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

Toon Talk Special: Disney's MVPs - Part One
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(c) Disney

#45 - DJALI
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- 1996

He shared more then just a pair of earrings with his pal Esmeralda; Djali faced prejudice just like the gypsies … mostly from audiences wondering just how they could make a goat funny. But surprisingly, even the tired ol’ ‘goats will eat anything’ gag gets a laugh. Bonus points for not singing, unlike the other sidekicks in this movie …

#44 - WILLIE THE WHALE WHO WANTED TO SING AT THE MET
Make Mine Music
- 1946

Literally towering over his competition (including his co-stars Casey, Peter, Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet), the ‘Operatic Whale’ must be seen … or, more appropriately, heard … to be believed. With the voice of Nelson Eddy, he belts out a mean “Short’nin’ Bread�? as well as Figaro. Plus, he looks good in a clown suit …

#43 - FIDGET
The Great Mouse Detective
- 1986

Oh, the life of a dimwitted assistant villain: dispatched on petty errands like ‘shopping for gears’, threatened to be fed to an obese cat, having to dress up like a little girl … and doing it all with a peg-leg! With the basso profundo voice of Candy Candido and at the beck and call of that rotten Ratigan, this little bat certainly had a full belfry.

#42 - GURGI
The Black Cauldron
- 1985

With an indescribable vocal performance from John Byner, an appearance that is all big blue eyes and furry cuddliness, not to mention a constant hankering for “munchings and chrunchings�?, Gurgi easily stood out amidst the bland leads of this film … and with his selfless sacrifice at the climax, its easy to anoint him Cauldron’s true hero.


(c) Disney

#41 - VINCENZO “VINNY�? SANTORINI
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
- 2001

Yes, this droll and deadpan demolitions expert likes to blow stuff up (“Hey look! I made a bridge!�?), but he also has a soft spot underneath all that armor … for flowers? Voice actor Don Novello delivers the driest one-liners (“Do you have something sportier? Like a tuna?�?) under the sea … Father Guido Sarducci would be proud.