Quote from user: DuckburgUSAQuote from user: Mike PerazaI have to chuckle at the dialog on here concerning [Alan's] Scottish accent as it is not only accepted by most DuckTales fans but Mickey's Christmas Carol followers also and I personally think he did a great job. That in itself may be the point, it is simply a personal opinion and everyone is entitled to like or dislike his or her own interpretation.
Well said, Mike! I think Alan Young's performance as Scrooge brings warmth to the character, very much in the way Bill Thompson did in "Scrooge McDuck and Money" for the 1967 featurette. Not warmth as in mushiness: Young gets inside Scrooge's skin whether McDuck is cast in a stingy or a lighthearted mood.
The key word here is "performance" - Alan Young and Bill Thompson were radio and screen actors, and they both took on Scrooge as a whole, 100% in character, not just doing a funny voice. Will Ryan's take on Scrooge in "Soccermania" was a solid effort from a talented and versatile voice actor, but his performance was a bit too cartoony (for my taste). I DO agree with another poster here, in that Will Ryan would have been the better casting choice as a more youthful Gyro Gearloose, with a design closer to Barks' model.
The entire DuckTales cast was a high watermark of voice casting! If you peruse the list of credits, everyone involved were old pros like June Foray, Hal Smith,Chuck McCann, Hamilton Camp and Howard Morris. The younger cast members were of equal caliber: Frank Welker, Terry McGovern, Russi Taylor, Tony Anselmo and many others. If you close your eyes and ONLY listen to a part of an episode, and you'll hear some real solid acting. Had Bill Scott (Bullwinkle) lived a bit longer, I have no doubt he would have been cast as a central character and 100s of incidentals!
It was also documented somewhere (I'll see if I can find it & post) that Alan Young received high praise from Carl Barks himself! They never got to meet, but Carl inscribed and sent a hardbound book of his stories for Mr. Young and they shared a phone conversation in which Barks exclaimed to the veteran actor: "You captured the character... you ARE Scrooge!"
As both a big Barks fan and a big Ducktales fan, I'm really, REALLY happy to hear that Barks so heartily approved of Young's portrayal of Scrooge. Young could make the old duck seem avuncular, crabby, manic, crafty, and dreamily eccentric as the case required; even when the show's writing wasn't at its best, his vocal characterization breathed additional life into the proceedings. And, while it's sometimes hard to tell whether Robb is being tongue-in-cheek or not, I can't see how his Scottish accent could be called weak, unconvincing, or least of all unrecognizable--much like Scrooge himself, Young came to the US as a young man and spent his formative years in Scotland. He did a fine job training the accent out for his earlier screen roles, but even in shows like Mister Ed (I've seen many episodes of that show), his brogue comes through occasionally.
(By the way, I also like Foreign Correspondent--my favorite Hitchcock picture. I wrote a rejected Mickey story for Egmont more or less inspired by the movie, complete with a windmill sequence. Still, I can understand why a Dutchman could get pulled out of the picture by the fake accents--although no Hollywood studio, past or present, has the money to make every film on location and cast 100% regionally correct actors in the bit roles. Movies are make-believe, after all).
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Topic: Howdy Disney TV & Comics fans!
(34 messages)
Gyro Gearloose
Howdy Disney TV & Comics fans!
Message 31 -
2012-07-10 at 21:11:34
Robb_K
Howdy Disney TV & Comics fans!
Message 32 -
2012-07-11 at 07:43:10
Quote from user: Gyro Gearloose(By the way, I also like Foreign Correspondent--my favorite Hitchcock picture. I wrote a rejected Mickey story for Egmont more or less inspired by the movie, complete with a windmill sequence. Still, I can understand why a Dutchman could get pulled out of the picture by the fake accents--although no Hollywood studio, past or present, has the money to make every film on location and cast 100% regionally correct actors in the bit roles. Movies are make-believe, after all).
