Broadcast last night on TF1, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, sixth opus of the famous magical saga, introduces us to a new potions professor played by Jim Broadbent. But did you recognize his French voice?
Tradition dictates that for each year of study that Harry Potter spends at Hogwarts, he systematically deals with a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
After the timid Quirell (who actually served as a cover for Voldemort), the hunky Gilderoy Lockhart (whose blond hair was most suspect), the mysterious Lupin, the intransigent Moody and the horrible Dolores Umbridge, it is the professor Snape who now occupies the position in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, sixth opus of the saga broadcast last night on TF1.
Having left vacant the position of potions master that he held for the previous five years, Severus Snape is therefore replaced in this task by a new character: the enigmatic and truculent Horace Slughorn, played by the distinguished actor Jim Broadbent, whom you could notably see in The Diary of Bridget Jones or Moulin Rouge.
If you (re)discovered the film last night on television (and therefore in French version), it is very likely that the voice of this newcomer rang melodiously in your ears, and deliciously made your eardrums vibrate with a delectable nostalgic echo.
Because in fact, the French actor who lent his famous voice to Jim Broadbent in the French version of the film is not just anyone! As all fans of dubbing will have already guessed, it is even a true legend in the field: the incomparable and late Roger Carel.
AlloCiné
A sacred dubbing monster who left us in 2020 at the age of 93, this voice genius (who only lent his to Jim Broadbent on this one occasion) has indeed enchanted several generations of spectators.
Doubling many prestigious actors such as Peter Sellers (in The Pink Panther or Doctor Strangelove), Peter Ustinov (in Spartacus or Death on the Nile), Jack Lemmon (in La Garçonnière) or even Anthony Daniels, alias C-3PO, in all the episodes of the Star Wars saga, Roger Carel especially shone in animation.
Voice creator of the mythical Asterix from the first cinema adaptations of the famous Gallic adventures, he has in turn given voice to numerous characters from Disney studios such as…
Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, Mickey Mouse in Fantasia, Timothée in Dumbo, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Jock in Lady and the Tramp, Pongo in 101 Dalmatians, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort in The Aristocats, Bernard in The Adventures of Bernard and Bianca or even Basil in Basil, Private Detective.
Not to mention half of the inhabitants of the Forest of Blue Dreams (i.e. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Coco Rabbit).
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Beyond this Disney list (non-exhaustive!), remember that Roger Carel also lent his voice to Kermit in The Muppets, to the hilarious alien ALF, to Woody Woodpecker, to Wally Gator, to Pétrie in The Little Dinosaur, to Anatole in The Swan and the Princess, and of course to the venerable Maestro in the famous series Once Upon a Time… Life.
In short, an absolutely dizzying career for an actor whose voice inevitably rocked a more or less significant part of your childhood.
What is your favorite Roger Carel dubbing?
(Re)discover our Top 5 of his voices…