The Voice-Over Bracket, Round 1 -- Day 4

Friends, we have important matters to discuss today, by which I of course mean the newest set of matchups in the Disney/Pixar voice performance bracket.

Let’s go through the four matchups and where my head’s at.

(6) James Woods, Hercules vs. (11) Gilbert Gottfried, Aladdin

Can you separate art from the artist? It’s a thorny question that’s often raised when we talk about artists like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, who are as synonymous with cinema as they are with grim and disturbing allegations of sexual abuse and assault. But it’s worth asking that question with other dark situations, such as when artists’ political beliefs align with the opposite of your own. Such is the case today, specifically with the voice of Hades from Disney’s take on the Hercules myth. Hades is a hilariously evil character, and Woods’ performance is as wound-up and speedy as that of Robin Williams as the Genie. It’s a really incredible performance.

But, of course, then there’s the person voicing Hades. I envy you if you’re not aware of his conservative leanings (but I also wonder what hole you’ve been living in). It can be safely said that…uh…I don’t share his viewpoints. And I don’t blame anyone for looking at this matchup, seeing the actor’s name, and instinctively voting against him. For this specific situation, I’ll do my best to separate the art and the artist. While Gilbert Gottfried’s very funny as Iago, the sidekick has far less to do than Hades does. So I vote for Woods.

(3) Jonathan Freeman, Aladdin vs. (14) Jason Lee, The Incredibles

These are two very good performances by two very talented actors. Syndrome is one of the handful of few great out-and-out villains in Pixar movies. (There are other villainous characters, but not many of them are unquestionably mean and remorseless. By the end of this movie, Syndrome has tried to kidnap and/or kill a baby. Yes, the prologue establishes that he’s a frustrated fan first, but…this is a bad dude.) Jason Lee’s performance is nuanced and sly in all the right ways.

But you cannot out-sleaze Jonathan Freeman, whose take on Jafar has been so well-liked that he’s played Jafar in basically every possible context. The original 1992 film? Check. The direct-to-video sequel? Check. TV shows? Check. The Broadway production? In the original goddamn cast. There’s no denying the unfortunate whitewashing of the character — Jafar is one of the few characters in Aladdin who’s visually coded as Middle Eastern, and the only ones who are fall into the villain category. And, as his name might imply, Jonathan Freeman is a white man. I cannot, however, deny the great joy I get from listening to his silky, snide performance, primarily because as evil as Jafar is, he’s quite funny. “Prince Ali…Abubu.” “Ababwa.” “…Whatever.”

I vote for Freeman.

(7) Vincent Price, The Great Mouse Detective vs. (10) Richard White, Beauty and the Beast

Listen, I surprise myself sometimes. You may presume that because certain actors and actresses are seeded higher, that they’re always going to win, especially in the early going. While I felt the need to give Vincent Price a higher seed here, it’s less because of his performance as Ratigan and more because he’s…y’know, Vincent Price. Now, that’s not to say I dislike his work in The Great Mouse Detective. Far from it. Ratigan is an excellent villain, not just because he’s a rat who wants to be a mouse. Price is delightfully hammy as the bad guy, and it’s clear that the filmmakers knew he was the best part — our heroes get no songs, but Ratigan gets two.

Ah yes, but then there’s Richard White and his booming baritone. Beauty and the Beast is the best modern Disney animated film, and the nefarious Gaston is a big reason why. It helps that Gaston has a hell of a villain song, with witty and clever lyrics from the late Howard Ashman. White’s bigger-than-life voice work is so much fun, nearly 30 years later, and Gaston such a fascinating inversion of the Prince Charming type from earlier Disney films, that I’d be a fool to vote for anyone else. I go with White.

(2) Pat Carroll, The Little Mermaid vs. (15) Anthony Gonzalez, Coco

Something that Pixar doesn’t get enough credit for: they cast kids really, really well. Even now, there are only a handful or two of child actors who have appeared in Pixar’s films, from a young Hayden Panettiere in A Bug’s Life to Jordan Nagai in Up. And the casting on these characters is peerless, as is evident with our 15 seed, Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel in Coco. Gonzalez is, unlike even Jordan Nagai, the full-on lead character of this film. There are more recognizable actors, like Benjamin Bratt and Edward James Olmos, among the cast, but this is Miguel’s movie and Gonzalez handles the challenge extremely capably. (I just think of the childlike joy in a line reading like, “See? Dimple. No dimple! Dimple. No dimple!”) A great performance.

And you and I both know I’m voting for Ursula. Sorry, Anthony. I’ve set you up to fail here against one of the slyest, most odious, and most wicked villains in Disney history. Ursula is a fascinating character in every way, but as we already learned from Richard White above, it really, truly helps if an actor gets to work with a Howard Ashman song. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is a hell of a piece of work, with Carroll spitting out each lyric with so much disdain and cynicism. “It’s she who holds her tongue who gets a man” is a great lyric, yes, but Carroll brings it to such acidic life, as she does with every line reading throughout. I vote for Carroll.