The Ultimate Walt Disney Company Performances Bracket -- Round One, Day Seven
What does an actor want with a conscience anyway?
It’s another manic Monday, friends! And it is also the first full, non-day-off Monday of 2023 (at least for me and my family). But even as we’re all facing the first full week of the new year, at least in terms of work and school, the Ultimate Walt Disney Company Performances bracket keeps trucking on.
Who’s ready for some voting? I know I am!
(3) Cliff Edwards, Pinocchio vs. (62) Danny DeVito, Ruthless People: There are a few reasons why “When You Wish Upon a Star” has become the theme song for the Walt Disney Company, and at least one of those reasons is Cliff Edwards’ remarkable, querulous, and haunting performance of the song at the start of Pinocchio. It cannot be improved upon, and even if it was just for that song, I’d vote for him here. Sorry, Danny. Cliff Edwards for the win.
(30) John Turturro, Quiz Show vs. (35) Sterling Holloway, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: John Turturro is an excellent actor, with many fine roles in his career. His work as Herb Stempel in Quiz Show is one of those great performances. But…man, Sterling Holloway is a killer voice actor, and Winnie the Pooh is Winnie the goddamn Pooh. I can see Turturro winning this one, but I’m sticking with Holloway this time around. How about you?
(14) Tony Jay, The Hunchback of Notre Dame vs. (51) Bing Crosby, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: Though Bing Crosby has one of the most iconic voices in American popular culture as a whole, and though he’s quite good in his portion of the 1949 package film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, he cannot compare to the rich and complex work from Tony Jay as Judge Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. You want to praise “Hellfire”, as you should? Well, a lot of that praise belongs to Jay. An easy choice for me. You?
(19) Vincent Price, The Great Mouse Detective vs. (46) Danny Elfman, The Nightmare Before Christmas: I like this matchup for the thematic connections driven by Tim Burton (even if Burton only worked on one of these films). And I can see Elfman putting up a strong case against Price. (Why, you may wonder, is Elfman in the bracket but Chris Sarandon, who provides most of the spoken dialogue for Jack Skellington, isn’t? Well, when I think of Jack, I think of the songs, thus Elfman.) But I will be voting for Vincent Price here, not just because he had such a distinct and mellifluous voice. His Ratigan is one of the great and undersung Disney villains, and he rightly gets a couple different songs in which to revel.
Price wins this one for me. What’s your call?
Vincent Price as Ratigan is significantly more interesting and nuanced than Danny Elfman singing as Jack Skellington
That last one was a real heartbreaker for me. I adore Vincent Price, but Great Mouse Detective wasn't even close to being a favorite for me. Danny Elfman has composed so many memorable songs and scores--he's a long long way from his Oingo Boingo days--and Nightmare Before Christmas could not exist as it does without him. Danny got my vote. Sorry, Vincent...I still love you.