!
the
Art
of
"
IT
from Mickey
Mouse
to
the
Magic Kingdoms
n
CHRISTOPHER
FINCH
Walt Disney's rise to
fame
isa classicAmeri-can successstory.
A
poor boy fromtheMid-west, he
made
hisway
to the top withacom-bination of hard work, practical
know-how,
enterprise, and ingenuity.
What
makes
thissuccess storydifferent from all the rest isthe
factthat his unique imagination touchedoff a
shock of recognition in the
minds
of millions of people all over the world.The
charactersDisney brought to the
screen— Mickey
and MinnieMouse, Donald
Duck, Pluto, Goofy,the Seven Dwarfs. Jiminy Cricket,
Dumbo,
and the
others—
have a universal appeal.Movies
as diverse in idiom as Fantasia andMary
Poppinsillustratetherangeofhisinven-tions, and he has also left us,
beyond
his filmsuccesses, two extraordinary entertainment
complexes—
Disneylandand
Walt
Disney World.Atthebeginningofhiscareer,Disney tooka
humble
branch of the motion picturemdus-try—
the animated cartoon—
and, within ado/en years, transformed it into a
new
artform capable of sustaining
complex
andsub-tleideas.
The
first cartoon with synchronized sound,thefirst in fullcolor,andthe firstani-mated
feature were all produced byWalt
Disney. Hisgeniusandsureintuitioncreated a
framework
that supportedthetalentsofmany
gifted individuals,
many
ofwhom
aredis-cussedin these pages.
Above
all,however,thisisa record ofone man'simagination.
This account of Disney's career benefits
from free accessto the
Walt
Disney archives.The
author conducted dozens of interviews with past and present Disney employees andselected a great
number
of previouslyunpub-lished drawings, paintings, and photographs
for inclusion in this book.
The
basic tech-niques ofanimation are explained, andvari-ous examples of story sketches, layouts,
ani-mation drawings, and
background
paint-ings—all theelements thatgointothe
making
of an animated
film—
are illustrated.Many
film stills anddocumentary
photographs en-rich thestory, andwe
learnhow
film-makingskills were adapted to aid in the design of the parks, bringing to life unexpected
combina-tions of nostalgiaandelectronics.
ChristopherFinch, the author,
was
formerlyon the curatorial staff of the
Walker
ArtCenterin Minneapolis. Hispreviousbooks
in-clude studies of
Pop
Art andcontemporary
English painting.
251 illustrations,including170 platesin fullcolor
For Sarah
and
Justin,
for
Jenny and
Emily,
and
for Felix
and Georgia
NaiY.Chang,Vice-President,DesignandProduction
InnsI Hochmann,Executive Editor
MargaretL.Kaplan. ManagingEditor
BarbaraLyons,Director,Photo DepartmentRightsand Reproduct MichaelSonino, Abridgment
Librur\of CongressCataloginginPublicationData
Finch.Christopher
TheartofWaltDisnc\
Bibliography: p
I.Disney.Walt.1901 1966. 2.Disney(Walt)
Productions. 1.Title.
NC1766.U52D533 1975 79l\092'474-8435
Library ofCongressCatalogueCard Number:74-8435
Copyright©1988 by Walt DisneyCompany
Allrighlsreserved.Nopartofthecontents ofthis
bookmaybe reproduced without the written permission
ofWALTDISNEYCOMPANYBurbank. California
This1988 edition published by
Portland House,adivision of dilithiumPress,Ltd.,
distributed byCrownPublisher.Inc.
225ParkAvenueSouth
NewYork.NY10003
Byarrangement withHarryN.Abrams,Inc.
ProducedbyTwin Books 15SherwoodPlace
Greenwich.CT06830
Printed andboundinthe UnitedStatesofAmerica
ISBN0-517-66474-7
Contents
Introduction 11
PART
IA
NEW
ART
FORM
1 Early Enterprises 19
2
Mickey
Mouse
and
SillySymphonies
27 3 SixCartoon
Classics43
4
Hyperion
Days
•54
PART
IIFEATURE
ANIMATION
5
Snow
White:The
First Feature69
6 Pinocchio 79
7 Fantasia:
The
GreatExperiment
928
Dumbo
and
Bambi
1039 Interruptions
and
Innovations 10910 Later
Animation
•118
PART
IIILIVE
ACTION
FILMS
11 Actors
and
Animals
12712
Davy
Crockett.Other
Heroes,and
Mary
Poppins 135PART
IV
THE MAGIC KINGDOMS
Introduction
By
the time hewas
thirtyyears old,Walt
Disneyhad
become
a publicfigure.As
thecreator ofMickey Mouse,
hisremarks—
bothcasual
and
considered—were translated into dozens of languagesand
his likeness could be foundon
the pages of countlessnewspapers
and
magazines.A
trimmustache
and
a ready smilegave
him
aClark Gable-ishcharm which was
shared bymany
otheryoung Americans
oftheperiod(aswas
his taste forsporty jacketsand
boldly patterned sweaters).What
distinguishedhim
fromtherest,
and
made
his facememorable, was
a sense ofdeterminationand
purpose whichwas
apparent evenin hismost
relaxed poses. Inlateryearshe entered ourliving
rooms and
addressedusfromthe televisionscreen.By
thattime hisfaceand
framehad broadened
and
hehad
begun
to favor conservatively cut suitsand
soberneckties.
