MovieChat Forums > The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (2008) Discussion > Jim Cummings as King Triton

Jim Cummings as King Triton

posted 16 years ago by Vellapo
41 replies | jump to latest

Is anyone else sick of this guy? I used to enjoy his voice, up until recently, when I can somehow detect his voice out of any cartoon that graces the family's TV. I guess my annoyance started with CatDog, since I hated that show. But I'm a pretty avid follower of the voice-acting community, and I was thrilled to see that Jodi Benson and Samuel E. Wright were returning.

I want Kenneth Mars, dang it. His voice was perfect for King Triton. I understand I can't always have it my way, but in this instance, it would be nice, considering this is sequel that actually looks promising.

You tell me a lot of things, but that doesn't mean I have to listen.
- Master Shake, ATHF

[–] kristie_rainbowgirl 16 years ago

I've always loved the characters Jim would voice. Never had a negative thing to say about him. But after watching a 5 minute sneak peak of this movie, it just seems like his voice doesn't match the character at all. :-\

~Kristie

[–] KelTron42 16 years ago

That's because we're so used to Kenneth Mars. Mars NEVER failed to give Triton his voice. The movie, it's sequel, the animated series, probably several Disney promos, and both Kingdom Hearts games... he was ALL there!
Now that we see a different voice coming out of his head, OF COURSE it feels weird. It doesn't sound like the Triton most of us remember, and for some, grew up with. Maybe it's a good thing Mars didn't agree given how much Disney screwed up their universes with these embarrassingly bad sequels.
BTW, and this is kindof off-topic, wasn't Triton originally supposed to be voiced by Patrick Stewart in the original movie, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts (Star Trek)?

I am frickin' crazy because the little man inside my head breathes Corporate Thunder

[–] classicx_attraction 16 years ago

I know exactly what you mean. I knew it was Jim Cummings too before I even checked the cast list. Im sick of him being in EVERY disney movie. you know he was in the lion king as scar, during the song "Be Prepared"? its like..god dammit, JC, ...dont you have a life?

'He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into a firey pit!" -Frollo <333

[–] KelTron42 16 years ago

I don't understand this morbid hatred for Jim Cummings...
I mean, cut the guy some slack... Mars obviously turned this movie down and Disney paid JC to do what he does best... voices
It was a little weird hearing Cummings in the 5 minute preview, but after I watched the movie, I came to the conclusion that the guy AT LEAST tried his best to do justice to Mars' Triton!!!
IMO, Jim Cummings is a GREAT voice actor... His voice roles aren't really that big outside of Pete, so what's the big deal if he lends his skills in, at least, moderation?

I am frickin' crazy because the little man inside my head breathes Corporate Thunder

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] brandonsc 14 years ago

I know this comment is two years old, but i had to LOL. "don't you have a life?" . . . Um . . . hey moron- voice acting IS Jim Cumming's life. *facepalm*

[–] blondiebear_17 16 years ago

I always loved Kenneth Mars's voice. His voice has a really comforting grandpa feeling I grew up with the the land before time and the little mermaid so I was pretty annoyed by the change. At the begining of the movie his voice was alright but after Athena's death Triton's voice gets all robotic and it's pretty ridiculous.

Your no bunny til some bunny loves you

[–] Gosalyn87 16 years ago

I love Jim Cummings; he's an awesome voice actor, and I'm definitely not sick of hearing him. I haven't really heard his voice in anything in quite a while, but I do agree that Mars was a better king.

As for the more off-topic stuff...

I actually am very very sick of Grey Delisle. Sorry.

I've never understood why Irons couldn't record Scar's voice during the end of "Be Prepared". You can recover fairly quickly from strained vocal coards, so I don't know why they couldn't have waited a couple of days, unless they were that terrible behind schedule and they absolutely needed someone right then.

As for Flounder, his voice change is to be expected. I mean, when you have a boy voicing a character with a boy's voice, you obviously can't expect him to sound the same in almost twenty years.

[–] angussu 14 years ago

I have somehow figured out why it is Jim Cummings instead of Kenneth Mars who did the voice of King Triton in this film:
Note that this film is the first time King Triton sings. Possibly Kenneth Mars did not have a good singing voice or that he was too old to be singing, and the studio did not want to spend extra money on having two actors in one role, that is possibly why they decided to have Jim Cummings do both the singing and speaking voice of King Triton in TLM3.

[–] otness_e 14 years ago

Can't be the reason. Kenneth Mars did the voice of Grandpa Longneck in the Land Before Time Movies as well, even in that Tinysauruses movie, and that WAS the first movie where Grandpa Longneck sang.

[–] Dufresne-3 14 years ago

I thought he did a fine job, but I too easily recognized him as Pocahontas' father. I'm not as familiar with voice actors, but I've been revisiting Disney classics and had played the Pocahontas score last month. Not their fault for the timing, though if he's used as often as someone who's voice I *am* sick of (Patrick Warburton), then I sympathize.

[–] GForce59 13 years ago

I love Ken Mars as Triton, but I thought Jim Cummings did a really good job imitating his voice.

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[–] knowtheartist 13 years ago

I would have preferred Mars. But there were times I thought Cummings sounded very similar to him.