You know when I review the shorts or films on A Look at Disney, I rarely go into detail about the voice actors because I like to focus on the characters themselves but today, I have decided to do something a little different. For as long as Mickey Mouse has been around, he has had many different voice actors starting with Walt, himself up until 1947, as Mickey and The Beanstalk was the last time Walt would voice his creation. Though I'm not here to talk about the timeline of voice actors but rather focus on man in particular that brought the little Mouse to life. I have often considered him my favorite Mickey voice. Today, I'll be taking a look at Wayne Allwine.
Wayne Allwine voiced Mickey for quite a long time. He started in 1977 until his untimely death in 2009. I was rather sad to learn of his passing as he was the voice of Mickey that I grew up with. His two final performances as Mickey Mouse were in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and the episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse titled "Road Rally". The English release of KH 358/2 Days was dedicated in memory of Mr. Allwine.
Wayne Allwine's first appearance as the famous Mouse was in the '70s version of the Mickey Mouse Club. Okay that makes me hate the show a little less. (Here's my review of that show for those don't understand why I hate it). Though that was just for the lead-ins and that was done in the same vein as the '50s Mickey Mouse Club open, when Walt voiced Mickey. Mr. Allwine's first foray into voicing Mickey for a longer period of time and the first theatrical short that he voiced Mickey for was in Mickey's Christmas Carol.
It is funny how when I was little, that I would never pay attention to this but as I got older the voices have become something that I pay more attention to these days. On the surface Mickey in Mickey's Christmas Carol may sound the same as Mickey in Mickey and The Beanstalk but if you listen closely, you can hear a slight difference. Walt's Mickey has a higher pitched sound. Now I'm not saying Allwine's Mickey voice doesn't have that but it isn't as prominent. It's hard to say when Wayne Allwine came into his own with voicing Mickey but I think the two things that helped me to pick up on his style of voicing Mickey would be House of Mouse and The Three Musketeers starring Mickey, Donald, & Goofy.
Now it is somewhat hard to say why, it was this show and this movie where I picked up on his style of voicing Mickey. Though part of it for The Three Musketeers may be that right before watching it, I watched Fun & Fancy Free, which had the Mickey & The Beanstalk segment where Walt voiced Mickey and as I said there is a notable difference in the way that these two gentlemen voiced Mickey. Now as for House of Mouse, it's really simple as to why I picked up on his voice as I have stated in the past, Mickey is my favorite character. Therefore I pay more attention to Mickey when he appears on screen.
Now I would by lying if I didn't say that the main reason, Wayne Allwine is my favorite Mickey voice actor is purely nostalgia. It is and that is because he is the voice of Mickey that I grew up with. In many ways, his portrayal of Mickey Mouse led me to not only become a Mickey fan but rather become attached to the little Mouse. Though my favorite Mickey is this is one...
Moving along from that corny joke. The other reason I liked his voice of Mickey is because when he voiced Mickey, he sounded very welcoming and inviting. Now I'm not saying the other voices weren't those things but Wayne Allwine's voice is the one that I paid the most attention to. Quite honestly, other than Walt, when I think of Mickey, Wayne Allwine is the voice actor that I think of.
In 1991, Wayne Allwine married Russi Taylor, seen here with Mickey & Minnie. Now this is what I find really cute at the time and still to this day, Russi Taylor is the voice of Minnie Mouse. So I always like to say this about these two, that Mickey and Minnie finally tied the knot. Even if it was off screen. I don't know what it is about knowing that but I just think that is so cute. In 2008, one year before Wayne Allwine's untimely death they were both named Disney Legends. Here a link to their Disney Legends page.
After Wayne Allwine's death, he was replaced by Brett Iwan. Who I hear is doing a good job but I haven't kept track of his voice work as Mickey. I hope you have enjoyed this article about my favorite voice actor to portray Mickey Mouse as I feel sometimes the people behind the mics don't get the recognition they deserve.
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