff then used to ferry drinks around that comedy club. Holding them up to the side of his head, Gilbert announced that his next impression would be Mickey Mouse on acid.
Gottfried then began flapping those drink trays back & forth around his head like he was Dumbo — while at the same time, in Mickey’s high-pitched voice — Gilbert kept screaming “I’m freaking out!”
Which — you’d think — would have landed Gottfried on Disney’s naughty list for the next few decades. But just three years later, here was Gilbert in a recording studio. Gainfully employed by the Mouse House as he recorded lines for Iago which would then be folded into Disney’s next big full length animated feature, “Aladdin.”
Gilbert Gottfried – Working for Disney
So how did Gottfried get that gig? There’s a great, great story about how Gilbert wound up being cast as Iago.
Perhaps you would like to hear the tale? It begins on a dark night where a dark man waits with a dark purpose.
Er … No … Sorry … This story actually begins in 1989 or thereabouts. Ron Clements & John Musker were working on Disney’s “Aladdin” and realized that they had a problem. This animated feature was supposed to be this wild, over-the-top fantasy comedy. And it certainly would be once the Genie (voiced by the late, great Robin Williams) officially entered the picture. But that character doesn’t actually enter Aladdin’s storyline until nearly 40 minutes into that film.
Aladdin’s Peddler Character – Genie All Along
This is why Ron & John wrote the opening scene for “Aladdin” the way that they did. So that they could then have Robin voice the Peddler’s character. Which would then give the audience a taste of the off-the-wall humor Williams would bring to this film when the Genie character finally officially entered the story. Which — again — wouldn’t be ‘til 40 minutes in.
This is also why the original end of “Aladdin” circled back around to the Peddler character. Where — after that character sang a brief reprise on “Arabian Night” — it would then be revealed that the Peddler (this storytelling / narrator character) had been the Genie all along.
Here’s what Ron Clements had to say about this matter in an August 2019 interview with USA Today:
“That was always the intention in making this movie. That the end of “Aladdin” would be this reveal – that this Peddler with the turban who we met in the very beginning of the movie was, in fact, the Genie. But that scene was eventually eliminated as ‘Aladdin’ continued to evolve and move through the production process.”
Anyway … We were talking about how the Genie character doesn’t officially enter “Aladdin” ‘til almost 40 minutes. Which is why Musker & Clements decided that they needed to bring another strong comic voice into this project early on to tide the audience over / keep them entertained & engaged until Robin Williams finally officially entered the picture.
Swapping Personalities – Jafar and Iago
Which sounded like a good idea. But there was a problem. At this point in production, Jafar the Grand Vizer was this dramatic, flamboyant character. Prone to throwing tantrums whenever he didn’t get his way in the Sultan’s court. Whereas Iago was supposed to be this cool understated character (At this time, Ron & John sort of envisioned Jafar’s parrot as Hobson. That butler character which the late Sir John Gielgud had played in “Arthur,” that Academy Award-winning Dudley Moore comedy from 1981).
This sort of character contrast — Jafar loud & flamboyant / Iago cool & understated (The parrot — in this version of “Aladdin” — was the actual brains behind the Grand Vizer’s scheme to unseat the Sultan) — was admittedly fun. But it didn’t really do much to help Musker & Clements with their the-first-30-minutes-of-this-movie-needs-to-be-a-lot-funnier problem.
It was then Ron & John decided to try flipping these two characters’ personas. Making Jafar the cool & calculating one while Iago then became the loud & obnoxious one. It was around this same time that “Aladdin” ‘s directors then began toying with the idea of getting Gilbert to come voice this character.
Beverly Hills Cop II and Jeffrey Katzenberg
Alan Siegel of The Ringer recently shared how Musker & Clements sold then–Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg on the idea of hiring Gottfried to voice Iago.
They invited their boss to a screening room and played him a clip from ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’ in which Gottfried, as cranky accountant Sidney Bernstein, steals the scene from his former ‘Saturday Night Live’ castmate Eddie Murphy.
John Musker then said “We still remember Jeffrey Katzenberg’s reaction at the time. We showed it to him and he says, ‘I don’t know. Isn’t his voice kind of grating?’”
“We were — after listening to Jeffery’s kind-of-grating voice — like, ‘Well, is the pot calling the kettle black here or what?’ But Katzenberg did not say no. He just questioned us like, ‘Really?’ But we knew what we were getting.”
Voicing Aladdin’s Iago
Once he got cast in this role, Gilbert just loved doing Iago. Over the next 30 years, he came back again & again to voice this character from “Aladdin.” First for “Disney’s Aladdin: The Animated Series” and the home premiere that launched this series, “The Return of Jafar.” Then “Aladdin and the King of Thieves” as well as “The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management.”
