LAUREN BACALL - DISNEY BOSSES WORRIED ABOUT BACALL'S REACTION TO CARTOON WITCH

Disney bosses were terrified of showing movie great LAUREN BACALL her animated witch character in new movie HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, because they feared the actress would take exception at the disgusting crone.

The actress agreed to provide the grunting, wheezing WITCH OF THE WASTE with an English language voice in the Japanese movie, but movie executives fear she'll scrap the project if she realised just how terrible her character was.

RICK DEMPSEY, the animation director for Disney, says, "We thought Lauren Bacall would be absolutely perfect for this witch and she was on her book tour, but we were really concerned how she would respond when the witch starts to transform into the blob with all this fat dripping.

"We were advised not to show her that part, but she just howled, and she loved it."

Bacall isn't the only movie veteran to feature in the new film - JEAN SIMMONS and GWYNETH PALTROW"s mum BLYTHE DANNER also voice characters.

SPARTACUS star Simmons, 76, admits voicing GRANDMA SOPHIE for the film was tougher than she thought it would be.

She says, "I got a very bad back from it because I slumped over to get the breath right - so it would not be so easy for me to talk."