Where's (Janet) Waldo?

 

As Jetsons June continues, it's time we talk about possibly the most infamous entry in the entire franchise, 1990's Jetsons: The Movie. This was a movie plagued by production issues and controversy, from development troubles to the passing of several voice actors. However, the one we'll be discussing is easily the most well-known element of the film today, and that is the recasting of Judy Jetson with pop singer Tiffany.

I'm sure many of you know the story, but I'll recap it in case you haven't. At some point during the film's development, a choice was made to have Judy sing a few musical numbers, which would be provided by Tiffany, still at the height of her career. At some point after that, however, the choice was made to have Tiffany take over the role of Judy throughout the entire movie, replacing Janet Waldo who had already finished recording her lines by this point. Why was the decision made? The same reason any decision like this is made: money. Universal (who also owned Tiffany's label, MCA) believed Tiffany's name would draw in a crowd that otherwise would not see the film. Just like that, Waldo was out, and Tiffany was in.

News of the recasting was poorly received, both by fans and by various crew members on the film. Andrea Romano, who served as a voice director on the film, hated the change and asked for her name to be removed from the credits (Despite this, it should be noted that she is indeed credited for this film). She also received plenty of hate mail for the change. 

With all the backstory now out of the way, I'm here today to share two different articles focusing on the casting change. The first one is from May 30th, 1989, and appeared in the Syracuse Herald Journal. It's a pretty small excerpt, but it's one of the earliest pieces I could find discussing the recast.

Judy, Judy, Judy

    We hear that Janet Waldo has been bumped from the movie version of the Jetsons, "Jetsons: The Movie!"

    Waldo is of course the woman who has supplied the warm familiar, though somewhat nasal voice of Judy Jetson. Rick Miramontez, a disinterested observer (except that he is Waldo's publicist) points out that MCA-owned Universal Pictures has tapped MCA Records star Tiffany for Waldo's role in a "seeming attempt to exploit (Tiffany's) career." Tiffany, by the way, is also contributing several songs to the "Jetsons" soundtrack.

    Miramontez is hoping Jetsons fans will flood MCA with angry letters and force the entertainment giant to reinstate his client.

This next piece came out on July 13th, 1990, a week after the film's release, and was featured in the Twin Falls Times News. Here, we hear both Janet Waldo's and Bill Hanna's thoughts on the change.

Voice of Judy Jetson dumped in favor of name recognition

    HOLLYWOOD —  One person who won't be buying a ticket to "Jetsons: The Movie": actress Janet Waldo.

    Waldo voiced the character of Judy Jetson for the animated series, which ran on all three networks between 1962 and 1983 and is now in syndication. She had reprised the role for the just-out Universal feature film —  and then got dumped for youthful pop singer Tiffany.

    All because Hanna-Barbera Production figures Tiffany — who performs songs on the soundtrack, and is under contract to MCA Records - will sell more tickets.

    "I was totally crushed," Waldo says. "I originated the character, and I feel very sentimental about Judy."

    "I can understand how Janet feels," Bill Hanna says. "It was purely a business decision..."

So what happened after the film was released? After everything was said and done, the Jetsons film earned $20 million on a budget of $8 million. Sounds like it was a success, but once you throw in the numbers added due to marketing and other such factors, it was seen as a failure. While it is up for debate the degree to which the controversy hurt the film's performance, it seems obvious that Tiffany's name didn't draw the audience in the way Universal was expecting. Reviews were also harsh. Today, the movie sits at 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a lot of criticism being aimed at Tiffany's performance. Unsurprisingly, Tiffany never did any other voicework after this film.

As for Waldo, she soon patched things up with Hanna-Barbera, and continued to appear in their productions throughout the rest of the 90s. She would also reprise the role of Judy Jetson several times before passing away in 2016. According to animation writer and historian Mark Evanier, Joe Barbera himself even apologized to Waldo during a retirement party for fellow voice actor Don Messick back in 1997. I've also heard her state in a few interviews that Barbera apologized several more times after the film's release.

Over thirty years since the film's release, this controversy remains the most discussed element of the movie. Since then, we've seen many other films replace established voice actors in favor of more famous celebrities, from Scoob to Space Jam 2. Many fans have also expressed interest in seeing an edition of the film with Waldo's lines restored, but it's unknown if such a version exists (although several of her lines do remain in the film). I'll share this excerpt from a post on Evanier's blog, which sums up the situation better than I could.

"To answer a question that several folks have asked in e-mails: I do not know if Janet Waldo's voice tracks as Judy for The Jetsons: The Movie still exist or if anyone knows where they are. There's an awful lot of stuff in Hanna-Barbera history which was lost for years and years before someone stumbled across it in some warehouse...and there's plenty that remains unfound. I also don't know if Tiffany's contract creates legal problems with putting Janet's voice back where it belonged or if anyone would think to check to see if it did."