Toon Talk Special: Disney's MVPs - Part One - Aug 22, 2003

Toon Talk Special: Disney's MVPs - Part One
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#40 - CYRIL PROUDBOTTOM
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
- 1949

Self-described as “a bit of a trotter, a bit of a rotter�?, Toad’s loyal horse is also a bit of a bad influence on the ol’ boy. But Mr. Proudbottom (boisterously voiced by J. Pat O’Malley) acquits himself in his own inimitable style, donning a hilariously improbable disguise as Grandmother Toad to aid Toad’s daring escape from the Tower of London.

#39 - MARIE
The Aristocats
- 1970

A little princess in her own right (or, at least in her own mind), Marie fancies herself a lady, although her rascally brothers would beg to differ: “You’re not a lady … you’re nothing but a sister!�? This little ‘mummy’s girl’, voiced by Liz English, wore her pink bow and girlish smirk with a kittenish attitude beyond her years … and before her time.

#38 - YOUNG TANTOR
Tarzan
- 1999

“Are you sure this water’s sanitary? It looks questionable to me … �? And with that one line, the whole character of Tarzan’s picky pachyderm pal was established. Seen all to briefly in his younger form (voiced by Taylor Dempsey), Tantor grows up into the less-endearing Wayne Knight characterization, but his younger self should be seen more in the upcoming Tarzan II, reportedly a prequel.

#37 - ARCHIMEDES
The Sword in the Stone
- 1963

He’s named after one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians of all time, so you know this owl is, well, smart. And, with the scatter-brained magician Merlin as his companion, that is a very good thing indeed. Voiced by Junius C. Matthews, who would later voice another English fussbudget, Rabbit in the Winnie the Pooh series.

#36 - BRE’R BEAR
Song of the South
- 1946

The brawn to the (so-called) brains of his partner in crime Bre’r Fox, what this bumbling bruin (voiced by Nicodemus Stewart) lacks in intelligence is made up for by his ‘to-the-point’ nature; he has no time for the Fox’s elaborate ruses (such as the infamous Tar Baby) … when it comes to Bre’r Rabbit, he’d rather just “knock his head clean off�?.

#35 - DR. DELBERT DOPPLER
Treasure Planet
- 2002

“Dang it, Jim, I’m an astronomer, not a doctor!�? Well, actually he is a doctor, but the prissy and slightly clueless Delbert (voiced by David Hyde Pierce in all his Craneian fussiness) is also quite the hero; Jim Hawkins isn’t the only one to change during this particular star trek. “Go Delbert, go Delbert!�? indeed.


(c) Disney

#34 - ROO
The Tigger Movie
- 2000

Relegated to the ensemble for most of his film career, Kanga’s tiny offspring (voiced here by young Nikita Hopkins) got his chance to shine as Tigger’s “bestest buddy�? in this full-length lark, adding a touching brotherhood between the two that softened the tiger’s most often brusque edges. Just feel the joy as he finally masters the whoop-de-dooper bounce.