The Enchanted Tiki Room – Under New Management
And because Gilbert was a comedian who would say anything in order to get a laugh … Well, that’s why the Imagineers wrote that joke for the end of “Under New Management.” The meanest joke in theme park history. Expressly because the guys at WDI wanted to hear Gottfried say it.
Not a lot of visitors actually ever heard this joke. That was because — in order to hear it — you had to linger inside the “Under New Management” theater as the rest of the audience cleared out.
Just before this show reset and the theater’s automatic doors closed, that Audio Animatronic version of Iago yawned, stretched and then said:
“Well, I’m exhausted. I think I’ll go over to the Hall of President now and take a nap.”
I know that a lot of Disney park fans didn’t like “The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management.” But me personally, I loved this Adventureland attraction (Which ran in WDW’s Magic Kingdom from April of 1998 through January of 2011). If only because we then got Broadway veteran Jerry Orbach (who — of course — voiced Lumiere in Disney’s animated version of “Beauty & the Beast”) to then voice Pierre the Parrot.
That’s actually how Gilbert lost his gig as the voice of the Aflac Duck. Back in March of 2011, right after that earthquake in Japan (which then caused that tsunami which then battered that country’s Tohoku region), Gottfried hopped on Twitter and began making jokes to the effect of “ …That’s strange. Normally when the tide goes out, it doesn’t take all of the people with it.” Aflac let him go almost immediately after those jokes on Twitter came to light.
Remembering Gilbert Gottfried
Me personally, I prefer to think of Gilbert as the kind & thoughtful guy he’s depicted to be in “Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism.” Ron Suskind’s book and subsequent documentary from 2016.
Life, Animated
“Life, Animated” is basically the story of Suskind’s son Owen. Who was this autistic kid that hadn’t talked for years but would obsessively watch Disney movies like “Aladdin” & “The Lion King.” Ron & his wife Cornelia eventually figured out how to communicate with their son, get Owen talking again by using these very same Disney films. Parroting bits of dialogue back to Owen, who would then give the response that — say — Iago had just said to Jafar.
As a tribute to Gottfried, I suggest that you seek “Life, Animated.” Or — at the very least — watch the film that was based on this book. Better yet, chase down a copy of Nick Berkley’s terrific documentary from November 2017, “Gilbert.” Which then allows you to get to know Gilbert Gottfried as he was outside of comedy clubs / away from the spotlight. Here you get to see Gottfried the terrific father, devoted husband & loyal family man.
Getting back to the movie version of “Life, Animated” now … What’s really great about this documentary is that you then get to see the key role that Gilbert Gottfried AND Jonathan Freeman (the voice of Jafar) played in turning Owen Suskind into the out-going, sweet, accomplished young man that he is today.
Beloved Voice of Disney Character
Anywho … There are those — when they think about Gilbert Gottfried — would automatically go to that incredibly filthy joke he tells in that 2005 film, “The Aristocrats.” Me? I’d prefer to remember the really funny man who — just like Don Rickles (when he won the role of voicing Mr. Potato Head in the “Toy Story” films, this insult comedian — who was justly famous for those crude stand-up routines he’d perform in Vegas — suddenly found himself with a brand-new audience. Most of whom were under the age of 10) — who just relished the idea that he got to voice this beloved Disney characters.
From what friends have told, Gilbert was just thrilled whenever the phone rang and it was someone from Disney asking him to come do Iago’s voice again. This time for a “Kingdom Hearts” game or for a new parade for the Parks or for an episode of the “House of Mouse” animated series.
Mind you, part of why Gottfried was excited was — with each of these calls from Disney — that then meant that a brand-new paycheck would soon be headed his way. But at the same time, what Gilbert genuinely got a kick out of was that he was that rarer-than-rare comedian where he could have this career where Gottfried could be filthy (especially with his friends & fellow comedians) but also family-friendly.
I’ll say this much: Ron Clements & John Musker were right to bring in Gilbert Gottfried in to voice Iago in “Aladdin.” That decision definitely made the exposition-heavy first act of that animated feature much, much funnier than they used to be.
More to the point, Gilbert’s vocal performance as Iago (coupled with Will Finn’s amazing animation of that feathered fink) — at times — almost steals “Aladdin” out from under Robin Williams’ masterful performance as the Genie. That’s how Gottfried was in the finished film.
On behalf of the entire Jim Hill Media team, we express our heartfelt condolences to Gilbert Gottfried’s friends and family during their time of sorrow.
This article is based on research done for Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor “Episode 170”, published on April 19, 2022. Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor is part of the Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Jim Hill Media Podcast Network.