10 Fascinating Facts About Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
4. Dopey Almost Had A Famous Voice
Speaking of famous voices bringing dwarfs to life, the character of Dopey was the last of the seven to be brought into the film, with him and Sneezy replacing Jumpy and the other unnamed dwarf.
Arguably the comedy highlight of the film, Dopey’s simply nature and persistent clumsiness made him stand out among his fellow miners. The other thing that made him different was the fact he didn’t talk because, according to Happy, “he never tried”. This almost wasn’t the case however, as an incredibly famous and rather surprising actor was once considered for the part.
Mel Blanc, otherwise known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices” was considered at one point to voice the character. Beginning his career in radio, he soon moved to feature films as a voice actor for cartoons, most famously voicing Mickey Mouse’s newest competition, Bugs Bunny for the 1940 Warner Bros short A Wild Hare in his film debut, and would go on to voice other characters in the Merry Melody series, including Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety, Marvin the Martian and many more.
Outside Warner Bros, Mel also did work for Hanna-Barbera as the voice of Barney Rubble in The Flintstones, Captain Caveman, he voiced Woody Woodpecker for Universal Studios, and even Toucan Sam in TV adverts for Fruit Loops.
He remained one of the most sought-after voices in Hollywood, even following a major car crash in 1961, up until his death in 1989, aged 77. With all these incredible voice credits, it’s a shame he never once performed a role in a Disney property before he became the many voices of their main competition (there is one minor exception to this but one film at a time).