marycrawford (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
marycrawford) wrote2004-03-29 11:34 pm
marycrawford) wrote2004-03-29 11:34 pm
On Ustinov
Sir Peter Ustinov died today, at 82. I recognized his picture in the papers, but none of the roles mentioned struck a chord with me, although I'm sure I must have seen him in at least a few movies.
But then I read that he did the voice of the evil Prince John in Disney's Robin Hood. Now Robin Hood isn't one of the better Disneys, although it's charming in places and I like the laid-back Robin Hood, but the villainous Prince John made that movie for me, in the very same way that Jeremy Irons as Scar got me through the tedium of The Lion King.
Prince John is a greedy, sadistic, vain, selfish and cowardly mama's boy ("Mummy. She always did like Richard best."), and Ustinov just added so much comic depth to the part. With his rich, fruity voice and lines like 'Oh, poppycock', he must have been an animator's dream to work with.
May he rest in peace.
But then I read that he did the voice of the evil Prince John in Disney's Robin Hood. Now Robin Hood isn't one of the better Disneys, although it's charming in places and I like the laid-back Robin Hood, but the villainous Prince John made that movie for me, in the very same way that Jeremy Irons as Scar got me through the tedium of The Lion King.
Prince John is a greedy, sadistic, vain, selfish and cowardly mama's boy ("Mummy. She always did like Richard best."), and Ustinov just added so much comic depth to the part. With his rich, fruity voice and lines like 'Oh, poppycock', he must have been an animator's dream to work with.
May he rest in peace.
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Peter Ustinov was one of my favorite actors when I was a kid. Of course, the stuff I remember him in tended to be rather goofy (John Goldfarb, Please Come Home, Romanoff and Juliet, We're No Angels with Humphrey Bogart and Aldo Ray) -- but there was just something lovable about him.
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