FROM 2007
KATHRYN BEAUMONT
talks about her start at Disney and
working on the films

by Scott Wolf

As a child, Kathryn Beaumont, came to America with her mother after fleeing from the war where they were forced to move around and live in air raid shelters. Kathryn soon found success as a child actress in movies and not only provided the voice of Alice in "Alice in Wonderland and Wendy in "Peter Pan" for Disney, but was also involved in the live action reference for her characters.

While she appreciates her opportunities as an actress, Kathy chose to become a schoolteacher where she found just as much satisfaction.

Although I'm a huge fan of both "Alice" and "Peter Pan" it's so easy to forget about her involvement in those films and just think of her as a friend. She's instantly likable, and I can say that because when I first met Kathy and talked with her many years ago I had no idea who she was!

I did not forget about Kathy's involvement with Disney, though, or the fact that The Walt Disney Company has recognized her as a true Disney Legend, when I sat down with her for this exclusive Mouse Clubhouse interview which I know you'll love!

Scott Wolf: Was your first voice Alice in Wonderland?

Kathryn Beaumont: Yes, it was. Walt Disney was going to make the film Alice in Wonderland and he was looking for a voice that would be pleasing to both American ears and British ears, and it was an English classic so he wanted to please that side as well as America. So he looked all over the country for an Alice, and many children read for the part, I was one of them, and he basically found my voice was the most suitable for the role and so that’s how I came to be under contract to Walt Disney Studios.

Then not only that, I was recording the voice, but the animators also wanted me to provide the reference work, which means the live action, to go through the motions as if it’s a film, but a film that the public doesn’t see. It’s just a very empty stage, rudimentary settings, and then action would take place according to the story and that way the animators could see the movement, because trying to understand the movement of a human being was their most challenging. They wanted the human body to look realistic and so they needed that reference to go by, and that helped them as a reference to do that animation, and so they were happy with what I did.

And then because of that and the voice and being British and all, and a couple of years later, my being an adolescent about, it was a given for them… I was just thrilled, for them it was just, “Oh well, you know the Wendy (for Peter Pan) role is coming up and this is perfect, because right now she’s right for that role.

SW: So, you did that shortly after Alice?

KB: Yes, actually I did. When we finished with Alice in Wonderland and it opened up, it opened in England first, and then we came back and did some promotion for it and as soon as the promotion was over, the very next Monday I was recording for Wendy in Peter Pan.

SW: Wow…

KB: Yeah, it was that soon.

SW: When you started, when you originally read, had you done acting before?

KB: I had done some acting as a small child in some British projects and MGM happened to see some of the work that I had done and so they put me under contract to MGM and brought me out to America and they were thinking of doing a lot of different kinds of projects with British stories and English people so they wanted people with a British accent. So unfortunately I didn’t get really involved in that, but Disney at that time was looking for his Alice so it was a blessing in disguise.

SW: Was MGM expecting a live action actress or a voice actress?

KB: At MGM it was live parts.

SW: I know you also did One Hour in Wonderland.
(NOTE: One Hour in Wonderland was Walt Disney’s first television special to promote Alice in Wonderland and to introduce the performers to the world.)

KB: Oh yes One Hour in Wonderland, and then there was another one a year later that was a promotion for Peter Pan and it was a Christmas party that Walt Disney was hosting, and also showing some of the other Disney work during that hour’s presentation as a Christmas special. His was the first Christmas special with One Hour in Wonderland and then he did it again a year later for Peter Pan.

More from Kathryn:
Her work after the films, and about Walt Disney

See other interviews

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in the interviews are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mouse Clubhouse. Mouse Clubhouse accepts no legal liability or responsibility for any claims made or opinions expressed within.