![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
LJ Idol Minor+ - Prompt 4
Nov. 21st, 2021 10:51 amPrompt 4 - "Happy"
Happy… to Be Stuck with You
“I never expected it to be so important to so many people. I certainly never expected to be remembered for it. It was just another job, a couple days of voiceovers. Who could have predicted this?”
When Otis Harlan was selected to provide the voice for a dwarf for a new Walt Disney animated film, he was not particularly surprised. He had been mostly a voice talent for a while now, a common late-career change for an aging actor like himself, already a veteran of scores of movies, both silent and “talkies”. Nor, however, was he particularly excited about it. It was a small role, one that had little depth of character. In fact, Happy was perhaps the least interesting of the seven dwarfs, given that six of the seven “whistle while you work” characters could have been described as generally “happy”, and even the remaining Grumpy had his upbeat moments. But the role paid reasonably for a small amount of work, and included opportunities to sing, including a nice little number called “Music in Your Soup” featuring Happy as the lead. Of course, that song never made the final edit, rendering Happy an even lesser part of the final film
In the end, Otis was not even credited in the movie for his vocal work (none of the dwarfs were), and he moved on to his next roles in Mr. Boggs Steps Out and Outlaws of Sorona without giving Happy much more thought. Meanwhile, Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released to both critical and commercial success, earning more than five times its original budget and briefly becoming the highest-grossing sound film of any type. Today, it is still one of the top grossing animated films of all time, when adjusted for inflation.
“We were surprised, honestly. Walt was just starting out, and while he was clearly a genius, none of us were quite sure if he was actually a mad genius. No one had had any success with full-length animated films at the time, and really, it wasn’t clear there was a market for it.”
While Otis was not involved with the actual animation of the film, his essence was etched into the design of the character - most notably in the styling of Happy’s eyebrows, cheeks, and jowls. Animators used a combination of still pictures and short filmed clips of Otis to guide them in bringing the character to life. That facial similarity can still be seen today in the costumed version of Happy that periodically appears on Main Street USA in Walt Disney World.
“Honestly, it’s embarrassing. I looked much better when I was younger. Why couldn’t I have been animated to look like I did back when I was in my vaudeville days? I guess Snow White and the Seven Young Stallions would have not been so Disney friendly.”
As we go through life, we all impact a great number of people. Family and friends and co-workers all learn from us and remember us. But in the life of an actor, there is always one role that transcends all the others and becomes the answer to “aren’t you that guy from…?” For Otis, the role of Happy became that answer.
When he died a couple years later, his memorial included the following line.
Harlan will be forever remembered though as the voice of the loveable character, 'Happy,' in the 1937 classic Walt Disney film, "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs."
“Honestly, if I had known it was going to be the pinnacle of my career, I might have put more effort into it. Or just skipped it entirely. Imagine, being remembered for “The Silly Song” instead of “Cap’n Andy’s Ballyhoo”? Honestly, I’m never going to hear the end of it. In fact, Pinto Colvig [who voiced both Grumpy and Sleepy], when he finally got here, made fun of me for a full decade. Imagine being made fun of by the guy whose claim to fame was voicing Goofy. It was humiliating.”
Otis seems to be taking it all a little better now, finally ending his self-imposed exile and agreeing to join in with the others for the 80th anniversary reunion. It seems to have significantly softened his stance.
“It was really good to catch up with Roy Atwell [the actor who voiced Doc] again. He has an uncanny way of making me laugh, even now. And he and Scotty [Mattra, who voiced Bashful] and I can share our misery about being best remembered as little bearded men who fawn over a young girl who is basically their housekeeper.
“It was also nice to make fun of Sneezy [actor Billy Gilbert]. I have to admit, that was an inspired choice, if perhaps an obvious one.”
Asked about his thoughts on later incarnations of his character, Otis admitted to having watched every version he can find.
“At first, I was really not interested. It was the past, you know. And how much do I want to see of people redoing and replacing my parts? But then someone convinced me to watch the 1951 version of Show Boat. It was frustrating at first, but now I really enjoy seeing all the different productions of it out there. Besides, there is so much time, it makes for a good way to fill it. And the modernization of the art form - movies and television and stage shows. It really just keeps you coming back.
“I just finished watching Once Upon a Time with Mike Coleman playing the role of Happy. I really liked the approach he took to the character, but of course he had much different material to work with.”
Looking forward, it appears that Otis and Happy will continue to be linked together for a very long time. And for once, Otis seems to be feeling positive about this possibility.
“They say we are never really gone while someone alive remembers us. Well, with the current technology and storage media and ongoing reissuing of everything, I have a feeling I will be stuck hanging around for a really long time. So, I guess, that’s something I can say that I look back on my experience as Happy and appreciate. I really am Happy to be stuck here. I would hate to miss whatever comes next.”
