Saturday Legend Luncheon honoring Mickey Mouse and his sweetheart Minnie Mouse as well as Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor
Each year since 1993 NFFC has inducted a new class of Disney legends. This year four inductees were on the slate. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse couldn’t make it so their plaques were accepted by Dave Smith, the noted Disney archivist. However, the longtime voices of Mickey and Minnie were in attendance and happy to be NFFC legends.

Saturday’s Legend Luncheon began with Dave Smith giving a fine history of Mickey and Minnie. Smith noted that he is quite proud of being the final arbiter as to Mickey Mouse’s actual birthday. Although different dates had been used in the past, it was generally accepted that the debut of Steamboat Willy at the Colony Theatre in New York. As this was November 18th, 1928, Smith chose that as Mickey’s real birthday.

Dave Smith concluded his talk by pointing out the fact that there have basically been just three voices for Mickey Mouse. Sound Effects wizard Jim McDonald took over Mickey’s voice in the 1940s and his apprentice Wayne Allwine took over from him completely in 1983. Walt Disney, of course, being the original voice of his most famous character.

With that, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor were welcomed up to the stage. Jay Aldrich, NFFC President, moderated the discussion with just the right amount of strictness letting the couple wander off topic when necessary to reveal some great moments.

Wayne and Russi met during the recording of ‘Totally Minnie’ with Elton John. Although Wayne’s effort ended up on the cutting room floor, the occasion was the start of a wonderful friendship that led to a wonderful marriage. For the ceremony they snuck away to Hawaii telling only Roy Disney in advance.

“Working at the old Disney Studios was like working with a great repertory theater. Everyone did multiple things and came together to make great product,�? said Allwine. Wayne and Russi then expressed that they feel like they are “standing on the shoulders of giants�? and that the love and hard work of everyone makes it easy for them to do their jobs.

As for the secret of their success, Wayne chalked it up to luck and having inherited a first tenor voice from his father, who sang first tenor in barbershop quartets. Russi thought that it was important to do the right characters and do them well.

When asked about what early animation projects they wished they could have worked on, Wayne replied that he just wanted to be a fly on the wall during any of Walt’s recording sessions. Russi said she wanted to in Bambi, as Bambi.

As part of the overall discussion, Wayne and Russi talked about what it means to be the voices of the world’s most famous characters. They said it involved a certain amount of guardianship. If they get a script that feels wrong for their characters, they’ll send it back for further updates. If there is a discussion about the future of their characters they are often involved in it. Such as the recent discussion with the House of Mouse television show. How much should Mickey move into the world of today. In the end it was decided to move him just a little bit, but updating his costume was okay.

They also spoke about some of the current work they are doing. There is at least one direct to video project coming up. They just finished recording updated voices for the Disney Resorts. Wake-up calls, birthdays, and anniversaries all have prerecorded messages ready now. They also talked about doing ‘mercy’ calls to children with terminal illnesses, a tough but rewarding aspect of their responsibilities.

After exhausting all questions from the audience, Wayne and Russi pulled out the Ukulele for a few of their famous duets. First Wayne did a tribute to Jiminy Cricket’s voice and Ukulele Ike artist, Cliff Edwards, with a fun rendition of “I’m no fool.�? Then Wayne and Russi sang two moving versions of “When you wish upon a star�? and “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.�?

After the talk, the gracious inductees stuck around to sign autographs and talk with their fans.