Disney is all about magic, and to celebrate their first century as a company, they are doing all sorts of renditions and homages to all the amazing classic productions they’ve created throughout the years. One of these is a short film that will put two beloved characters face to face, Olaf from the Frozen franchise and the one and only Genie voiced by none other than the great Robin Williams.
This all sounds like magic in the making; however, as Genie himself would say, “There are a few provisos… a couple of quid pro quo.” It’s well known that Robin Williams had some disagreements with Disney regarding his work as Genie and, as we’ll see below, these ended up pushing the actor to establish a clause on his will that he didn’t want the company to use any of the outtakes from Aladdin in the future. But first things first:
What’s the Short Film About?
Once Upon A Studio, is a 9-minute-long short that will take us on a journey back to Disney’s history with Mickey attempting to take the most magical group photo. Besides Genie and Olaf, the short has the appearance of over 40 characters, all voiced by their original actors. Among the characters that appear alongside Mickey are Tiana, Peter Pan, Moana, Maui, Merlin, Elsa, Goofy, Winnie The Pooh, and Flash.
The short was released at the opening ceremony of the Annecy Film Festival and, according to reports, it was very well received. Sadly, we mortals will have to wait some more months to see it since it will be screened right before Wish, Disney’s upcoming animated movie. This won’t happen until November, 22. Now, is the magic worth breaking one man’s last wish?
Robin Williams Vs. Disney
As mentioned before, despite giving us one of the most iconic Disney characters, Robin Williams ended up having a gripe with the company for the deal he made for voicing the Genie. According to Williams, he agreed to a deal of 75k dollars for his work in Aladdin, but he was adamant that he did not want his voice to be used for marketing and toys.
Of course, as probably the most charming character in the movie, they ended up focusing the marketing attention on Genie, and although Robin William’s complaints were slightly attended to, in the end, they were never fully observed, and the actor decided to drop the project that included a sequel and an animated series.
According to the story, after some time and a Picasso painting as a peace offering, Williams returned to voice the character for Aladdin and the King of Thieves. However, his relationship with Disney was already damaged, and they only worked together on a couple more projects. Now, the important piece!
Robin William’s Will’s Clause
As you might know, making Aladdin was a bit different from what animated movies often do. Generally, the animation is created first, and then the voice actors come and record their lines out of the script. Knowing that Robin Williams was a genius and that probably the best content would come out of improvisation, for most of the scenes, the animation was made based on his interpretation.
This means (and it’s been confirmed) that there’s more than enough material of outtakes to make another movie with the character! Of course, Robin Williams didn’t want that to happen, and before his tragic passing in 2014, he made a specific clause on his will prohibiting the use of his voice for any future projects, at least in the following 25 years of his death.
How Could Disney Use Robin William’s Voice for Once Upon a Studio?
This clause has been well-known by his estate, Disney, and the fans. So, naturally, after the announcement of the short, fans have been wondering if Disney breached the clause on the will or what the hell happened there!
As Josh Gad, who voices Olaf, explained, it was Robin Williams’ estate the ones that authorized the use of these voice clips for the short. “My love for Robin Williams is literally unmatched, and I would never do anything unless I was guaranteed that it was with all of the proper sign-off and support,” he added.
Of course, even though they gave their consent to use the actor’s audio, that doesn’t mean he would’ve agreed to do so. Yes, we’ll all shed some tears hearing his voice back as Genie, but it’s some sort of a bitter-sweet moment considering that he was strongly against the company using these takes to the point that he put it on his will. Also, be assured that after the 25 years of the clause, Disney will likely move forward with doing a movie or a series with that material. Not very magical on their part, if you think about it.
