Who Actually Sang These Disney Songs? Quiz

Answer: Peggy Lee

"The Siamese Cat Song" was featured in the 1955 movie "The Lady and the Tramp" and was sung by the wonderful Peggy Lee; she also sang "He's a Tramp" and "La La Lu" in the same movie. She voiced the two trouble-making Siamese cats, Si and Am, and also Peg the stray Pekingese from Brooklyn who at one time had had a relationship with Tramp. Lee co-wrote these songs with Sonny Burke.

Despite some negative reviews when the movie were first released it's now recognised as a classic. In 1988 Lee sued the Disney Corporation for breach of contract, claiming that she retained the rights to transcriptions of the music and that video editions were effectively transcriptions.

In 1991 she won this case and was awarded $2.3 million in damages.

Answer: Cliff Edwards

The popular singer Cliff Edwards (aka Ukulele Ike) voiced the character of Jiminy Cricket in Disney's 1940 classic movie "Pinocchio" and also sang "When You Wish Upon a Star". It was immediately recognised as a classic, and consequently the Jiminy Cricket character was given a much higher profile in the movie, for example becoming the narrator of the story.
The song became a major hit and also won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song, the first Disney song to win an Oscar. It's now considered to be the signature song of the Walt Disney Company.

Answer: Jason Weaver

"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" was written by Elton John and Tim Rice for the 1994 movie "The Lion King". In the movie it's sung by the young Simba; the character in the movie is voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, but the song is actually sung by Jason Weaver. Rowan Atkinson (voicing Zazu) and Laura Williams (providing the singing voice of young Nala) add supporting vocals.
"The Lion King" was the highest-grossing film of 1994, and at that time was also the second-highest grossing film of all time. It won two Oscars.

Answer: Paul Winchell

The character of Tigger the irrepressible bouncy tiger first appears in the 1968 short film "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day". The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Tigger makes his entrance with the song "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" written by Robert and Richard Sherman. The character of Tigger is voiced by Paul Winchell, who also sings the song.
On the soundtrack and other associated albums, however, the song was sung by Sam Edwards, and on most Winnie the Pooh films made since 1989 the character has been voiced by Jim Cummings.
I have to say that I view "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" as an abomination. It features a character that's a gopher, for goodness sake - can you tell me where in the collected works of A. A. Milne a gopher appears? If something is as perfect as Winnie the Pooh, why change it? - especially if that change is to partially Americanise it!

Answer: Verna Felton

In the 1950 movie of "Cinderella" there's a lovely scene in which the Fairy Godmother transforms a pumpkin into a gold coach, four mice into white horses, and a horse and a dog into footmen. While she's about her work she sings this charming (no pun intended!) song, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (also called "The Magic Song").

The character of the Fairy Godmother is voiced and sung by the actress Verna Felton. Felton voiced many Disney characters, from Dumbo's mother in the 1941 film "Dumbo" to Winifred the elephant in the 1971 film "The Jungle Book".

She also voiced Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law in "The Flintstones" TV show.

Answer: Adriana Caselotti

Released in 1937, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was the first feature-length cel animated film. "Some Day My Prince Will Come" was sung by Snow White in the film; her character was voiced and sung by Adriana Caselotti.
Caselotti was only 18 when she was taken on by Disney for the part; she worked on the movie for three years. She was paid $970 for her work, and was not credited for the role. She struggled to get work after the film was released; Jack Benny asked permission from Walt Disney for her to be on his radio show, but was told by him: "I'm sorry, but that voice can't be used anywhere. I don't want to spoil the illusion of Snow White". She only had two more film roles in her life, both uncredited: singing one line in "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939, and appearing as a night club singer in "It's a Wonderful Life" in 1946. Apart from that, her career was mainly limited to promotional work. She was married four times and died in 1997. It's a very sad story, reflecting the absolute control that the major studios had over the actors contracted to them.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is probably the highest-grossing animated film of all time, both in North America and the world. Disney used much of the profits from the film to build a brand-new studio in Burbank, where it remains to this day.

Answer: Phil Harris

Everyone - including me - went to see Disney's best-ever animated film "The Jungle Book" when it was released in 1967, and most of them left the cinema singing this song, "The Bare Necessities". In the film the song is sung by the character Baloo, the hedonistic, laid-back sloth bear. Baloo is voiced and sung by the well-known radio comedian Phil Harris.
This was Walt Disney's last film - he died during the production.

Answer: Angela Lansbury

The story of three orphaned children evacuated from London in the Blitz, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is a film about magic. Angela Lansbury voices and sings the part of Miss Eglantine Price, with "The Age of Not Believing" being her best song. It lost the Oscar to Isaac Hayes's "Theme from Shaft" - there's chalk and cheese for you!

Answer: Louis Prima

In 1967 those of us who didn't leave the cinema singing "The Bare Necessities" after seeing "The Jungle Book" were singing "I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" instead. The song is sung by the character King Louie who is voiced and sung by Louis Prima, a well-known American trumpeter, bandleader and entertainer.
Louis Armstrong was originally considered for the role of King Louie but dropped when a scriptwriter commented: "NAACP is going to jump all over it having a black man playing an ape - it would be politically terrible". Despite this, the film has still received some criticism for the portrayal of King Louie, which has been viewed as a racist caricature of African Americans. In their defence Disney has pointed out that the character and mannerisms of King Louie are based upon those of Louis Prima himself, and would have been recognisable as such to American audiences in the 1960s.
The track has been covered numerous times, the most surprising perhaps being the version by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs for Williams's album "Swings Both Ways" in 2013.

Answer: Idina Menzel

Instantly recognisable to children everywhere, "Let It Go" is the major song from the 2013 Disney film "Frozen". An astonishing power ballad performed by the character Elsa, it was responsible for a major re-write of the film's script: Elsa was originally meant to be a villain, but the song was so emotionally powerful that her role was re-written so that she became a major protagonist. Elsa is voiced and sung by Idina Menzel.
The song got to number five in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and won Academy and Grammy awards.