DVDizzy Forum

Verna Felton's list of credits in Disney animated films are the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo from Dumbo, the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Aunt Sarah from Lady and the Tramp, Flora and Aurora's mother (the Queen) from Sleeping Beauty, and Winifred from The Jungle Book.

Which of her characters is your favorite? And which do you think is her best performance? (Sometimes those aren't always the same thing. )

For me they don't get any funnier than The Queen of Hearts.

Definitely the Queen, as a character and hilarious vocal performance.

I actually prefer the Walt-era comical villains (Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil) to the more serious ones like Maleficent.

The Queen of Hearts is my favorite character she voiced, but I think her best performance might just be the Fairy Godmother.

Also, I thought we never knew who voiced Aurora's mother. Was it confirmed that it was Felton?

Gosh, seeing them all listed like that, she's done some amazing characters ! Some of the most iconic for Disney, surely ?

For vocal performance it has to be The Queen of Hearts for sure. Then just for sheer iconography, the Fairy Godmother. She is the ultimate portrayal really isn't she ?

I love Flora. I loved Sleeping Beauty as a kid and the three fairies hold a special place for me.
She's just got such a kind motherly voice so I definitely prefer her nicer roles.

For me, it's probably a draw between the Fairy Godmother and the Queen of Hearts. The Fairy Godmother is such a warm, genial character; she may only be on screen for around five minutes, but she is easily one of the most heartwarming and memorable of all the Disney characters due in part to Felton's warm, grandmotherly tones. The Queen of Hearts, on the other hand, is so outrageously bombastic and delightfully deranged that I can't ignore her. She's such a darkly comical character - both a child stuck in the body of an adult and a cold-blooded authoritarian with violent mood swings - and Verna Felton's voice work again does a lot to make the character. You wouldn't be able to tell the Queen of Hearts and the Fairy Godmother were voiced by the same actress. As a child, I could easily tell that Verna Felton had also been the voice for Flora in Sleeping Beauty and Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp, but I was surprised when I first found out that she voiced the Queen of Hearts as a teenager/young adult. It tells you just how good an actress Felton was and how well she could alter her own voice without putting on an accent or silly voice to create a completely different character.

Oh, and for fun...

Flora, she is just so charming and funny. And I love "Sleeping Beauty", including Flora's design.

The Elephant Matriarch is my personal favorite character she did, just because the character's one of the meaner antagonists. But she sounds so unlike herself when doing the Queen of Hearts, that it's hard not to say that's her best work. I love that she makes characters like the Fairy Godmother and Flora, who are very alike on paper (slightly smug, absentminded, maternal figures), distinct from one another. I've never been fond of those two characters myself, but her vocal work is definitely great.

Lady Cluck wrote:I actually prefer the Walt-era comical villains (Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil) to the more serious ones like Maleficent.

I do, too, generally anyway (Lady Tremaine being the only exception I can think of offhand). Even in Snow White, I prefer the comical Peddler-Woman over the Evil Queen.

TheSequelofDisney wrote:Also, I thought we never knew who voiced Aurora's mother. Was it confirmed that it was Felton?

The role was on her list anyway. *shrug* It does sound like her to me. I actually never knew Mrs. Jumbo spoke in Dumbo either? Maybe she made some humming noises... I haven't seen it in a while.

I think officially the Queen wasn't voiced by anyone at all, but I would bet my money on it being Felton. Always always always thought it was her, even as a child.

Disney's Divinity wrote:The Elephant Matriarch is my personal favorite character she did, just because the character's one of the meaner antagonists. But she sounds so unlike herself when doing the Queen of Hearts, that it's hard not to say that's her best work. I love that she makes characters like the Fairy Godmother and Flora, who are very alike on paper (slightly smug, absentminded, maternal figures), distinct from one another. I've never been fond of those two characters myself, but her vocal work is definitely great.

Lady Cluck wrote:I actually prefer the Walt-era comical villains (Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil) to the more serious ones like Maleficent.

I do, too, generally anyway (Lady Tremaine being the only exception I can think of offhand). Even in Snow White, I prefer the comical Peddler-Woman over the Evil Queen.

TheSequelofDisney wrote:Also, I thought we never knew who voiced Aurora's mother. Was it confirmed that it was Felton?

The role was on her list anyway. *shrug* It does sound like her to me. I actually never knew Mrs. Jumbo spoke in Dumbo either? Maybe she made some humming noises... I haven't seen it in a while.

When the stork asked what the name of the baby was, she said it was Jumbo Jr. That's the only time the I think she spoke.

The Queen of Hearts definitely. Still the funniest Disney villain so far.

Disney's Divinity wrote:I love that she makes characters like the Fairy Godmother and Flora, who are very alike on paper (slightly smug, absentminded, maternal figures), distinct from one another.

I agree with most of that statement except the Fairy Godmother isn't smug at all. She's sweet but in charge and dishes out justice.

Disney Duster wrote: I agree with most of that statement except the Fairy Godmother isn't smug at all.

Yeah. Uh-huh. Hmm. That's nice.

You can tell me you disagree and explain why instead of being sarcastic.

Disney's Divinity wrote:

TheSequelofDisney wrote:Also, I thought we never knew who voiced Aurora's mother. Was it confirmed that it was Felton?

The role was on her list anyway. *shrug*

The role was on what list? The list you made up for this poll or an official list from the film or from some other Disney thing?