While we sadly lost Robin Williams in 2014, the joy he brought to audiences around the world has never been forgotten. In fact, in addition to the dozens of wonderful movie and TV performances still adored by fans of all ages, technological advances has made it possible for the actor’s voice to continue to be used in new projects. It’s a small comfort to those who loved the humor and heart he brought to all of his projects over the years.
- Robin Williams’ voice is featured in a new Disney movie called “Once Upon a Studio.” The film came out on Sunday, October 15 to celebrate Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 100th anniversary.
- Disney didn’t need to use AI to bring Williams to life again in the film. As we all know, artificial intelligence has been heavily relied upon to bring back stars we’ve lost. However, producer Yvett Merino says that wasn’t necessary for Williams. There was no AI involved whatsoever.
- Williams’ own recordings were brought out of the vault. As you can probably imagine, he recorded hundreds of takes as Genie in “Aladdin,” so the powers that be had plenty of material to draw on for this new project. “It was actually direct lines from past recordings,” Merino told Polygon. “When we do animated recordings on any feature, there are a number of takes. So we were able to find this line that fits so well in our short.”
- His appearance in “Once Upon a Studio” is brief but heartwarming. In one scene, Williams’ Genie bursts out of a drawing pad Olaf from “Frozen” is using, which pushes Olaf to the ground. “I haven’t seen a fall like that since Rome!” Genie exclaims before putting the snowman back together.
- Robin Williams’ family was in full support of his appearance in the new Disney short film. “So many of us who work here at Disney Animation were inspired by Aladdin and Robin’s performance. It meant the world that they said yes to his inclusion in the short,” Merino explained. “And [it was] so special that Eric Goldberg, who animated Genie for the [original] feature film, did the animation here as well.”
