Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Just recently, The Blockbuster Buster did a video on celebrity voice actors and one of the voice actors that he talked about was the talented Alan Tudyk. And I was happy to see him acknowledge three of Tudyk's Disney roles. One of which, I wasn't even aware of until I watched his video but at the same time, I do find myself a bit annoyed that he only mentioned King Candy in regards to his film roles for Disney. Considering that from Wreck-It Ralph to Zootopia, Tudyk has had a role in every Disney movie since 2012. And that doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon as Tudyk as he will also be in Moana. Though, his role in that film has not been revealed.
I know most people in the nerd community know Tudyk from Firefly but as I've stated in the past, I first discovered him Wreck-It Ralph and since then, he has gone on to become one of my favorite voice actors and many have labelled him, the John Ratzenberger of Disney Animation and in that regard, they are not wrong. My goal with this article is to go over the roles of a fine gentleman that I would put up alongside Sterling Holloway and Jim Cummings as one of my favorite voice actors of all time. With that out of the way, let's begin.
King Candy/Turbo - Wreck-It Ralph
I don't think Tudyk has been voicing characters long enough for Disney to have any one character of his, be considered his iconic character but as time goes on, I imagine that title will belong to his first Disney character, King Candy aka Turbo from Wreck-It Ralph. Now I did a Villains Profile on King Candy in October of 2014. And as I mentioned there, he took inspiration to Candy's mannerisms from one of the greats of Disney Voice Acting. Ed Wynn.
In particular, the Mad Hatter. I recall the first time hearing King Candy speak, it sounded like Ed Wynn had come back to life. I was quite impressed with Tudyk's voice performance. And out of the third act reveal villains, which has become something Disney loves, King Candy was the best as the buildup and payoff were great as there were little clues sprinkled throughout but at the same time, I sat there thinking that this little man that sounds like Ed Wynn can't be the bad guy and when it was revealed that he was, it was a genuine shock because Tudyk's performance made you think that King Candy was just going to be a comedic relief character that was not the case at all.
The Duke of Weselton - Frozen
As I said in my review of Frozen, when I saw the film, I had no idea that Tudyk played The Duke. He played the character with such a stiff upper lip and took himself so seriously that the way that he carried himself, no one else could take him seriously. The Duke may not have been in Frozen much but for when he was, he was a laugh. And I do recall that when the movie was first being promoted, people assumed that The Duke was going to be the bad guy. A trend that carried into Tudyk's next Disney role. But he served as a great red herring and when he called Elsa, a monster, that was a good setup to make us think that he was going to be the villain. Which as we all now know, is not the case.
Allistair Krei - Big Hero 6
This is one role that I don't blame Erod for not mentioning as it's so forgettable. Then again, I think other than Hiro & Baymax, Big Hero 6 as a film is forgettable on the whole. Really, the only thing going for this character is that he's played by Tudyk, who is able to bring gravitas and charm that a lesser voice actor couldn't do this role. And as I mentioned, he like The Duke is at first assumed to be the bad guy but as the film goes on, you learn that is not the case. Though perhaps, Tudyk will be able to do more with the character, now that a Big Hero 6 TV show is in development. Speaking of TV...
Ludo - Star Vs. The Forces of Evil
This is perhaps my favorite role of Tudyk's as Ludo is easily, his funniest role. Tudyk really gets to let his comedy chops go with this character. Ludo is the type of villain that thinks he's a better a villain than he is but in reality, he's more of petulant manchild that gets angry, when he doesn't get his way and the fact that he is so tiny and really ineffective and yet, has an army of giant monsters taking orders from him is perhaps one of the funniest things but as I went over in my week long event celebrating this show's first season, Ludo was usurped by the true main villain of the series but while he may not be as frightening by the true villain of the show, he is one of the funniest Disney villains in a while and it is a always a highlight, whenever he's in an episode.
King River Butterfly - Star Vs. The Forces of Evil
King River Butterfly is the father of Star Butterfly, the main protagonist of Star Vs. The Forces of Evil. And as I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, this is the character that I had no idea that Alan Tudyk played. This is another case of Tudyk doing a voice that is so completely different from his other roles that I didn't recognize him. Even more astonishing considering that he plays two roles on this show. He voices King Butterfly as what can perhaps best be described as a British Royal and at first seems formal like typical kings but we learn in one of the earliest episodes, Diaz Family Vacation that even though, he may be a king, he loves to fight monsters much like his daughter. Which the contrast between his voice and the action that he partakes in are some of the funniest moments of that particular episode.
Duke Weaselton - Zootopia
Yes, his name is a Frozen reference. It's actually one of a handful of Frozen references in Zootopia. I don't want to give too much away about this character as Zootopia is still in theaters and I know that not everyone has seen it. But I will say that while he's a minor character in the overall story, he does play an important role in that, he is the first criminal that we see Judy Hopps chase through Zootopia. Oh, and he's involved in one of the funniest jokes in the movie that any Disney fan should get a laugh out of. And also like the Disney Weasels before him, he continues the tradition of being a slimy scoundrel that you really can't trust but that's what you get with a career criminal. I'd say after Ludo, this is perhaps Tudyk's funniest role for Disney.
There you have it, my look at the many voice over roles of Alan Tudyk. I was happy to see The Blockbuster Buster mention him in his video but found it disappointing that he only touched upon a select handful of his film roles and that's why I wanted to go over all of his roles. Granted, I understand that Erod likes to touch upon a plethora of voice actors but as someone that is a big fan of Alan Tudyk's voice over work, I just felt the urge to write up this article. Oh, and Tudyk will also be in another film released by Disney, this year. Part of a small franchise, you've probably never heard of it...
Well, I certainly have a reason to be excited for this film. What has been your favorite role that Tudyk has played for Disney? Let me know in the comments. Peace!
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