Jim Hill: From the Archives
Page 4 of 6

Part Two: Roger & Gene, Ron & John, Jeffrey & Oscar, Candy and ... er .. um

The folks at Disney Feature Animation work long and hard to make sure that their feature length cartoons are heartfelt and compelling to modern audiences. To do this, the feature production teams sometimes have to labor for years trying to get the story just right.

In this process, a lot of fun stuff falls by the wayside. Sometimes it's just a great little gag. Other times it's whole scenes, songs and storylines that get whacked. All in an effort to bring you a better movie.

What follows is a string of anecdotes about things that didn't make the final cut in some recent Disney animated films. Hopefully, these stories will give you some insight as to what ends up on the screen and why.

Ready? Okay. Now it's Lights ... Camera .. Trivia ...

(c) Disney

Aladdin (1992)
Can it be true? Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert once turned "Thumbs Down" on a movie without even seeing it? Well, sort of.

Ron Clements and John Musker, the writers / directors of Aladdin,   had come up with what they thought was a great gag to add to that film. Here's the set-up: Prince Achmed, yet another suitor for Princess Jasmine, rides into Agrabah. As he does, the citizens of the city look him over. Toward the front of the crowd, two peasants - who look exactly like Siskel and Ebert - check Achmed out. Not liking what they see, these two peasants quickly give the Prince the "Thumbs Down" sign.

Alright, so it's not exactly a knee-slapper. But it's cute. And the gag would have worked in context.

Clements and Musker really wanted to put this gag in Aladdin. They thought that the joke would help establish that film's anything-for-a-laugh sensibility which would clear the way for Robin Williams' off-the-wall work as the Genie. And since Roger and Gene's TV show, Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, was produced by Disney's TV arm, Buena Vista Television, Musker and Clements thought that getting Roger and Gene's permission to use their likenesses in Aladdin would be a breeze.

Think again.

It turns out that Siskel and Ebert took their jobs seriously. Perhaps a little too seriously. Roger and Gene were worried that if caricatures of them appeared in a Disney film people would think that the critics had somehow sold out. So, while the two Chicago film critics were flattered, they reluctantly had to turn down Ron and John's offer.

So, now that Ebert and Siskel were out, what could Musker and Clements do to save that moment in the movie? Simple. They just cast themselves as the peasants commenting on Prince Achmed.

Don't believe me? Keep a sharp eye out the next time you're watching Aladdin. The scene in question: Our hero has just handed the bread he stole over to those two starving orphans in the alley. Hearing the sound of the prince's procession, Aladdin and Abu walk over toward the street.

As they stand at the mouth of the alley watching the parade go by, Aladdin and Abu stand behind two other peasants. One, with a full beard, wearing a red fez, says: "On his way to the palace, I suppose" (That's Ron Clements). The other, with a gray mustache, wearing a white turban, replies: "Another suitor for the princess" (That's John Musker).

What did the staff of Feature Animation think of Musker and Clements inserting themselves into their movie? They thought it was a great inside joke. In fact, folks at Feature Animation got such a kick out of Ron and John's cameo in Aladdin that they insisted that the two directors do it again in their next film, Hercules. You can spot them - if you're really quick - as young Hercules zooms that wagonload of hay into market. Do those two buff construction workers Herc knocks off the arch look sort of familiar? They should. That's Musker and Clements again.

And now that Ron and John are at work on their next movie, a '50's sci-fi version on Robert Lewis Stevensons' classic pirate yarn, Treasure Island called (appropriately enough) Treasure Planet, who knows what form these guys will take for their next cameo? If I were you I'd pay particularly close attention to any two headed aliens that wander through that movie...

Of course, just because you land a part in a Disney animated film doesn't necessarily mean you get to keep it. Think of poor Linda Larkin, the voice of Princess Jasmine. After three months of grueling auditions, Larkin finally won this role in Aladdin in January 1991. Thinking she was home free, Linda happily threw herself into working on this animated feature.

Now imagine Larkin's shock when, six months later, she learned that Disney was once again holding auditions for the voice of Princess Jasmine.

What was the problem? Disney studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg just wasn't liking what he was hearing coming out of Larkin's recording sessions. He didn't think Linda sounded forceful enough or regal enough, to portray a princess.

Clements and Musker, who loved Larkin's work, fought hard to keep her on the film. With the help of Aladdin co-producer Don Ernest they finally convinced Katzenberg to give Linda another chance. They then coached Larkin through a carefully staged recording session which was deliberately done to win Jeffrey over.

That was the session that finally convinced Katzenberg that Linda was the right person to play Princess Jasmine. He then backed off, leaving Musker and Clements to do the movie the way they wanted.

What was Ron and John's secret for making Jeffrey think that Larkin was the right voice for the princess? They just had Linda speak lower and slower, which, to Katzenberg's way of thinking, was how princesses sounded. Once Jeffrey forgot about his concerns with Princess Jasmine's voice Musker and Clements let Larkin go back to what she'd been doing before.

Linda lucked out. But that's not what happened to poor John Candy...