Had they shot all the scenes in The Netherlands, they'd have been interrupted by the German troops overunning the country, as the film was shot in spring and early summer of 1940. Nevertheless, I'm sure that if they had tried, they could have found a 10 year old Dutch immigrant in L.A. to say a couple lines, and they could have found a Dutch immigrant who also was a Hollywood actor to play the diplomat. Otherwise, they should have had the German man who played the diplomat listen to a native Dutchman speak and have him mimic the accent. It would have taken only a few hours of his time. They should have had the girl speak in English, rather than her butchering the Dutch so badly that it was clear she had never heard a Dutch word spoken in her life before the shooting. It's little things like that that can ruin a film.
Another example of low-cost keeping story credibility in historical films is having historians on staff to assure that no glaring errors occur. Yet, they often do (such as horses appearing as military cavalry animals and beasts of burden in The Fertile crescent before 1400 B.C.E. and camels used as pack animals and transportation in Egypt before 900 B.C.E., and the like, or seeing penguins in The Arctic in cartoons, or polar bears in The Antarctic.
Yes, some of what I wrote above was "with tongue in cheek", but there is a little truth to every joke.
Had they shot all the scenes in The Netherlands, they'd have been interrupted by the German troops overunning the country, as the film was shot in spring and early summer of 1940. Nevertheless, I'm sure that if they had tried, they could have found a 10 year old Dutch immigrant in L.A. to say a couple lines, and they could have found a Dutch immigrant who also was a Hollywood actor to play the diplomat. Otherwise, they should have had the German man who played the diplomat listen to a native Dutchman speak and have him mimic the accent. It would have taken only a few hours of his time. They should have had the girl speak in English, rather than her butchering the Dutch so badly that it was clear she had never heard a Dutch word spoken in her life before the shooting. It's little things like that that can ruin a film.
Another example of low-cost keeping story credibility in historical films is having historians on staff to assure that no glaring errors occur. Yet, they often do (such as horses appearing as military cavalry animals and beasts of burden in The Fertile crescent before 1400 B.C.E. and camels used as pack animals and transportation in Egypt before 900 B.C.E., and the like, or seeing penguins in The Arctic in cartoons, or polar bears in The Antarctic.
Yes, some of what I wrote above was "with tongue in cheek", but there is a little truth to every joke.
MustangRockstar
Howdy Disney TV & Comics fans!
Message 33 -
2012-07-16 at 05:11:54
I never really had a problem with the voices. I guess I always assumed that Donald himself had a bit of a speech impediment, as evidenced by cartoons where other Ducks speak (Daisy, Ludwig, etc.)
For me, it makes Donald a stronger, more unique character.
As for Scrooge's accent, I always assumed it was a little muted from years of living abroad. If we go with the assertion that he came to America as a young man to sick his fortune, and we take into account that immigrants of the time often tried very hard to "Americanize" themselves, I thought it fit pretty well.
My only real beef with Ducktales was when they messed with the formula in seasons 2 and 3. It seemed like every great animated series in the 80s did that, and almost all of them where none the better for the decision.
For me, it makes Donald a stronger, more unique character.
As for Scrooge's accent, I always assumed it was a little muted from years of living abroad. If we go with the assertion that he came to America as a young man to sick his fortune, and we take into account that immigrants of the time often tried very hard to "Americanize" themselves, I thought it fit pretty well.
My only real beef with Ducktales was when they messed with the formula in seasons 2 and 3. It seemed like every great animated series in the 80s did that, and almost all of them where none the better for the decision.
Furienna
Howdy Disney TV & Comics fans!
Message 34 -
2012-07-25 at 21:26:50
Quote from user: MustangRockstarMy only real beef with Ducktales was when they messed with the formula in seasons 2 and 3. It seemed like every great animated series in the 80s did that, and almost all of them where none the better for the decision.
And here, I must totally disagree with you. I prefer the last season so much. Fenton Crackshell is my favorite character of this show, and it was this season, that I grew up with as a little girl, so I might be a bit biased. I've only seen a half dozen or so out of the first 65 episodes, and they just don't click with me. They feel way too childish.
And here, I must totally disagree with you. I prefer the last season so much. Fenton Crackshell is my favorite character of this show, and it was this season, that I grew up with as a little girl, so I might be a bit biased. I've only seen a half dozen or so out of the first 65 episodes, and they just don't click with me. They feel way too childish.