Auberjonois As Chef Louis
2 min read
The Little Mermaid was released today in Blu-ray and DVD format, and amongst the characters in the popular children’s movie is one voiced by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Rene Auberjonois.
Auberjonois voiced the character of Chef Louis, best remembered for his Les Poissons song.
Auberjonois’ voice work for The Little Mermaid was pretty easy for the actor. “Well, it was very simple, really,” he said, “they gave me the song to learn, so I went home and learned it. You know, I listened to it in my car for a week and then I went back and sang it twice for them and I left. Then, three years later, I saw the film and I was totally blown away! I couldn’t believe it.”
The actor is happy to have been part of a now-classic Disney film, which he credits with reviving the animated film format. “And, it’s all such a gift, really – and I am so thankful for it,” he said; “to get to do a voice in a classic Disney film. And, now, in retrospect, what I also know is that that film essentially saved animation and acted as the rebirth of animation in this country. Animation was really a dying art form before The Little Mermaid. Disney was about to give it all up. But, it was the success of that beautiful animated musical that made all the things that followed possible – Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King and on and on; even Pixar and all of that, too.”
Finding out that grandpa worked on The Little Mermaid elevated Auberjonois’ standing with his grandchildren. ” I have to say that getting to do a voice in a classic Disney film like The Little Mermaid and having a five-year-old granddaughter and a seven-year-old grandson and a five-year-old grandson who all know it and love it is just wonderful,” he said; they call me ‘grumps,’ even before they were amazed to find out I was in The Little Mermaid, but, I have to say, though, that really raised me in their estimation! ”
The Little Mermaid Two-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD can be purchased at Amazon, where it is currently selling for $26.96.
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