The Talent Behind Ling


Eh, well, I'm not very good at it, but here are the ones who are. The amazing people who brought me to life in Mulan! I owe them everything, literally, since I wouldn't be here at all without them! If some other group of people had worked on me, I wouldn't be the lady killer I am now. Who knows, I might have ended up being stocky, ugly,... kind of like Yao! :::Ling grins evilly::: Seriously, for once I'm going to give the spotlight to the people who really deserve it, Gedde Watanabe, Broose Johnson, Tom Fish, and Matthew Wilder.



Gedde Watanabe

The Speaking Voice of Ling




Gedde Wanatabe is the wonderful actor who gives Ling his comical voice that we all love so much in Mulan. Gedde's career started in 1984 when he played the small part of Long Duk Dong in "Sixteen Candles". Though many Asians were horrified that a self- respecting Asian actor would take such a roll as this one, it got his career rolling, in fact it is one of the roles that people still regonize him from most frequently. "I mean, I've done a lot of other work, but that one... even though it was a small part, I guess I made quite an impression." Says Gedde.

After "Sixteen Candles", Gedde appeared in "Volunteers" with Tom Hanks and Ron Howard's film, "Gung Ho", his first lead roll. One of his co-stars in Gung-Ho was none other than Jerry Tondo, the voice of Chien-Po. After having the lead in a short lived "Gung Ho" TV series, Gedde decided it was time to "return to his roots." "I was quickly becoming typecast. I had to back away for awhile and reassess." He says.

Gedde has also had an extensive theater career which has spanned more than 20 years. His first role was in Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical, "Pacific Overtures" in which he sung the Irish Ballad, "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?". Gedde says that the theater has always been good to him and that he doesn't feel so stifled there. It opened his mind to do other things along with acting, like writing, which he has done for the better part of the last 10 years. A trilogy, about his grandfather's pilgrimage from Japan to America via Argentina and Chile. The second installment, "A Prairie Tale", he is planning to make into a film which he will also direct.

The last big film Gedde appeared in was Tom Hanks film, "That Thing You Do!" as the Play-Tone Photographer. You have to watch carefully, or you'll miss him!



Here are a few high quality sound clips of Gedde in "Pacific Overtures"! If you haven't heard any clips from this show before, don't miss these, they're wonderful!

Clip One

Clip Two

Clip Three

Clip Four

It does bring up the question though, if Gedde can sing, why didn't he do Ling's singing voice? It sounds just like Ling singing in a few of those clips! I suppose we'll probably never know!
For a complete listing of the films Gedde has done, check out Gedde Watanabe at The Internet Movie Database!

Thank you to Therese for telling us about the wonderful article about Gedde at FilmZone.com from where most of the information for the above bio was obtained.


Matthew Wilder

The Singing Voice of Ling


Matthew Wilder gives Ling his hilarious squeaky singing voice in Mulan. Besides kidding around with Harvey Fierstien and Jerry Tondo while recording "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" and "A Girl Worth Fighting For', Matthew Wilder also wrote the music for all the songs in "Mulan".

Matthew wrote and performed the popular 1982 hit "Break My Stride" (from the album I Don't Speak the Language) and wrote the song "Wild Women Do" (performed by Natalie Cole) for the Pretty Woman soundtrack. His songs have been recorded by Jimmy Cliff, Sheena Easton, Patti LaBelle, Aaron Neville, and Wild Orchid. He has also been the producer for a number of albums, including No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom. He is now working on a musical adaptation of Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven, due to open 1998 in London.


Coming soon, pictures from the recording of "A Girl Worth Fighting For"!


Broose Johnson

Ling's Supervising Animator


Broose Johnson came to Disney as a clean-up artist on "Oliver and Company" and "The Little Mermaid." He became an animating assistant on "The Rescuers Down Under," then an animator on "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and "Pocahontas." Animating Ling and Chien-Po in "Mulan" mark the beginning of Broose's work as a supervising animator.


Other characters Broose Johnson has worked on:

The Beast ~ Beauty and the Beast
The Genie ~ Aladdin
Percy ~ Pocahontas
Young Simba ~ The Lion King


Tom Fish

Ling's Lead Clean-Up Animator


Tom Fish did double duty on "Mulan" just like Broose Johnson. He was the clean-up animator for both Ling and Chien-Po."



Return to Ling's Tent

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page

1