Broadway names voicing Animated features

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#1
Posted: 3/9/17 at 12:44am

Hello, I'm wondering there are stage names that people can think of that were primarily theatre performers but had famously done voicing in some feature. I was looking at the list of the original Beauty and the Beast and was surprised by the number of Broadway names that Disney has used in their animation:

Whoopi Goldberg: Lion King

Angela Lansbury: Beauty and the Beast

Jerry Orbach: Beauty and the Beast

Lea Salonga: Mulan and Aladdin

Glenn Close: Tarzan 

Rosie O'Donnell: Tarzan

Nathan Lane: Lion King

Jodie Benson: Little Mermaid

Matthew Broderick: Lion King

James Earl Jones: Lion King

Idina Menzel: Frozen

Jonathan Groff: Frozen

Josh Gadd: Frozen

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#2
Posted: 3/9/17 at 12:48am

Judy Kuhn as Pocahontas

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Two-times Tony winner Donna Murphy in Tangled

Tony winner Anika Noni Rose in The Princess and the Frog

Two times Tony nominee Eartha Kitt in The Emperor's New Groove

Fan123
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Although these aren't famous instances as such, there are often a few major Broadway names in the list of background singers and/or minor character voices for musical animated films. Makes for some fun little Easter Eggs for Broadway fans. A few examples: Andrew Lippa and Hugh Panaro (and... Scott Schwartz) in 'The Prince of Egypt'; Annaleigh Ashford and a couple of Book of Mormon alumni in 'Frozen'; and Andrea Martin, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Lillias White, and heaps others in 'Anastasia'.

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Liz Callaway has done a lot, including singing for Anastasia in Anastasia, Odette in Swan Princess as well as the mother in Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.

Oddly, the late Michelle Nicastro provided only the speaking voice for Odette, always wondered what was up with that.

Victoria Clark can be clearly heard in "A Rumor in St. Petersburg" in Anastasia as well.

Stanley Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh) was a Broadway star waaaaaaaaay back.

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Zachary Levi in Tangled

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Kristin Chenoweth in Rio 2 (Has an hilarious song) and Fly Me to the Moon.

Santino Fontana in Frozen

Alan Tudyk is in A LOT of Disney movies today.

Carol Channing in Thumbelina

Jodi Benson is in a ton of animated projects. Two come to mind is Thumbelina and of course, Little Mermaid

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Mr. Nowack said: "Stanley Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh) was a Broadway star waaaaaaaaay back."

That's Sterling Holloway you're talking about.

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Chris Jackson was the singing voice for Moana's dad.

Howard McGillin was Derek in The Swan Princess.

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#10
Posted: 3/9/17 at 8:46am

Richard White as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#11
Posted: 3/9/17 at 9:23am

Roger Bart as the singing voice of young Hercules in Disney's "Hercules." 

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#12
Posted: 3/9/17 at 10:07am

Anyone who sneezed in a 10-foot radius of Bobby Lopez voiced something in Frozen.

Animated, but not featured: check out Andrew Rannells' animé resume.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=12007

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#13
Posted: 3/9/17 at 10:13am

He was also in Pokémon live, so it's very fitting!

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#14
Posted: 3/9/17 at 10:29am

Has anyone mentioned Susan Egan? She's provided a few voices, notably Megara in Hercules. 

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#15
Posted: 3/9/17 at 10:40am

Aileen Quinn in the 1982 Wizard of Oz English dub: 

http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Aileen_Quinn

 

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#16
Posted: 3/9/17 at 12:05pm

Fan123 said: "Although these aren't famous instances as such, there are often a few major Broadway names in the list of background singers and/or minor character voices for musical animated films. Makes for some fun little Easter Eggs for Broadway fans. A few examples: Andrew Lippa and Hugh Panaro (and... Scott Schwartz) in 'The Prince of Egypt'; Annaleigh Ashford and a couple of Book of Mormon alumni in 'Frozen'; and Andrea Martin, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Lillias White, and heaps others in 'Anastasia'.

 

"

I know the PofE cast like the back of my hand almost...I'm pretty sure neither Lippa nor Panaro were in it, neither is it on their IMDB. 

 

But yes, the ensemble singing in Anastasia is LITTERED with people we all know. Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa) also has been on Broadway on more than one occasion. Not only that, you'll notice that he and Nathan Lane have done a lot of projects together :)

Oh and Alan Tudyk was in another VERY famous Robin Williams film...not an animated one, but go see if you can find him Broadway names voicing Animated features 

EDIT- Yes Lippa was in PofE, I just didn't spot it at first. Obviously he's in the ensemble somewhere, because I know the principal cast for sure. I still can't find anything about Panaro in it however. 

Updated On: 3/9/17 at 12:05 PM
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Broadway names voicing Animated features#17
Posted: 3/9/17 at 12:14pm

Disney has always used Broadway (and often opera) talent for animated films.

Lucilla La Verne (queen -Snow White) was a stage actress, and Billy Gilbert (Sneezy) was a Vaudevillian.  That's just the very first...

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#18
Posted: 3/9/17 at 4:19pm

Jeffrey Karasarides, I most certainly do. The hazards of posting at 3:30 in the morning...

 

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#19
Posted: 3/9/17 at 5:34pm

Paige O'Hara- Beauty and the Beast

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#20
Posted: 3/10/17 at 4:12am

JennH, I was referring to the Prince of Egypt soundtrack liner notes, which list Lippa, Panaro and [Scott] Schwartz under the heading 'Background Singers, New York'. Maybe their contribution was too minor for them to be listed in most other places. (Speaking of 'Anastasia', Dmitri's singing voice himself, Jonathan Dokuchitz, is also in the list.)

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Broadway names voicing Animated features#21
Posted: 3/10/17 at 7:20am

Speaking of Hercules, the Muses were all Broadway ladies: Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, and Cheryl Freeman.

Carole Shelley also had a small role in that film. 


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Broadway names voicing Animated features#22
Posted: 3/10/17 at 8:15am

The Princess and the Frog also has Keith David, Jen Cody, Michael Leon-Wooley, Jenifer Lewis, Peter Bartlett, and Terrence Howard.

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