Robin Williams: How was the actor’s return to screens made possible by Disney 9 years after his death?

Actor and comedian Robin Williams passed away in 2014. At the time of his death, the actor was reportedly battling depression, anxiety and paranoia after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The actor’s passing devastated his fans but it also triggered a discourse around mental health. Throughout his career that started in the 1970’s, Williams imposed his own style of comedy. He also played some iconic roles in movies like Mrs Doubtfire, Good Will Hunting and of course Aladdin.

Williams is to this day still considered one of the best comedians which explains why Disney chose to include him in their brand new animated short film. But how did they manage to do this almost 10 years after the actor’s death?

Robin Williams’ daughter speaks out against AI

The use of AI by movie studios has been at the forefront for the past few months. Indeed, the use of AI was a major point of debate during the SAG - AFTRA strike.

Robin Williams’s daughter Zelda shared her own dislike of the use of AI. CNN reports that Zelda finds the recreation of her father’s voice ‘disturbing’, explaining:

I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad.

I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings

For Zelda, the use of AI to recreate actors’ voices is a ‘horrendous Frankensteinian monster.’

So how did Disney get the green light to bring back the Genie from Aladdin?

Disney’s use of Robin Williams’ voice

Contrary to popular belief, Disney did not use AI to bring back the Genie in their short film Once Upon a Studio. The short film which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Disney studio instead opted to use ‘outtakes from Robin Williams’ sessions recording for Aladdin’ reports Digital Spy.

Not only that, it is reported that Robin Williams’ estate (family) collaborated with Disney studio for the comedian’s appearance to be possible. The short film’s producer explained that it was important to them to honour Robin Williams without the use of AI. On that he told Variety:

We tried to take them on the journey with us to say, ‘We’ve got this very special short that we’re doing. Robin as the genie means so much to so many people and we would really love to involve him.

Dan [Abraham, director] listened to the outtakes from the original recording and he found those little bites that we could use.

Adding:

We went back to the estate and said, 'This is what we hope to do. Eric [Goldberg], who originally animated the genie is on the show, and he's going to be part of it'. And it was wonderful to see that happen

You can now watch Once Upon a Studio on Disney+

Read more:

⋙ Disney refuses to cut LGBTQ+ scene in Buzz Lightyear despite being banned in 14 countries

⋙ Disney+ deletes children's classics deemed racist from platform

Sources:

CNN: Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda slams AI recreations of her dad

Digital Spy: Disney brings back Robin Williams's Genie in new short movie

Variety: How Disney Brought Back Robin Williams’ Genie for the Animated Short ‘Once Upon a Studio’ — Without Using AI