Tag Archives: Haunted Mansion

Voices of Disney – Remembering Paul Frees

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IMG_5260Along with millions of other Disney vacationers, I am crazy about the Haunted Mansion.  While I’ve only had the opportunity to visit the one at Walt Disney World, I feel certain that all the Disney Haunted Mansions are equally as wonderful.  I’ve written a Haunted Mansion Halloween Homage and a bit about bringing some Haunted Mansion home.  Today I want to revisit my love for the home of 999 happy haunts – specifically, I want to talk about a very important character, without whom our Haunted Mansion experience would be greatly diminished:  The Ghost Host voiced by Paul Frees.

The voice of the Ghost Host is unique and forceful – absolutely perfect for a dark and scary Doom Buggy ride through the spooky rooms, hallways, attic and graveyard of the house at the end of the lane in Liberty Square.  It doesn’t matter if he’s telling me that HE will lower the safety bar, explaining a pause in the ride, or warning me that a ghost may follow me home – the ride needs a host and I can’t imagine any other voice being as perfect.

Turns out, Paul Frees (born in 1920) voiced a great number of our favorite characters from movies, cartoons, DWR2009 079and stop-motion specials over more than four decades until his death in 1986.  Now, maybe you knew all about Mr. Frees other works, but I did not and am so surprised and thrilled to find out my beloved Ghost Host was also the voice of these characters (and many more)…

“Dead men tell no tales” – the voice in Pirates of the Caribbean that echoes this phrase over and over – Paul Frees!  He also did other voices in this ride.

Ludwig Von Drake in Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1957 – 1986)…Do you remember him?

Boris Badenov in Rocky and His Friends (1959-1961) and The Bullwinkle Show (1961)  While Rocky and Bullwinkle were, technically before my time – I grew up on the reruns and LOVED Boris and Natasha!!!  Can you believe it?

Santa Clause in the much loved Frosty the Snowman (1969) – wouldn’t be Christmas without this special cartoon, would it?  FYI – he was also in the 1976 Christmas hits Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (as Santa Clause, Eon, and General Ticker) and Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (as Jack Frost).

Ignatz Mouse in Krazy Kat (1963) – If you’ve not seen this very different cat and mouse cartoon series, you really need to check out some samples on YouTube.

Burgermeister Meisterburger – Seriously, it’s TRUE!  Paul Frees is the village villain in Santa Clause is Coming to Town! (1970)

Okay, last one.  Paul Frees was the voice of Crusty in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)…if you missed out on this cinematic comedy classic starring Don Knotts as the title character, well you need to get your hands on the DVD!

So, how many of Paul Frees’ voices did you already know about?

 

 

 

Halloween Homage – Disney’s Haunted Mansion

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DWR2009 077We, being the normal, run-of-the-mill Disney fans that we are, have a love – a passion, for that most special, most Disney-ish of all Disney attractions – The Haunted Mansion.  So, like thousands of Disney fans everywhere, today, on Halloween, we salute our most favorite scary ride.

Ask us individually what our favorite rides are and we will each give you a different answer.  Ask us what ride we MUST ride together, multiple times on every visit to Disney World?  We will all agree it has to be The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom.  In both it’s original form and it’s new post-2007-refurb-form – we have always loved every single thing about this 8-minute doom-buggy trip through one of the coolest attractions ever scared up by Disney Imagineers.

If you’ve been there, you know what I mean when I say that the “Ghost Host’ is a very important DWR2009 079part of the experience.  That voice!  Once he starts you off on your adventure, you can’t look around fast enough to take in all the carefully crafted details, thrills, oddities, surprises, not to mention ghosts the Haunted Mansion holds.  The stretching room with its crazy portraits and surprises, the dining room ghosts, the dancers, Madame Leota (“Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween…Awaken the spirits with your tambourine!”), the bride, the cemetery, the busts singing “Grim Grinning Ghosts” , the hitch-hikers!  We love it ALL!  I guess that’s why we want to ride it again and again – we never feel like we’ve seen, heard, or experienced everything there is – and that’s just on the inside!  If you’re going, don’t miss any of the great tricks and treats that are in store for visitors in the Haunted Mansion’s queue.

DWR2009 078“Now I will raise the safety bar and a ghost will follow you home.”-Ghost Host, Haunted Mansion

“Hurry Baaaaaaack……Hurry BAAAaaaaaaaack….Be sure to bring your death certificate if you decide to join us.  Make final arrangements now.  We’ve been dying to have you…”-Little Leota

Happy Halloween Everyone!