Happy… to Be Stuck with You
“I never expected it to be so important to so many people. I certainly never expected to be remembered for it. It was just another job, a couple days of voiceovers. Who could have predicted this?”
When Otis Harlan was selected to provide the voice for a dwarf for a new Walt Disney animated film, he was not particularly surprised. He had been mostly a voice talent for a while now, a common late-career change for an aging actor like himself, already a veteran of scores of movies, both silent and “talkies”. Nor, however, was he particularly excited about it. It was a small role, one that had little depth of character. In fact, Happy was perhaps the least interesting of the seven dwarfs, given that six of the seven “whistle while you work” characters could have been described as generally “happy”, and even the remaining Grumpy had his upbeat moments. But the role paid reasonably for a small amount of work, and included opportunities to sing, including a nice little number called “Music in Your Soup” featuring Happy as the lead. Of course, that song never made the final edit, rendering Happy an even lesser part of the final film
In the end, Otis was not even credited in the movie for his vocal work (none of the dwarfs were), and he moved on to his next roles in Mr. Boggs Steps Out and Outlaws of Sorona without giving Happy much more thought. Meanwhile, Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released to both critical and commercial success, earning more than five times its original budget and briefly becoming the highest-grossing sound film of any type. Today, it is still one of the top grossing animated films of all time, when adjusted for inflation.
“We were surprised, honestly. Walt was just starting out, and while he was clearly a genius, none of us were quite sure if he was actually a mad genius. No one had had any success with full-length animated films at the time, and really, it wasn’t clear there was a market for it.”
While Otis was not involved with the actual animation of the film, his essence was etched into the design of the character - most notably in the styling of Happy’s eyebrows, cheeks, and jowls. Animators used a combination of still pictures and short filmed clips of Otis to guide them in bringing the character to life. That facial similarity can still be seen today in the costumed version of Happy that periodically appears on Main Street USA in Walt Disney World.
“Honestly, it’s embarrassing. I looked much better when I was younger. Why couldn’t I have been animated to look like I did back when I was in my vaudeville days? I guess Snow White and the Seven Young Stallions would have not been so Disney friendly.”
As we go through life, we all impact a great number of people. Family and friends and co-workers all learn from us and remember us. But in the life of an actor, there is always one role that transcends all the others and becomes the answer to “aren’t you that guy from…?” For Otis, the role of Happy became that answer.
When he died a couple years later, his memorial included the following line.
Harlan will be forever remembered though as the voice of the loveable character, 'Happy,' in the 1937 classic Walt Disney film, "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs."
“Honestly, if I had known it was going to be the pinnacle of my career, I might have put more effort into it. Or just skipped it entirely. Imagine, being remembered for “The Silly Song” instead of “Cap’n Andy’s Ballyhoo”? Honestly, I’m never going to hear the end of it. In fact, Pinto Colvig [who voiced both Grumpy and Sleepy], when he finally got here, made fun of me for a full decade. Imagine being made fun of by the guy whose claim to fame was voicing Goofy. It was humiliating.”
Otis seems to be taking it all a little better now, finally ending his self-imposed exile and agreeing to join in with the others for the 80th anniversary reunion. It seems to have significantly softened his stance.
“It was really good to catch up with Roy Atwell [the actor who voiced Doc] again. He has an uncanny way of making me laugh, even now. And he and Scotty [Mattra, who voiced Bashful] and I can share our misery about being best remembered as little bearded men who fawn over a young girl who is basically their housekeeper.
“It was also nice to make fun of Sneezy [actor Billy Gilbert]. I have to admit, that was an inspired choice, if perhaps an obvious one.”
Asked about his thoughts on later incarnations of his character, Otis admitted to having watched every version he can find.
“At first, I was really not interested. It was the past, you know. And how much do I want to see of people redoing and replacing my parts? But then someone convinced me to watch the 1951 version of Show Boat. It was frustrating at first, but now I really enjoy seeing all the different productions of it out there. Besides, there is so much time, it makes for a good way to fill it. And the modernization of the art form - movies and television and stage shows. It really just keeps you coming back.
“I just finished watching Once Upon a Time with Mike Coleman playing the role of Happy. I really liked the approach he took to the character, but of course he had much different material to work with.”
Looking forward, it appears that Otis and Happy will continue to be linked together for a very long time. And for once, Otis seems to be feeling positive about this possibility.
“They say we are never really gone while someone alive remembers us. Well, with the current technology and storage media and ongoing reissuing of everything, I have a feeling I will be stuck hanging around for a really long time. So, I guess, that’s something I can say that I look back on my experience as Happy and appreciate. I really am Happy to be stuck here. I would hate to miss whatever comes next.”
