'Aladdin' Genie Voice Actor Performs Tribute to Robin Williams
By Jason Hughes
Voice talent Jim Meskimen was touched by the loss of Robin Williams in a unique and personal way. Since 2008, he has been the voice of Disney’s Genie character from Aladdin, having voiced him in a series of Disney video games. Williams, of course, famously brought the Genie to life in the original Disney classic.
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The character is one of Williams’s signature performances, leading Meskimen to wonder if he should continue voicing the character now that the actor who originated him has died.
In a video tribute to the late comedian, Meskimen explained that he chose to answer that question by putting pen to paper. “I decided to write this poem, to work it out for myself, and to answer the question,” he said.
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Meskimen then presented the poem, in the voice of Robin Williams. See the full tribute in the video above or read it below:
"In Memory Of Robin Williams" by Jim Meskimen
They didn’t burn all the pianos
When Fredrick Chopin died
Didn’t outlaw oil paints
when Picasso took his final ride
No one put a stop to baseball
When Mickey Mantle’s time was up
Or banned all Russian novels
When Tolstoy went belly up
On Shakespeare’s death, nobody said
“Now hath arrived the day —
From this point hence let none dare
Put forth pen to write a play!”
We celebrate what’s left
By the departed, it’s our choice
Yet it does seem sacriligeous
To do Robin Williams’ voice
A voice that was designed to soothe,
Soft, deep tones that resonate
And cascade gently outward
From behind a smiling face
A voice that could accelerate
To catch up with the mind
Like shifting into overdrive
To not get left behind
A voice that could change character
Like seconds on a clock
Or hijack nationalities
For a spin around the block
Shift age, shift viewpoint, shift I.Q.,
Whatever’s not nailed down
Destroy, rebuild, destroy again,
A formidable clown
We’ll hear this voice in future times
In reruns on TV,
It will occupy the world wide web
Live on, digitally
We’ll hear its echoes come
From other mouths and other lips
In tributes and homages, and,
Like psychedelic trips
We’ll think the owner’s back again
With his familiar sound
But they’ll all be imitations —
Just an audible rebound
New jokes aren’t in the pipeline now,
Not that the well went dry —
But the jester who possessed this voice
Just chose to say goodbye
With the wealth of joy he left us
We should probably rejoice
But it’s hard to grasp we lost the guy
Who used to have this voice.
