My 21st choice is a voice acting legend in his own right - probably most famous as the voice of Fred in the Scooby Doo cartoon series. He has voiced hundreds of characters for different animated films, TV shows, commericals and video games, including many Disney movies and television series. Here are some of his Disney highlights (I am sure I do not know them all!):
He played the role of Henry in two live-action Disney films
including The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
and Now You See Him, Now You Don't.
Frank is often called on to provide animal voices, sounds and noises. He was the Bear in the Fox and the Hound.
He voiced Toby and Felicia in the Great Mouse Detective.
He was Louie the Sausage Vendor in Oliver and Company.
He gave special voice effects for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
He was Joanna in The Rescuers Down Under.
He was Dumbo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Antie in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
He was the footstool and the wolves in Beauty and the Beast.
He was the voice of Abu, Rajah and the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin.
He made the reindeer sound effects in The Santa Clause.
He was adult Simba roaring in the Lion King. He also voices several characters in The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa.
He was RC, Scud and Buster in Toy Story.
He was Bigfoot in the Goofy Movie, Flit in Pocahontas and the Baby Bird in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
He gave the voice for Obby in Atlantis II and the Dobermans in the Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue.
He was the voice of Pegasus in Hercules, Reggie in Scamp's London Adventure,Url in Dinosaur, Cri-Kee in Mulan, and the roars for Kenai in Brother Bear and James P Sullivan in Monsters Inc.
He voiced the little monkey, Shep and the Tookie Tookie Bird in George of the Jungle.
He made the bee and bird sounds in the Tigger Movie.
He is the current voice for Figaro and played the character in Mickey's Once upon a Christmas as well as other shows and games.
He voiced the dragonfly and jaguars in The Emperor's New Groove.
He was Nana 2 in Return to Never Land, Sparky, Giant Sea Monkeys in Frankenweenie, the Whale in Finding Nemo, Sparky in Stitch the Movie,and Mochi in Big Hero 6.
He gives voice to Pascal and Maximus in Tangled, as Bullseye and the Monkey in Toy Story 3, and Sven and Sitron in Frozen.
He is the current voice of several classic Disney characters in television and video games including Oswald the Rabbit, Phillipe the Horse, Lucifer the Cat, Dopey, Bella, Butch, Herbie the Love Bug, Humphrey the Bear, Salty the Seal, Gus the Goose, Max the Dog, the Aracuan Bird, Louie the Mountain Lion and Dodger.
He was the voice in many popular Disney TV series, including Bigtime Beagle, Baggy Beagle, Bubba, Tootsie, Poe De Spell,
The Phantom Blot in Duck Tales, Kermit the Frog in Muppet Babies, Mr. Pettibone, Butch the Bulldog, Big Red Gooey Fish, Bella,
Sheep, Figaro the Kitten in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Bronx, Baby Alex, Cagney in Gargoyles, Grubs and Brain Pods in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Odin in Avengers Assemble, and many, many more roles.
He has provided a couple voices for the Disney theme park including a soldier in the American Adventure and voices for the Country Bear Vacation Hoedown.
He is possibly the most uncredited actor in Disney films, with many roles and sound effects he did that he did not get credit for.
I chose Pat Carroll for number 20 not for the volume of her work, but because I believe the character she voices is so iconic she deserves the honor. The way she voiced and played Ursula really made the movie The Little Mermaid as great as it was. There are many of the great Disney villain voices who have not been named Legends, and I hope they address this at some point. My belief is Pat Carroll stands above those great character voices and is the most deserving! I will address the others later.
Besides playing Ursula in The Little Mermaid, she reprised this role in televions and video game appearances. She also voiced Ursula's sister Morgana in the movie Return to the Sea. She added her signature to the feature chandelier’s artful array of 77 animation storyboards at Disney's Art of Animation Resort in Walt Disney World. She voiced a small role in the The Goofy Movie. And who does not love her singing Poor Unfortunate Souls??
These two Disney animators and directors often collaborate together and have worked on some of the biggest hits of the Disney Decade. They should be named together as Disney Legends and are my 18th and 19th choice. Here is their combined Disney Legend resume:
Clements
made his feature debut as a character animator on The Rescuers and Pete's
Dragon in 1977.
Musker first met Ron Clements during the production of The
Fox and the Hound in 1981, where he worked as a character animator under
Clements, who was assigned the film as his first role as supervising animator.
In 1982, Clements proposed adapting children's book series
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus into an animated feature. this became the movie The Great Mouse Detective.
