Ok, we have already talked about Thurl Ravenscroft’s incredible singing and acting career throughout the Disney films. Now, we shall talk about his numerous appearances in the Disney Theme Parks.
There are two extinct attractions in Disneyland where Thurl’s voice could be heard. The first one being Adventures through Inner Space; the Mellomen sang the song “Miracles to Molecules”. The second one is Submarine Voyager, on which Thurl was the Narrator.
There were several places in Disneyland in California that used to house Thurl’s voice, and while the attractions still exist, his voice on the attraction does not. In 2001, Thurl’s Narration on the Disneyland Railroad was removed as well as his voice as the First Mate on the Mark Twain Steam Boat.
Currently in Disneyland, you can hear Thurl on Peter Pan as a background singer. In the Enchanted Tiki Room, he can be found in several places. During the Preshow outside, he is the voice of Tungaroa and on the inside, he is the voice of Fritz. The Mellomen also do a bit of singing for the Enchanted Tiki Room.
In Walt Disney World, the original voice of the Railroad was Thurl. In both versions of the Enchanted Tiki Room, Tropical Serenade and Under New Management, Thurl is the voice of Fritz.
There are a few attractions in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that currently feature Thurl’s deep voice. The first being Pirates of the Caribbean. Not only does he sing the main song in the background, he is the voice of a drunken pirate by a lamp post, an accordion player and, as mentioned before, a dog who is singing along with the group. In the Country Bear Jamboree, he provides the voice for Buff, the buffalo head on the wall of the theatre. Haunted Mansion is the only place in a Disney park where you can actually see Thurl’s face. He is a singing bust in the graveyard scene, the one whose head has been knocked off of its pedestal. Many who see Thurl singing as this bust mistake him for Walt Disney because of the similar mustache both men have. He is also the bass voice that you hear singing the main song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts”.
Thurl has had many features in the Disney parks in the USA and has even had a couple spots over in Tokyo Disneyland! Thurl’s voice, like in both US parks, was the original voice for the Railroad and in the version of Country Bear Jamboree, he also is kept as the voice of Buff.
Whew! There we go, the full story behind the Disney Legend, Thurl Ravenscroft! He is even a true Disney Legend, inducted in 1995 for all the work he has done for the company. If you would like to find out more about Thurl and his work, just visit www.allaboutthurl.com and make sure to check out the section on all of his projects with Disney!
*Update* Listening to some audio from Disneyland, Thurl Ravenscroft also did the voice for the narrator of an audio version of The Jungle Cruise.
Showing posts with label Thurl Ravenscroft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thurl Ravenscroft. Show all posts
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
unKNOWN Actors: Thurl Ravenscroft
So far in this series, I have focused on voice actors from Disney movies who most Disney fans may not know. This is probably not the case with this next actor. Thurl Ravenscroft is a name not only known throughout Disney movies, within Disney theme parks and even outside of the Disney name!
Let’s begin with the couple big things outside of Disney that Thurl is known for. In 1966 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the deep singer of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is Thurl, though he was not in the credits of the film. The other voice that he is famous for is Tony the Tiger from the Frosted Flakes commercials with the trademark quote “They’re grrrrrrrrreat!”
While these two roles are larger roles, he got his start much earlier than that, especially in the Disney area.
Thurl’s deep bass voice is what makes him recognizable and while he did do several speaking parts, he is best known for his singing roles in many Disney films. These singing roles started out in shorts, including the popular short “The Nifty Nineties” (1941). There was even one short where Thurl had a speaking part, and that was as Paul Bunyan in 1958’s Paul Bunyan.
After doing some shorts, Thurl was put into some full length animated features as a singer, including Dumbo (1941), Make Mine Music (1946), and Cinderella(1950).
Alice in Wonderland was the first movie that featured Thurl with The Mellomen, a quartet that he helped form that became very well known as back up singers for several artists and appeared in movies. In Alice in Wonderland, Thurl and the Mellomen were the voices for the card painters who were “Painting the Roses Red”. The Mellomen were also featured as background singers in Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959).
The first large character voice that Thurl had was in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmations as Captain, the horse in the barn by the De Ville Mansion.
In 1963, he was the voice for Black Bart, a knight fighting to become king in The Sword and the Stone.
