Mr. Ruegger, Why did Disney decide to scrap the great and wonderful actor Jimmy Weldon's recording as Whoopdie-Doopdie-Schmoodlie Duck in favor of Maurice LaMarche?
I love Jimmy Weldon and his brilliant duck voice and always have. When we wrote the script, we had Jimmy in mind for the role of Whoopty-Doopty-Schmoodily Duck. Jimmy came in and recorded the role and his performance was hilarious and brilliant and perfect in every way. We were all delighted. Then someone in the Disney Legal department heard/saw the cartoon before it aired and stated that the voice sounded like Donald Duck yet the character did not look like Donald Duck. We explained that it was a different voice and character, but the Disney legal department insisted that the voice be dropped for some non-Donald sounding voice. That's precisely what happened. It was a battle that I fought and wanted to win, but in the end, after much lobbying, I lost. The only upside for me is that I got to meet one of all-time voice idols, Jimmy Weldon, which was a great joy in my life.
Mr. Ruegger, Why did Disney decide to scrap the great and wonderful actor Jimmy Weldon's recording as Whoopdie-Doopdie-Schmoodlie Duck in favor of Maurice LaMarche?
ReplyDeleteI love Jimmy Weldon and his brilliant duck voice and always have. When we wrote the script, we had Jimmy in mind for the role of Whoopty-Doopty-Schmoodily Duck. Jimmy came in and recorded the role and his performance was hilarious and brilliant and perfect in every way. We were all delighted. Then someone in the Disney Legal department heard/saw the cartoon before it aired and stated that the voice sounded like Donald Duck yet the character did not look like Donald Duck. We explained that it was a different voice and character, but the Disney legal department insisted that the voice be dropped for some non-Donald sounding voice. That's precisely what happened. It was a battle that I fought and wanted to win, but in the end, after much lobbying, I lost. The only upside for me is that I got to meet one of all-time voice idols, Jimmy Weldon, which was a great joy in my life.
ReplyDeleteMr.Ruegger, will you be making any appearances in So Cal anytime soon like a comic Con type show?
DeleteMr Ruegger, will you be making any appearances in Southern California in the near future?
ReplyDeleteThis is a criminally underappreciated blog post. (Even after I lost interest in Game of Thrones) Nicely done Mr. Ruegger.
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