Clements pitched the idea of the Little Mermaid and Treasure Planet to Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Together the duo has directed The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and their latest project Moana.
As directors they have won five Annie Awards and have been nominated twice for an Academy Award.
Owen and Dolly Pope are the second duo I am thinking should be named Disney Legends. This married couple are the only people to live at Disneyland! This makes them some of the coolest people on the list. They were the original horse and pony wranglers in what would become the Circle D Corral.
Some other highlights of their careers with Disney:
The couple originally lived at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank and began training the horses there until the park opened.
Besides teaching horses and mules how to behave, they also
helped build wagons and coaches for the new park.
As preparations were underway for the opening of Walt Disney
World Resort in Florida, Owen built the harness and riggings for the horses at
the new resort from his home at Disneyland. In January 1971, he and Dolly moved
to Florida, where Owen helped supervise the building of Tri-Circle-D Ranch. A
few years later, in September 1975, Dolly became the first Walt Disney World
Resort cast member to retire, followed by Owen in October.
Due to their efforts in the Florida park, they received a window on main street next to the car barn. (I took this photograph on a visit to the Magic Kingdom).
The dog who served as the model for Tramp from the animated feature Lady and the Tramp live out his life with the Popes at their home in Disneyland!
It has been reported that the new Star Wars Land will displace the Pope House at Disneyland.
I am going to present a series of three duos - people who should be named, in my opinion, as Disney Legends together. This first duo has a unique tie together. Not only did they work together in many Disney films, they also died very close to each other. Paul Winchell was the voice of Tigger for many years and died June 24, 2005. John Fielder was the voice of Piglet for many years and died on June 25, 2005! Both actors are famous for other roles outside of Disney and both have stars on the Hollywood Walk of fame.
Winchell won a Grammy Award for his performance in Winnie the Pooh
and Tigger Too.
Winchell played Tigger one more time in the attraction The
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh featured in the Disney theme parks.
Winchell voiced Shun Gun the Chinese cat in Aristocats.
He was Boomer in The Fox and the Hound.
He also played Zummi Gummi in the first five seasons of Disney's Adventures
of the Gummi Bears.
Winchell's daughter April has also been a voice actress for Disney (Cruella DeVil, Clarabelle Cow).
Fielder also had several other roles for Disney including Sexton Mouse in Robin Hood.
Fielder voiced the
Deacon Owl in The Rescuers and Porcupine
in The Fox and the Hound.
He had the role of Cy Jenkins int he live-action film Rascal.
John had finished recording his lines for Piglet in Pooh's
Heffalump Movie, which was released in February 2005, just 4 months before his
death and he had reprised his role as Piglet for the direct-to-video sequel,
Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, but died before he could finish recording all
of his lines.
He was Howie Cummings in The Shaggy DA.
He made a guest appearance in Golden Girls.
His last film was a voice appearance in Kronk's New Groove (as Rudy).
Burt Gillett is a throwback to the very early days of the Disney Studios. He was director of animated films for the company and directed some of their biggest early successes. He was also known as quite the bombastic presence in the offices, according the memories of Disney Legend Eric Larsen. Here are some of his Disney Highlights:
He was the director for Disney's first "Mega-Hit" the Three Little Pigs. This animated short won an Academy Award.
He directed the first Silly Symphony to be done in color - Flowers and Trees, which also won an Academy Award.
He directed a total of 15 Silly Symphonies, including ones with an early Mickey Mouse and the introduction of Pluto.
He is the only early director of the Silly Symphonies not to be named a Disney Legend.
My number 12 choice is quite well know, in and outside of Disney circles. I think his qualifications are obvious, but here are a few of Tom Hank's Disney career highlights.
He is the voice one of the most iconic voices in animation history - Woody from Toy Story. I think Woody even looks like Tom Hanks.
He played Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. Who else can say that? I thought he did a pretty decent job.
He starred in the film Splash, which was the first film released under the Touchstone label.
He played Scott Turner in the Turner and Hooch, another Touchstone film.
He starred in in the ABC sitcom Busom Buddies. This was before Disney owned ABC - but if Dick Clark is a Disney Legend for American Bandstand then.....
Like Don Knotts and Tim Conway, Tom Hanks should join current Disney Legend Tim Allen so Buzz and Woody can both be honored.
