I was thinking about Grace Kelly the other night (don't remember why) and it's probably because I just finished (okay, almost finished, it wound up missing a piece) this awesome Cinderella puzzle, but it hit me like a ton of bricks: if Disney had decided to make a live action version of his Cinderella, nobody else would have worked. Grace Kelly was Cinderella.
Then my train of thought jumped tracks to what if each Disney princess/heroine could have been portrayed by an actress from classic Hollywood? (Probably because I'm so addicted to Once Upon a Time and there currently seems to be such a huge interest in doing live action versions of fairy tales.) Naturally, the next stop on that train track was deciding who would have worked for who. I ran these by Indy and here's the verdict:
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937)
Merle Oberon
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She's a 30's actress, on the early side of classic Hollywood, but that seems entirely appropriate for Snow White.
Cinderella (Cinderella 1950)
We've already been over this. Grace Kelly, the end.
Not only does she fit perfectly, but her career launched the same year Cinderella appeared on the screens: 1950 (she was just 20 when she started). She's one of Hollywood's most famous classic actresses, but she only acted for six years before marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956.
But she still managed to win and Academy Award for Best Actress.
Alice (Alice in Wonderland 1951)
This one took me a little while. I finally decided on Jane Powell.  | |
She has those great big blue eyes. Coincidentally, she was born the same year as Grace Kelly. And I grew up watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. So I'm partial.
Aurora (Sleeping Beauty 1959)
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Her voice is naturally incredible (as Aurora's is supposed to be). She never had any vocal training before she auditioned for Rodgers & Hammerstein which landed her a small role that led directly to them asking her to take the lead in Oklahoma! only a year later.
Ariel (The Little Mermaid 1989)
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This one was kinda hard. I settled on Judy Garland. Her big eyes sold me.
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Like I said, the big eyes sold me. And she would also have to have a good, yet young sounding voice.
Belle (Beauty and the Beast 1991)
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Belle was hard because she's my favorite. That made me want to pair her with Audrey Hepburn because Audrey Hepburn was also my childhood favorite. But I think Audrey actually looks like one of the other leading ladies as you will see and it just didn't feel right. So I went with Natalie Wood because she has the fuller cheekbones and because she seemed to play more Belle-type characters.
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I never really realized that Natalie Wood died even younger than Grace Kelly. She drowned the year before Grace Kelly's accident but she was nine years younger than Grace.
Jasmine (Aladdin 1992)
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Sophia Loren. Yeah, she's Italian but I think she would have been one awesome Jasmine back in her golden Hollywood years.
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I almost wonder if it wasn't Sophia Loren the animators were picturing when they drew Jasmine...
Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996)
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This was one where I came across a picture of Esmeralda and went, "Huh. Liz Taylor's the only one that would work for that."
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Megara (Hercules 1997)
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Another hard one just because I love Meg. But after discussing it with Indy, we decided Lauren Bacall was the best match.
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Even though Barbara Stanwyck served as the inspiration for Meg, Lauren Bacall seems like a better embodiment. She has the lower husky voice, very similar eyes, and the attitude, something carried over from her own character into the characters she portrayed (she was reportedly pretty difficult at times). Perfect.
Mulan (Mulan 1998)
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This one was hard since, let's face it, there were not very many well-known Asian actresses during the 1930's, 40's, & 50's. I had to dig a little, but I came up with this adorably beautiful actress, Maylia Fong.
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Yeah, I really can't tell you anything about her, but isn't she adorable???
Jane (Tarzan 1999)
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People will probably think I'm crazy, but this is who I would have Audrey Hepburn play. Being attracted to an ape-raised man and becoming Queen of the Jungle really doesn't seem like Audrey Hepburn, I know, but Jane as a cartoon looks like a cartoon Audrey to me. So shoot me, I don't really care if you can't see it.
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Tiana (The Princess and the Frog 2009)
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Also hard, but really I think Dorothy Dandridge would be a great Tiana. Better match looks-wise than Lena Horne, who was my first thought.
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Rapunzel (Tangled 2010)
This one was kind of hard. I finally picked Debbie Reynolds. She's got the rounder face and she's cute like Rapunzel.
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Aaaaaand that's the peek into my brain for the week, and probably month or two or six.
Also, don't even mention that I left out Poke-my-hinus. Biggest mistake Disney ever made.
