Did Disney Use AI To Replace Robin Williams' Genie In Once Upon A Studio?

Disney's newest short, "Once Upon a Studio," sees the entertainment giant celebrate 100 years of animated films. While it's set in the live-action Disney animation studios, it quickly transitions to beloved cartoon figures, from Mickey Mouse to Elsa from "Frozen," appearing in portraits and hallways to get ready for a group photo. While the short pays tribute to the past, a couple of moments could have viewers concerned about the future.

AI is a hot-button issue in Hollywood at the moment, and even though "Once Upon a Studio" gets roughly 40 original voice actors to reprise their parts, there are many parts voiced by people who are sadly no longer with us. The one that may immediately stand out to viewers is the Genie from "Aladdin," who appears briefly with a quick one-liner. He was famously voiced by Robin Williams, who passed away in 2014, and during a Q&A attended by Looper, the creatives behind the movie confirmed that absolutely zero AI was used to replicate voices.

When asked point-blank about the issue, they responded, "There was no AI on the making of this short." The answer was met with thunderous applause from the audience, and the "Once Upon a Studio" team continued that for characters voiced by people who have died, they either used soundalikes (people who could imitate the original voices) or archival recordings. Robin Williams' Genie fell into the latter category.

It's natural for audiences to be worried about AI replacing the jobs of people they admire. After all, Disney has done this sort of thing before. Darth Vader's voice on "Obi-Wan Kenobi" was entirely AI-generated; however, there's something far more insidious about using AI to replace an actor who's already deceased. Fortunately, fans have known for some time now that Robin Williams' Genie would be given the reverence he deserves. 

Genie shares his scene with Olaf from "Frozen," voiced by Josh Gad. When news of the two characters sharing screentime came to light earlier in 2023, Gad quickly took to Instagram to clear up any confusion, "Me getting to act alongside my idol posthumously, using previously unheard dialogue, would NEVER EVER happen without the consent of his estate. My love for Robin Williams is literally unmatched and I would never do anything unless I was guaranteed that it was with all of the proper sign-off and support."

Williams famously recorded roughly 30 hours of dialogue for Genie, both lines from the script and lines he improvised. So, it's safe to say there was plenty to utilize from the archives. As for other characters, some of the dialogue was entirely original and brought to life via new voice actors who sounded like previous ones. The team behind "Once Upon a Studio" revealed a noteworthy example of this was Alan Tudyk taking on the part of the Mad Hatter, initially voiced by Ed Wynn who passed away in 1966. With such misconceptions out of the way, people can watch "Once Upon a Studio" knowing genuine heart and warmth went into it.