Tiny Cline is perhaps the least know person so far on this list, but she made a big impact.She was the first Tinker Bell at Disneyland to glide down a wire connecting the Matterhorn to
Sleeping Beauty's Castle. She played tinker Bell from 1961-1954 at Disneyland. She was 71 years old when she began her career flying through the night skies at Disneyland. Prior to her work for Disney she was a circus performer known for her equestrian
feats and for her ‘slide of death.’ A short career, but what a gal! She performed her role until cancer took her life in 1964. Check out her death defying act in New York in the video below, prior to her years with Disney!
Rounding out the top 10 for my list is actress Dorothy McGuire. Her volume of work with Disney is a bit sparse, but the roles she played are etched into many of our memories.
I think here most famous Disney role was Katie Coates in Old Yeller.
Perhaps just as memorable, she played Mother Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson.
Lastly, she was Margaret Carey in Summer Magic.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Dorothy
McGuire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.
Mark Henn is my first animator on this list (Yes Lasseter is an animator but his greatest work has come as a producer and executive), and in my humble opinion the most deserving animator not currently a Disney Legend.
He was named a Disney Legend in 2024.
Henn has been an animator for Disney studios for 35+ years.
He was mentored by Disney Legend and one pf the Nine Old Men, Eric Larson.
He has been nominated for an Annie award four times: three
times for Character Animation for The
Lion King, Mulan, and Winnie the Pooh,
and once for Short Animated Film Direction for John Henry.
He has animated many of Disney’s best-known characters (from
Goofy to Winnie the Pooh to the mice in The
Rescuers), he has the reputation as the animator of heroines. He animated
Belle from Beauty and the Beast,
Ariel from Little Mermaid, Jasmine
from Aladdin, Mulan from Mulan, and Tiana from Princess and the Frog.
He also animated Mickey Mouse in the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol and Pete in the short Get a Horse. He was heavily involved with
Olaf in Frozen.
He moved to Florida to work in the new animation department
at the recently opened Hollywood Studios. Here he worked on shorts such as Roller Coaster Rabbit, The Prince and the
Pauper and Trail Mix-Up.He eventually worked on several films from the Florida studio as well, including Aladdin.
He appeared in one episode of Full House, playing an animator from Disney!
In more recent years, he has helped to instruct younger
animators how to utilize the principles of traditional animation in CG
animation, doing hand drawn overlays on character poses to better help bring
life to the character animation.
His filmography from his Wikipedia page:
1981 The Fox and
the Hound Animator (Uncredited)
1983 Mickey's
Christmas Carol Animator
1985 The Black
Cauldron Character Animator
1986 The Great
Mouse Detective Supervising
Animator: "Basil" And "Dr. Dawson"
1988 Oliver and Company Supervising Animator:
"Oliver" And "Dodger"
1989 The Little
Mermaid Directing
Animator/Supervising Animator: "Ariel"
1990 The Rescuers
Down Under Supervising Animator:
"Bernard" And "Bianca"
1991 Beauty and
the Beast Supervising Animator:
"Belle"
Burl Ives did not have as a prolific of Disney career as the other choices thus far, but he has waited a long time and I think he deserves the honor. Here are the highlights:
He appeared in several live-action Disney films, including
So Dear to My Heart (as Uncle Hiram).
He also starred in Summer Magic (as Osh Popham). If you look
closely at the windows alongside the southwest corner Emporium entrance at Walt
Disney World, you’ll see the words, “Osh Popham” named as the proprietor of the shop.
He also provided the voice of Sam the Eagle in the former
America Sings attraction at Disneyland.
He sang for the album Walt
Disney Presents Burl Ives' Animal Folk.
The Ugly Bug Ball
is a song written by the Sherman Brothers and sung by Burl Ives in the movie Summer Magic. This song is still played
during Disney’s Halloween celebrations at the parks.
Lavender's Blue
was sung by Burl Ives, and was featured in the Walt Disney movie, So Dear to My Heart and was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
He was the performer for the 1964 Disney album Chim Chim Cheree and Other Children's
Choices.
He also sang Ol' Dan Patch from the So Dear to My Heart movie.
This pick seems so obvious, it is a wonder he has not already been named! Besides the following partial list of his voice talent credits, Jim Cummings has voiced for nearly every animation studio in existence today. Some of his famous non-Disney voices include the Tasmanian Devil, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Afterburner.
