Disney’s animated films have brought warmth and laughter to many people, young and old. Most of these have been classic fairy tales that were brought to life in the big screen. While there were several voice actors that provided voices for the leads in the films, there are several characters, singers and voice actors that lent the versatility of their voices to the other characters in the classic films. Most of them provided voices not only for one but several characters in one film, which is such an exemplary feat.
The Voice Actors Behind Disney’s Characters
Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft
Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft was an American voice actor with a basso profundo voice. His very deep voice made him one of the regular voice actors of original Disney films. He was also a singer. For Disney, he was the voice of the Ace Card Painter in Alice in Wonderland in 1951.
In 1955 he was the voice of the alligator in the Lady and the Tramp and in the 1960s he was Captain the Horse in One Hundred and One Dalmatians; Balck Bart in Sword in the Stone and was the singing voice of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book. In Aristocats (1970), he was the Russian Cat, Billy Bass.
The opening songs for Mickey Mouse Club’s Boys of the Western Sea and The Hardy Boys’ Mystery of the Applegate Treasure were sung by Ravenscoft. In Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean Ride, voice could still be heard.
He is the singing voice behind Uncle Theodore on the Haunted Mansion, also in Disneyland and the voice to the animatronics parrot, Fritz in the Enchanted Tiki Room.
J. Pat O’Malley
J. Pat O’Malley was a British character and voice actor. He was in the 1951 version of Alice in Wonderland, voicing five characters: Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Mother Oyster, Carpenter and the Walrus. He was the Colonel as well as Jasper Badun in One Hundred and One Dalmatians and provided the voice for Colonel Hathi and Buzzi the Vulture in the Jungle Book. His last role for Disney was in Robin Hood, as the voice of Otto the Blacksmith.
James MacDonald
James MacDonald was the man who replaced Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1947 until 1977. He was also the head of the sound effects department at Disney where he invented several unique sounds.
He created the sound of the circus train engine, Casey Jr. in Dumbo in 1947, the sound of the dragonfly, Evinrude in 1977’s The Rescuers; the sound of the bees in the 1966 version of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Bees and Donald Duck’s bee nemesis, Buzz-buzz (Spike).
Aside from Mickey Mouse, he provided the voice for Bruno the Dog, the mice Jaq and Gus in Cinderella (1950), the Doormouse in Alice in Wonderland (1951), the Wolf in Sword in the Stone and Evinrude in the Rescuers (1977).
Candy Candido
Candy Candido’s bass voice was very fitting for giving voice to the Indian Chief in Peter Pan (1953). In Sleeping Beauty (1959) he voiced one of the goons of Maleficent. In Robin Hood (1973) he was the Captain of the Guard and was both Nero and Brutus in The Rescuers (1977). He was the voice of Fidget the Bat in The Great Mouse Detective (1986) and was Gus, the escaped convict in the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland.