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 Film and TV productions across the years |
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1951 - THE WALT DISNEY ANIMATED FILM |
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The voices behind the characters |
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When any animated film is
planned, the vocal characterisation must be
planned almost before the animators get to
work.
Although the characters appearance and
mannerisms are designed first, their dialogue
is usually recorded ahead of the animation
so that the animators can fit the characters
lip movements and facial expressions to the
voices. Often, the character will change as
the actor behind the voice brings their own
personality to the role. Strangely too, the
design of the character will often come to
resemble the actor. The Disney studio employed
some wonderful voice-over artists and the
Alice production was no exception. |
| KATHRYN BEAUMONT
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 alt Disney was beginning production on "Alice In Wonderland", and he began searching
for the perfect lead voice - "one that would be English enough to
satisfy British audiences and preserve the feeling of an English
Literary classic, but not so English that it would
put off American audiences." Kathryn Beaumont was about ten when she was signed and began
recording the voice of Alice. Kathryn also portrayed Alice on
film... but only for the benefit of the Disney animators, as a
live-action reference for their work. To help make the movements of their
characters look smooth and natural, Disney animators are shown films
of live people going through the same motions and 'Alice' was a prime example. For Kathryn Beaumont, the motions were many and complex and sometimes dizzying. |
 Studio technicians fixed up an ingenious collection of
contrivances to spin and whirl and drop her down imaginary rabbit
holes.The actress acted out hundreds of scenes for the animated feature, and, even though her face and body never actually appeared on the screen, her work was an invaluable tool for animators who wanted to understand precisely how a real live little girl would look in the various scenes and poses. Kathryn was also the voice of Wendy in "Peter Pan"  and although she gave up acting soon afterwards to become a full-time teacher, she has re-recorded 'Alice' dialogue for the Disney theme park attractions and remains a popular guest at Disney conventions and autograph signings. |
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| JERRY COLONNA
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 ne of the greatest set pieces in Disney's 'Alice' is the Mad Hatter's tea party. Not only is it superbly written and animated, the voice-overs by Ed Wynne as the Mad Hatter and Jerry Colonna as the March Hare meld perfectly with the crazy characters on screen.Jerry Colonna's son, Bob, recalls, "My father was the voice of the Disney March Hare, which meant of course that we had seats at the premiere! It was the third voice he did for Disney, the first two being the shorts,"Casey Jones" and "Casey at the Bat," which were included "Melody Time" and "Make Mine Music," (I'm not sure which was which), films that were compilations of short musical cartoons." "I do remember his coming home from recording "Alice" and saying that it was fun working with Kathryn Beaumont, and that it was rather like talking to her on the phone.  I assume this meant that Dad, Kathryn, Ed Wynn
and Bill Thompson (The White Rabbit) were in separate booths. I still think
that the Mad Tea Party is the funniest section of the film, and indeed one
of the funniest sequences in all of Disney. A lot of the credit goes to
Ward Kimball (the animator on the sequence), of course, but I think the players were at the top of their
forms that day." |
"Dad was born in of a big Italian family in Boston. He
began his career as a trombonist, working in the early days of the Big Band
era, and ending up in the house orchestra at CBS Radio.  He liked to clown
around, however, and Minerva Pious, a character actress who created the role
of Mrs. Nussbaum on the Fred Allen show, called Fred's attention to Dad ,
hoaxing Fred into thinking he had an operatic tenor on his hands. When Fred
heard him sing he slid off the couch on to the floor and stayed there,
laughing. Fred put him on the air, and several opportunities opened up as a
result, culminating in Dad's long association with Bob Hope on radio and on
the overseas trips. It was during the 1940's and somewhat into the 1950's
that he enjoyed his greatest success in films and radio.""Dad had a great affection for things English. Whenever he wrote to me, if I had an opening night or something similar coming up, he would say, "Best of British luck to you." His favorite one-line joke, and I don't know who originated it, was simply a strangle-voiced old snob, sputtering in high dudgeon, "B-B-ritish? Am I B-B-ritish? If I w-were any m-more B-British, I c-c-ouldn't t-talk at all!!" In 1979 Dad suffered a heart attack which put him into the Motion Picture and Television Hospital, where he stayed for seven years, passing on in 1986." |
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Bob Colonna has been working in the professional theatre for 40 years, much of it as a member of the acting company at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence. He has appeared there on and off since 1966, acting in over 70 productions, and in 1971 he founded the Rhode Island Shakespeare Theater, where he was Artistic Director for 21 years. While there, he directed over 60 productions, including most of the Shakespearean canon. He is a prominent New England voice talent with over 5,000 commercials to his credit. He began his career at 15, in British variety, with his father. I'd like to thank Bob for contributing the Jerry Colonna article. He also publishes a dedicated Jerry Colonna website which you can visit by CLICKING HERE |
 JERRY COLONNA |
| STERLING HOLLOWAY |
"I was born on January 14, 1905, in Cedartown, Georgia, and started in show business
when I was 15 years old by enrolling in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York" recalled Sterling Holloway. "That was in 1920. Some of my classmates included Spencer Tracy, Allen Jenkins and Pat
O'Brien. And you know what happened to them." Amongst other things, he toured with a stock company, playing in one-nighters across the West. Back in New York, he signed with the Theatre Guild and  appeared in several of its revues, before going West again to act in movies.In 1933, Sterling Holloway played the Frog Footman in Paramount's version of Alice In Wonderland. Then, almost two decades later, Walt Disney cast him as the Cheshire Cat in the animated version. |
Walt Disney was an admirer of the actor's vocal work as early as 1934 , but it was as the voice of the messenger Stork who delivers baby Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo and then dutifully sings "Happy Birthday" that Holloway finally made
his Disney debut in the 1941 film. "Walt was such a stickler for voices," Holloway said. "He came to me and said, 'When you've finished what you're doing on Winnie the Pooh, see what you can do with the snake (Kaa in The Jungle Book) . I can't find the right voice.'" In fact, eight different voices had been rejected. Of all his creations, Sterling Holloway's most famous Disney voice is that of Winnie the Pooh. Holloway was perfectly cast as the honey-hunting teddy bear and created a guileless childlike vocal characterization that personifies Milne's whimsical "bear of very little brain".
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