Here are his Disney Legend credentials (once again only a PARTIAL list):
101 Dalmatians Television series:
Colonel, Mayor Ed Pig, Persian Pete
Disney's Adventures of
the Gummi Bears: Zummi Gummi, Chummi Gummi
Buzz Lightyear of Star
Command: Senator Aarrfvox
Boo to You Too! Winnie
the Pooh: Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger
The Book of Pooh:
Winnie-the-Pooh: Tigger
DuckTales: El
Capitan
Goof Troop: Pete
The Rescuers Down Under:
The Crocodiles
House of Mouse:
Pete, Humphrey the Bear, King Louie, Big Bad Wolf, Censor Monkeys, Ed the
Hyena, Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Gorilla, Kaa, Razoul, Tiki Masks, Weasels,
Zeke, Cheshire Cat, Roquefort, Mister Stork, Jasper, Colonel Hathi, Cyril
Proudbottom, Otto, Shun Gun, Boomer, Porcupine, Sexton Mouse, Deacon Owl,
Gideon, Colonel, Flower [Adult], Sir Ector, King Duke, Doc
The Brave Little
Toaster: Evil Clown
Chip 'n Dale Rescue
Rangers: Monterey Jack
The Nightmare Before
Christmas, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Great Mouse Detective, Hercules, The
Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, Beauty and the
Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Fox and the
Hound 2, Brother Bear 2, 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, Phineas
and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, Wreck-It Ralph: Misc Voices
The Lion King: Ed,
Gopher, Additional Voices
Aladdin: Razoul,
Farouk
TaleSpin: Don
Karnage, Louie, Trader Moe, Covington
Pocahontas: Chief
Powhatan
Mulan: Hayabusa (Shan Yu's falcon)
The Lion King II:
Simba's Pride: Scar
Mickey's Twice Upon a
Christmas: Blitzen
The Princess and the
Frog: Ray
Gnomeo and Juliet:
Featherstone
The Pirate Fairy: Oppenheimer
/ Port
He voiced Tigger and Winnie the Pooh in: The Tigger Movie, Winnie the Pooh: Seasons
of Giving, Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime
with Roo, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, My Friends
Tigger and Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, My Friends Tigger and Pooh:
Super Duper Super Sleuths, Winnie the Pooh,
He has also voiced Pete in the following movies: Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers,
Mickey's House of Villains, A Goofy Movie, All the Epic Mickey video Games.
He is the voice behind Darkwing Duck.
Hondo Ohnaka from Star
Wars Rebels
He has replaced Disney Legend Sterling Holloway in most of
his old roles (when new material is released). He is also the new voice for the
Big Bad Wolf, The Cheshire Cat, King Louie, Bagheera, Doc, Colonel Hathi, Kaa,
Tony from Lady and the Tramp and the
Colonel from 101 Dalmatians.
He is the narrator of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth at
EPCOT.
John Lasseter comes in at number 6. He could easily be number one. His contributions to the Disney Studios are enormous. Plus he has a huge collection of Hawaiian shirts, which in and of itself might give him the nod for this honor! Let's take a look at a few of his accomplishments.
His Wikipedia page - first paragraph, says it all, "He is an American animator, film director, screenwriter,
producer and the chief creative officer of Pixar, Walt Disney Animation
Studios, and DisneyToon Studios. He is also the Principal Creative Advisor for
Walt Disney Imagineering."
He started off as a Jungle Cruise Skipper!
His combined Disney and Pixar filmography as an animator or contributor - Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, Brave Little Toaster, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and Toy Story.
Films in which he was a director and/or producer - Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Cars 2, Meet the Robinsons, Tinker Bell, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Bolt, Up, Ponyo, The Princess and the Frog, Toy Story 3, Tangled, Planes, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and more!
He created and directed Tin Toy an influential CGI short for Pixar. He also directed Luxor Jr.
He was the voice of the Bug Zapper Bug in A Bug's Life and the Blue Rock-Em Sock-em Robot in Toy Story 2.
He was trained by some of Disney's nine Old Men - including Ollie Johnston and Eric Larson.
Lasseter owns the "Marie E." steam locomotive, a
H.K. Porter 0-4-0ST saddle tank locomotive formerly owned by one of Walt
Disney's "Nine Old Men", Ollie Johnston. In 2005, Lasseter was given
permission to bring the Marie E. to Disneyland as part of a celebration
honoring Johnston. Johnston was able to take the locomotive around the
Disneyland Railroad three times. This is the only time in history an outside
locomotive has been permitted to operate on any of the Disney railroads.
Lasseter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in
Hollywood on November 1, 2011, located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard.
He
has won two Academy Awards, for Animated Short Film (Tin Toy), as well as a
Special Achievement Award (Toy Story).
My fifth pick is one of the few tragic child actors tales from the classic Disney era. In today's world, many child actors and actresses seem to have tragic ends to their lives. In the golden era of the Disney Studios, however, most of these child stars grew into happy and well-adjusted adults (think Kevin Corcoran, Hayley Mills, Annette Funicello, Kurt Russell). Bobby Driscoll died before he turned 31 due to his sue of illegal drugs. This does not change the fact that in deed he was a big part of some highly successful and enduring Disney live action films. Here are his Disney career highlights:
He played one of the leads, Johnny, in the innovative classic Song of the South.
He is perhaps most remembered for his terrific performance as Jim Hawkins in one of my personal favorites, the 1950 version of Treasure Island. Driscoll's work in this film earned him a star at 1560 Vine Street on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
He was Jeremiah Kincaid in one of Walt Disney's personal favorites - So Dear to My Heart.
He was the voice actor and close-up model for none other than Peter Pan. Does this role in and of itself not warrant the legend honor?
He appeared with Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers in the live-action teaser for the Pecos Bill segment of Disney's cartoon compilation Melody Time, which was released in 1948
Driscoll won a special Juvenile Academy Award in March 1950 as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949.
He also voiced
Goofy Jr., Goofy's son in two animated shorts, Fathers Are People and Father's
Lion.
I know - there are some Disney Buffs who are rolling their eyes and groaning at this choice. But here me out, Ron Miller should definitely be given the Legend honor.
Ronald
William “Ron” Miller was introduced to Diane Disney on a blind date while he
was attending USC, where he played left-end on the football team. After dating for awhile and with the approval
of Diane’s parents they were married on May 9th 1954 in Santa Barbara. After playing professional football for awhile, Walt offered Ron a job at the Disney Studios after seeing his son-in-law get hammered on the field by future Hall of Famer Dick "Night Train" Lane. This is a feat in and of itself. He was Walt's son-in-law and he was knocked out by an NFL legend! Did he get the job because of nepotism, yes. But lets look at some of his accomplishment and take a fair assessment of this man.
Let's look at the films he was producer, co-producer or director or assistant director. some of the highlights include: Old Yellar, Pete's Dragon, Tron, Escape to Witch Mountain, Son of Flubber, That Darn Cat, Summer Magic, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Hole, The North Avenue Irregulars, Small One, The Cat From Outer Space, Hot Lead Cold Feet, The Shaggy DA, Snowball Express and a host of others.
Tron was one of the initial forays into computer animation. Tron alone stands as an argument in favor of Ron Miller being honored.
He won an Emmy in 1971 - "Special Classification of Outstanding Program and
Individual Achievement - Programs" – The Wonderful World of Disney.
He became president of Walt Disney Productions in 1978
and CEO in 1983. He was the fifth president and fourth CEO of the company.
He helped to start Touchstone Pictures which produced films not aimed at families. The first film to come from Touchstone was Splash, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.
He oversaw the development and launch of the Disney Channel.
He provided the leadership that led to the opening of Epcot Center and Tokyo Disneyland.
During his tenure at the top, Disney first started releasing films for the home theater via VHS tapes. In 1980 Walt Disney Home Entertainment had its first
releases, with Dumbo being the first animated release in 1981.
Disney historian Jim Korkis likes him - see this page.
He is the current President of the Walt Disney Family Museum
Many of the successes of Eisner and Frank Wells can trace their origins back to decisions made under Ron Miller as well as some of his hires.
My next two picks are people who made significant contributions to the Disney Company but were "forced out" and therefore may never see the honor of being made a Disney Legend. If this is the case, that would be unfortunate, because they truly are legends that the company is still benefiting from today. The first is Michael Eisner. Some people may actually be shocked to know he has not been honored.
Let's look at some of his highlights.
He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney
Company from September 22, 1984 to September 30, 2005. Since the death of Walt Disney in 1966, the company had struggled and barely survived corporate takeover attempts. Its shareholders Sid Bass and Roy E. Disney brought in
Eisner (as CEO and Chairman of the Board) and former Warner Brothers chief
Frank Wells (as President) to replace Ron W. Miller in 1984 and strengthen the
company.
He oversaw a Disney Golden Age which included blockbuster hits like the Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lon King.
During his tenure the company acquired Miramax Films, ABC and ESPN.
He administered a new
division, Walt Disney Theatrical, produced the enormously successful Broadway
shows, Beauty and the Beast, Aida and the phenomenally successful stage
version of The Lion King. Eisner's reign also saw the development of such theme
park-related businesses as the Disney Cruise Line.
Since Eisner joined Disney, the company's annual revenues
have grown from $1.7 billion to $25.4 billion, operating income has gone up
from $291 million to $4.08 billion, and its stock price has risen some 30 times.
He helped develop a partnership with Pixar and the companies produced such hits as Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc.
In 2004 Disney purchased the rights to the Muppets after a lengthy partnership with the company. This all happened while Eisner was CEO.
During his tenure Walt Disney World added two new parks - Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Disney character such as Mickey mouse began appearing in Epcot directly under the influence of Eisner. Furthermore Disneyland Paris (1992 and a second park in 2002), Disney California Adventure opened in 2001. Tokyo DisneySea (2001) and Hong Kong Disneyland (2005) were also opened under his leadership of the company. That is seven them parks opened during his time.
The NHL Team the Anaheim Mighty Ducks was founded by Walt Disney during the Eisner era.
Some of the other major films released during his time at Disney - The Great Mouse Detective, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Flight of the Navigator, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Hocus Pocus, Cool Runnings, The Three Musketeers, Angels in the Outfield, Iron Will, White Fang, Pocahontas, Operation Dumbo Drop, 101 Dalmations (live action), Air Bud, Tarzan Hercules, Inspector Gadget, The Parent Trap (remake), Mulan, Toy Story 2, Fantasia 2000, Remember the Titans, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, The Santa Clause, Lilo and Stitch, Treasure Planet, Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Princess Diaries and National Treasure - to name a few.
Yes, in 2005 Eisner was forced into early retirement , lead by the same Roy Disney that spearheaded his hiring. But the fact hat this man was the center of two of the most important Machiavellian moments in Disney history speaks to his importance to this company's history. Intrigue follows him controversy is his middle name, Risk, Reward and Failure are his friends and his mark was permanent.
Phil Harris is an unsung Legend. Unlike Knotts, he is not a famous name. Only true Disney fans know who he is (and perhaps folks who are fan of his other work).
So who is Mr. Phil Harris? Better yet, what are his Legend Credentials?
He was the voice of the iconic Baloo the Bear in the Jungle Book. This alone should give him the pedigree for a Legend award. Consider that the voice talent for Jiminy Cricket, James Sullivan,
Princess Jasmine and Cinderella are all Disney Legends. Baloo ranks right there with those characters. Harris was known to be a wildcard in the recording studio,
frequently improvising his lines (many which were kept in the films) and
singing various unscripted tunes for his characters. During the recording of
The Jungle Book’s “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)”, it was written in the
script that the scatting between King Louie and Baloo the bear that Baloo would
simply repeat whatever King Louie sang. But Harris didn’t like that idea and
simply recorded his own improvised version which came to be the one we know
today.
He was Little John in the animated version of Robin Hood. this was a childhood favorite of mind - I can clearly remember seeing the movie at the theater.
He voiced Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat in The Aristocats. The Aristocats features Harris as alley cat Abraham de Lacey
Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley, who joins in the film's showstopper,
"Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat", with Scatman Crothers.
In 1989, Harris briefly returned to Disney to once again
voice Baloo, this time for the cartoon series, TaleSpin. But after a few
recording sessions he was replaced by Ed Gilbert.
Don Knotts is my first pick - in my humble opinion he is the most deserving. First of all I think he is hilarious. not the type of humor that translates as well today, but it still carries over (my kids laugh when they watch him!). So my bias is revealed. Here are some highlights of my Don Knotts case for a Disney Legend.
He is the uptight half of the legendary comedy team of Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Tim Conway was honored as a Disney Legend in 2004, and his election without Knott's inclusion is a bit perplexing.
Conway and Knotts were wonderful in one my childhood favorites - The Apple Dumpling Gang and its sequel. Knotts played Theodore Ogelvie.
Another of my favorites a kid was the movie Gus - the football kicking mule. Don Knotts starred as Coach Venner the coach for the California Atoms.
He also played the Denver Kid in Hot Lead Cold Feet.
He voiced Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Chicken Little.
He starred with Dean Jones as Wheely Applegate in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.
He also hosted the Mouse Factory episode "Physical
Fitness" and guest-starred on The Muppet Show in episode 201.
He is also the subject of a famous Michael Eisner quote.
When being courted for the top job at Disney, Eisner scoffed and sarcastically said: “They still think Don Knotts
is a movie star.”
Granted some of these movies are considered from one of the dark ages of Disney, but maybe Knotts should get an award just for helping the studios survive the 1970s with some box office successes.