In Mary Poppins (1964), Thurl did the voice for the singing Hog during “Jolly Holiday”.
I think now is a good time to point out that Thurl was quite good at making dog noises. The howling song of “Home Sweet Home” in Lady and the Tramp was…howled by Thurl, in Mary Poppins he did the wimper noises made by Andrew, he made dog sounds for The Fox and the Hound, and in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s versions of Pirates of the Caribbean, the dog that is singing along with “Yo Ho, A Pirates Life for Me” is Thurl. Interesting, no?
In 1967, Thurl was in The Jungle Book and many believe him to be the voice of the ruthless tiger, Shere Khan. This is completely false! He did not do Shere Khan’s voice, not even the low singing voice. That was done by George Sanders. Thurl did sing however in the movie, he can be best heard singing Captain Haiti’s March.
The Artistocats (1970) had Thurl doing the voice of the Russian bass-playing cat, Billy Bass. In the 1971 movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks, he is a background singer and he even has a solo line in the song “Portobello Road”. Thurl’s deep voice can be heard singing songs in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).
One of the last voices that Thurl did was the voice of Kirby from The Brave Little Toaster. While this movie is not labeled as Disney, it was produced by Hyperion Pictures, which is a Disney owned company.
Wow, this is a long history huh?? I haven’t even touched on Thurl’s appearance in the Theme Parks! I am going to take a break and I will post a second part of this unKNOWN Actors article soon.
Let’s begin with the couple big things outside of Disney that Thurl is known for. In 1966 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the deep singer of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is Thurl, though he was not in the credits of the film. The other voice that he is famous for is Tony the Tiger from the Frosted Flakes commercials with the trademark quote “They’re grrrrrrrrreat!”
While these two roles are larger roles, he got his start much earlier than that, especially in the Disney area.
Thurl’s deep bass voice is what makes him recognizable and while he did do several speaking parts, he is best known for his singing roles in many Disney films. These singing roles started out in shorts, including the popular short “The Nifty Nineties” (1941). There was even one short where Thurl had a speaking part, and that was as Paul Bunyan in 1958’s Paul Bunyan.
After doing some shorts, Thurl was put into some full length animated features as a singer, including Dumbo (1941), Make Mine Music (1946), and Cinderella(1950).
Alice in Wonderland was the first movie that featured Thurl with The Mellomen, a quartet that he helped form that became very well known as back up singers for several artists and appeared in movies. In Alice in Wonderland, Thurl and the Mellomen were the voices for the card painters who were “Painting the Roses Red”. The Mellomen were also featured as background singers in Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959).
The first large character voice that Thurl had was in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmations as Captain, the horse in the barn by the De Ville Mansion.
In 1963, he was the voice for Black Bart, a knight fighting to become king in The Sword and the Stone.
In Mary Poppins (1964), Thurl did the voice for the singing Hog during “Jolly Holiday”.
I think now is a good time to point out that Thurl was quite good at making dog noises. The howling song of “Home Sweet Home” in Lady and the Tramp was…howled by Thurl, in Mary Poppins he did the wimper noises made by Andrew, he made dog sounds for The Fox and the Hound, and in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s versions of Pirates of the Caribbean, the dog that is singing along with “Yo Ho, A Pirates Life for Me” is Thurl. Interesting, no?
In 1967, Thurl was in The Jungle Book and many believe him to be the voice of the ruthless tiger, Shere Khan. This is completely false! He did not do Shere Khan’s voice, not even the low singing voice. That was done by George Sanders. Thurl did sing however in the movie, he can be best heard singing Captain Haiti’s March.
The Artistocats (1970) had Thurl doing the voice of the Russian bass-playing cat, Billy Bass. In the 1971 movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks, he is a background singer and he even has a solo line in the song “Portobello Road”. Thurl’s deep voice can be heard singing songs in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).
One of the last voices that Thurl did was the voice of Kirby from The Brave Little Toaster. While this movie is not labeled as Disney, it was produced by Hyperion Pictures, which is a Disney owned company.
Wow, this is a long history huh?? I haven’t even touched on Thurl’s appearance in the Theme Parks! I am going to take a break and I will post a second part of this unKNOWN Actors article soon.
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