Entertainment

The Faces Behind Your Favourite Disney Characters

Disney movie's are such a huge part of everyone's childhood, but most of the time we don't know the person behind some of our favourite Disney characters. This article will attempt to give you some insight into the faces behind the famous characters.

Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney)

Although he has been voiced by five different people over the years, the original was actually Walt Disney himself. Mickey's original high pitched falsetto voice came from Walt and other voice actors have put their spin on the beloved character ever since.

Snow White (Adrianna Caselotti)

The character was adapted from the famous German fairy tale "Snow White" by The Brothers Grimm. The voice of Snow White in the original movie is Adrianna Caselotti who has since been named a Disney legend, being the first woman to be given such and honour in 1994.

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Cinderella (Illene Woods)

She really is an all time classic Disney movie and the Cinderalla character is definitely one of the most memorable. The story is based on a French book with the same which was written in 1697.  The voice of the original Cinderalla was Illene Woods, who unfortunatley passed away only four years ago.

Hercules (Tate Donovan)

The story is loosely baesd on the Greek hero named Heracles who is the son of Zeus. It was a musical fantasy film with the lead role being voiced by Tate Donovan. Donovan is famous for his role as Jimmy Cooper in The O.C. and most recently in the 2012 film Argo.

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The Jungle Book ( Mogwli/ Bruce Reithermann)

As an orphaned boy who ends in the deep jungles of India,  he is raised by cubs. The voice actor behind the boy is Bruce Reithermann, who is actually the son of one Disney's original animators Wolfgang Reithermann.

The Jungle Book (Baloo/Phil Harris)

Based on the book written in 1894 by English author Rudyard Kipling,  The Jungle Book movie came out in 1967. Baloo is  one of the most famous characters from the movie and is voiced by jazz musician Phil Harris. As well as doing Baloo, he also voiced Little John in Robin Hood and Thomas O' Malley in the aristocrats.

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The Lion King ( Mufasa/James Earl Jones)

While although Simba was the main character in the film, the one that had the biggest impact was the father Mufasa. As Simba's father, he thought him everything he knows before his untimely death. Jones is most famous for the voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars

The Lion King ( Simba/ Mattew Brodrcick)

You can't really have one without the other, Simba and Musafa were the heart and soul of the movie. Famous for his role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Godzilla, the voice of Simba was Matthew Broderick.

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The Little Mermaid (Jodi Benson)

The famous redhead mermaid Ariel was voiced by Jodi Benson, who has gone onto voice numerous Disney movies and tv movies. The film is based on a Danish fairy tale about a mermaid that wants to gain a human soul and love a human prince.

Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes)

The prince I'm talking about is of course Prince Eric, who was voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes. As well as being the voice of the Prince, one of his most memorable roles was as the voice of Spiderman, in the cartoon series during the 90's.

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 Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn)

Not your typical Disney character, Tarzan is based on the novel "Tarzan of the Apes" written in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The voice actor of the man who grew up in the wild is Tony Goldwyn. Appearing in multiple different tv shows down the years, he is most recently involved in the hit political drama 'Scandal'.

Tarzan (Jane Porter/Minne Driver)

The love interest in the film and the person that makes Tarzan  feel like he is a human is Jane Porter. Minnie Driver who played the character of Jane,  has been in countless movies since then and she won best supporting actress in Good Will Hunting.

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 Alice in Wonderland (Kathryn Beaumont)

The film was based on the famous novel "Alice' Adventures in Wonderland" which was written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in 1865. On its intial release the film was panned for it's "Americanising" of the novel, it found new life when it was re released on VHS. A young Kathyrn Beamount voiced Alice, who has since become one of Disney's most loved characters.

 Beauty and the Beast (Belle, Paige O'Hara)

Based on the famous french fairy tale "La Belle et la Bêlle" it has a powerful message behind it, about we are quick to judge a book by it's cover. The quirky biblophobic Belle was voiced by Paige O'Hara. It is one of Disney's most beloved movies for it's charming take on a French classic.

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Beauty and the Beast (Beast, Robby Benson)

The man behind the beast is Robby Benson, who has quite a soft voice,  not maybe what you would expect for such a character, but in the end they decided to go for a more sincere than growling voice. The prince was transformed into a beast after being cursed by a beggar and Belle is the one who helps him see what's inside of him.

 Aladdin (Scott Weinger)

Based on a Middle Eastern tale about a poor man who finds a magic lamp with a genie inside. An evil sorcer will do anything to get it back from him. The voice of the charming Aladdin was Scott Weinger, who is now a writer and producer for television.

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Aladdin (Jasmine/Linda Larkin)

The princess that is tired of her life in the palace that ends up meeting Aladdin is played by Linda Larkin. Surprisingly enough, she actually had to lower her voice for the role of Jasmin saying that her voice was too high for the character.

Aladdin (The genie/Robin Williams)

Who can forget the genie who is Aladin's best friend in the film. Voiced by the late, great comedic genius Robin Williams. The movie wouldn't be the same without the loveable genie that becomes the heart and soul of this classicIt is still seen as one of Williams finest performances and "Friend Like Me" shows exactly why.

Kenneth Fox
Article written by
I'm a musician and a writer, or a writer and a musician, I can't make up my mind, Either way I'm not particularly good at either. A bit of an old fashioned guy, who enjoys the simpler things in life, nothing fancy.

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