Best/worst voice actors?

[Marky_198]

I'm a big fan of voice acting and voices in general, and I love to watch different dubs of the Disney classics.

But let's talk about the original versions here, which actors/actresses do you think fit their parts perfectly and which ones...ehm...not so good?

I think Lea Salonga was the perfect choice for the singing voice of Jasmine.
Actually, all of the roles in Aladdin are perfectly cast.

I also like the voice acting of Mufasa, Scar and Simba in the Lion King very much. (can't remember all of their names).

But there are also voice actors I don't really like. Paige O'Hara in Beauty and the Beast for example. I think her acting just isn't good enough.
At times it really sounds like she recorded her lines in an empty studio and they don't match the intensity of the scene at all.
I think they should have re-recorded some of her lines.

Maybe if she'd have had the chance to do that she could have done better.
They did this with the Phantom of the Opera film too. They found out that some recordings lacked intensity after they created the whole image so they re-recorded many lines and songs.

So first recording and then creating the image is definitely not always the best thing.

I also think she sounds a bit old for the part. Same for Jodi Benson by the way.

I love the voice of the Beast. That is one of the best pieces of voice acting that I've seen/heard.

[ajmrowland]

I admit to liking Jim Cumming's work. He does a lot of great voices for animation.

[Duckburger]

I'm going to make a faux pas, and say the voice of Snow White. It virtually ruins the whole thing for me... it's just so, umm, screechy. Very annoying. I'm probably going to get killed for committing blasphemy, aren't I?

[UmbrellaFish]

In my opinion Jodi Benson does an incredible job at sounding youthful in the 1989 movie. It begins to slip during the TV series, and it's also a bit rusty in TLM 3, but it's still as close to perfection as possible. Speaking of TLM 3, Samuel Wright isn't quite right (no pun intended) there, either. But you just can't top him in the 1989 film.

I might agree that Paige O'Hara sounds a bit old for the role, but the way I think of it, Belle is maturing through the course of the film, as is the Beast, and when she dreamed of a life of adventure, she was just one of those obnoxious kids who try their hardest to replicate adult speech, I guess, and by the end of the film, she's actually grown up and the voice works perfectly.

I used to hate Adriana Caselotti's voice, but now I view it as a product of the times and appreciate it.

Speaking of Aladdin, if we're talking about actors that sounded too old for the role, it's Linda Larkin in Aladdin. It just grates on me when I watch it. It's just too sugary sweet sometimes, and too sassy at others. Scott Weinger is pretty good, maybe too American, but that's not his fault. Robin Williams works great in the film, too.

I've always liked the entire voice cast of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, those begin Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Tom Hulce, and the man playing Phoebus whose name I forget. Jason Alexander's gargoyle is a bit much, though.

[ajmrowland]

You mean Kevin Kleine(?)

[Scarred4life]

TONY JAY!!!!!

[UmbrellaFish]

You mean Kevin Kleine(?)

Crap! I've seen Sophie's Choice several times but I never connected the two together (Kline, by the way).

[Marky_198]

In my opinion Jodi Benson does an incredible job at sounding youthful in the 1989 movie. It begins to slip during the TV series, and it's also a bit rusty in TLM 3, but it's still as close to perfection as possible. Speaking of TLM 3, Samuel Wright isn't quite right (no pun intended) there, either. But you just can't top him in the 1989 film.

I might agree that Paige O'Hara sounds a bit old for the role, but the way I think of it, Belle is maturing through the course of the film, as is the Beast, and when she dreamed of a life of adventure, she was just one of those obnoxious kids who try their hardest to replicate adult speech, I guess, and by the end of the film, she's actually grown up and the voice works perfectly.

I used to hate Adriana Caselotti's voice, but now I view it as a product of the times and appreciate it.

Speaking of Aladdin, if we're talking about actors that sounded too old for the role, it's Linda Larkin in Aladdin. It just grates on me when I watch it. It's just too sugary sweet sometimes, and too sassy at others. Scott Weinger is pretty good, maybe too American, but that's not his fault. Robin Williams works great in the film, too.

I've always liked the entire voice cast of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, those begin Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Tom Hulce, and the man playing Phoebus whose name I forget. Jason Alexander's gargoyle is a bit much, though.

You are right about TLM, especially in TLM 3, they sound very off.
It really sounds like a 50 year old woman trying to imitate a 16 year old girl. But I think that even in the original 1989 version it sounds like she's 30. At least. And even there it doesn't sound really natural, but a bit forced like she's "putting on" a voice.

I agree about Aladdin, Linda Larkin is probably not the best choice.

About Paige O'Hara, I don't know, true, the last scenes are better, but the first half of the film (even the scenes in the yellow dress with the beast) are weird and poorly acted.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I agree, wonderful voice actors that fit the parts.

[Disney's Divinity]

See, that's strange. I always thought Hunchback had the worst cast of any of their films. Excepting Tony Jay, Demi Moore and Phoebus-whoever are bland and horrible to listen to, and Tom Hulce doesn't fit Quasimodo to me. Tarzan and Atlantis are soon behind it in the bland cast category.

I know it seems like bias, but I always thought TLM had the strongest cast. Pat Carroll, Jodi Benson, Kenneth Mars, and Samuel Wright have always been spot-on perfect to me. Most other films, I like a couple of characters, but several others are not noticably good.

Still, I think the strongest work has always come from the villains: Pat Carroll, Martha Wentworth, Vincent Price, Keith David, Tony Jay, Eleanor Audley, Betty Lou Gerson, Eartha Kitt, and James Woods are all excellent to me. Even Jonathan Freeman does pretty great, regardless of what I think of Jafar.

[carolinakid]

I'm a Verna Felton fan. I love her range. Her Fairy Godmother and Flora are so sweet and comforting.....yet her Queen of Hearts and Matriarch in Dumbo and Winifred are so bombastic or bitchy or domineering. Her Aunt Sarah was memorable too! Also she was great and hilarious as Lucy's maid in a very funny 1953 episode of I Love Lucy.

I accept Adriana Caselotti's voice as a product/style of its time but any other voice on Snow White now would probably freak me out! I always thought Ilene Woods had one of the nicest speaking/singing voices of the Princesses.

[rexcrk]

All of the Pixar movies are scarily well-cast IMO

[SmartAleck25]

I've always enjoyed both of Mulan's voices, her speaking voice has that enunciating thing (which for some reason is appealing to me), and Lea Salonga singing Reflection (or a Whole New World)? Wow.

I'm trying hard to think of a bad voice here, hmmm (Snow White never bothered me)... Oh! Pinocchio/Jiminy Cricket's voices underwater. Man, despite my love for the film, that always gets on my nerves.

[Goliath]

I'm going to make a faux pas, and say the voice of Snow White. It virtually ruins the whole thing for me... it's just so, umm, screechy. Very annoying. I'm probably going to get killed for committing blasphemy, aren't I?

Yes, you are. By me.

Keith David as Dr. Facilier really impressed me. I knew he was an excellent voice-actor from his role as Goliath in Gargoyles, but this was almost even better. Also earily good was Daveigh Chase as Lilo.

[Disney's Divinity]

Maybe I'm odd, but I always liked Snow White's voice.

[Aqua]

Yeah, Snow White's voice never bothered me and contrary to what a lot of people say, it DOES sound like a little girl or a pre-teen at the most. Just an excuse to say "Snow White is teh sux0rz!1"

I'm going to say Chris Sanders as Stitch. He's cute, he's fluffy and blue! As for actors who don't do the roles very well, I'm sorry but I can't imagine Belle or Jasmine without O'Hara and Larkin. I really don't see anybody else filling their shoes. AT ALL. Even Jodi Benson as well. But her voice acting in Ariel's Begining shouldn't be at fault. Remember, she is nearly 50 years old. That's right, The Little Mermaid's voice is almost 50 years old. In Kingdom Hearts II, despite the fact you can tell it's her as Ariel, the singing wasn't like in the movie. Which was a shame 'cuz she still has it but sounds like she was trying to imiate herself in the original movie.

[UmbrellaFish]

Yeah, Snow White's voice never bothered me and contrary to what a lot of people say, it DOES sound like a little girl or a pre-teen at the most. Just an excuse to say "Snow White is teh sux0rz!1"

I'm going to say Chris Sanders as Stitch. He's cute, he's fluffy and blue! As for actors who don't do the roles very well, I'm sorry but I can't imagine Belle or Jasmine without O'Hara and Larkin. I really don't see anybody else filling their shoes. AT ALL. Even Jodi Benson as well. But her voice acting in Ariel's Begining shouldn't be at fault. Remember, she is nearly 50 years old. That's right, The Little Mermaid's voice is almost 50 years old. In Kingdom Hearts II, despite the fact you can tell it's her as Ariel, the singing wasn't like in the movie. Which was a shame 'cuz she still has it but sounds like she was trying to imiate herself in the original movie.

Oh, I'm not knocking Jodi's voicing for TLM 3. It wasn't 1989 Ariel, but I don't expect it to be, either. For the most part, Jodi's done an admirable job voicing Ariel in subsequent TLM products, and I think it holds up better than what some of the other ladies have done (with that said, Belle, for instance, is Paige O'Hara's real speaking voice, whilst Ariel isn't Jodi Benson's real speaking voice, so it might be harder for O'Hara to replicate Belle than it is Jodi to do Ariel again).

[Dragonlion]

No one's even mentioned Lucille LaVerne(sp?). She makes the the Wicked Queen for me.

[Mayhem]

Jim Cummings and Tress MacNeille, all the way

[Prince Edward]

I can't stand Snow White's voice (or her character in general for that matter), it ruins the entire movie I think. Snow White is the only Disney animated movie I can't stand to watch in English, so it's a good thing that Snow White's voice is a lot more comforting for the ears in the Norwegian dub.

I love the voices of Mary Costa, Eleanor Audley, Robby Benson, Scott Weinger, Jonathan Freeman(!), Tony Jay and James Woods. The Norwegian voices for Ariel and Belle is better than the original ones in my opinion, but I like their English voices to.

[Mooky]

Two words: Minnie Driver.

Okay, she's not a professional voice actor, but my God... You don't stop for a second to think that's Minnie Driver voicing Jane, all you see, hear and feel is that great character being brought to life in a most amazing way. Probably the best case of a celebrity voicing an animated character.

I don't get the distaste for Linda Larkin's voice. She just shines as Jasmine. After all this time, I couldn't imagine anyone else voicing her. True, her voice has become somewhat more sugary sweet in recent years (thank you Disney Princess!), but she's still got it. And I don't know what you guys have been smoking, but Paige O'Hara sounds great in "Beauty and the Beast". These days, not so much.

Can't think of the worst right now, maybe I'll get back on that later.