The
mustache
and
thesmile remained, however, asdid the evidentpurposeand
determination.By
definition,public figures areknown
toeveryone;yet,evenaftertalking with
some
of Disney'sclosestassociates, itisimpos-sible toescapetheconclusionthatnobodyreally
knew
him.Always
there
was
some
aspectofhispersonalitythatwas
justoutofreach.He
was
aman
who
believed absolutely in hisown
instinctsand
abilities, an artist
who
would
go toany
lengths to ensure that a projectwas
carried out exactly as hehad
conceived it.He
surrounded himselfwith talentsof everykind,butatalltimeshe
was
in complete control.The
master planwas
inWalt
Disney'shead
and remained unknowable
until,pieceby
piece,itwas
givenconcreteform
and
graftedontothemythology
ofourcentury.AttheoutsetofhiscareerDisney
was
oftenunderestimated byhis rivals.
They
were aware
ofthe caliber ofthe talents hehad
surrounded himselfwith
and
assumed
thatifthesetalentscouldbelured away, the Disney Studio
would
collapse. It soonbecame
apparent that the
one
man
who made
Walt
Disney Productions uniquelysuccessfulwas
not available atany
price.In lateryears Disneyhas
been
underestimated inotherways.Since the valuesexpressedinhismoviesare essentially thesimple
valuesofthecartoon
and
the fairy story,many
people havebeen
tempted intopresenting simplistic picturesof Disneythe
man, and
of
what
he stoodfor.Some
have chosentoportrayhim
asanaive genius, while others— dazzled bythe success ofhis variedprises— prefer to see
him
as just another business tycoon. Theseversions of Disney bear little relationship to any aseertainable
truth.
Everyone
who
worked
closely withhim
admitsthatmoney
was
importanttoDisney onlyinsofar asitenabledhim
toproducebettermovies,
improve
hisparks,or(in lateryears)planthecityofthe future.
He
was
a perfectionistand
perfection did notcome
cheapin these fields.
The
notionthatDisneywas
a naivegeniusisequallymislead-ing.In hismovies,rightisright
and
wrong
iswrong,but—
givenhisbackground
and
the audience heknew
himself to be in touchwith—
thisshould not surpriseanyone
and. although heremained
faithful to uncomplicated values, he
was
by nomeans
a simpleman. There was
much
more
to hissuccess than a blind faith in intuition.He knew
thatforintuitiontomean
anythingithad
tobe implemented,and
that thisdemanded
acombination ofstringent analysisand
sheerhard work,backed
up
bythe practicaltalentsofthe artists with
whom
he surrounded himself.Improving
theproduct
seems
to have occupied hismind
nightand
day. Afterhours
and on
weekends
hewould
prowlthe studio—familiarizinghimselfwith the
development
of everyproject.He
subjected eachdecision to intensive discussion,
drawing
upon
every availablesourceofexpertise,
and
thereisample
evidence tosuggestthathesometimes
mulled overideasforyearsbeforetheywere permittedtoreachthisstage.
Having
receivedrelativelylittleformalschooling.Disneywent
togreatlengthstoeducate himself
and
his artists (attimes,the old studioon Hyperion
Avenue
must
haveseemed more
like the artdepartment of
some
progressive university than a productivecomponent
ofthemotion
picture industry). Disneystarted inthefield of
animated
filmsdeterminedtobe betterthananyone
else.Achieving thisrather quickly, he
embarked on
alifelongquestto "plus*" hisown
accomplishments ("plus." used as a verb, is afavorite
word
with oldhands
atthe Studio).Throughout
thethirtiesand
into the forties,amazing
progresswas
made
in thedevelop-ment
oftheanimated
film.The
Disney Studio gavetothe worldpainted characters
who
notonlymoved
butseemed
to think forthemselves.
By
the time of Pinocchioand
Fantasia. Disneyhad
broughttoaspectacularmaturityanart formthat
had
been in itsinfancyjustadozenyearsearlier.
Disney himself
was
not a great draftsman,and
he never pretended to beone.He
was
alwaysthe first toadmit that, afterabout 1926, he did not contribute asingle
drawing
to any ofhiscartoons. His great abilities lay in the area of ideas— conceiving them, developing them,
and
seeingthem
through toa successful conclusion. Ideaswere
commodities
that hewas
nevershortof(ifheever
had
aproblem
with ideasitwas
thathesometimes had
toomany
togivethem
all theattentionthatthey deserved).A
superbstoryeditor,Disney
worked
with hisartists,phrasingand
rephras-ing the structure ofamovie
until everyminute
action, each lastnuance
ofcharactercontributed to thedevelopment
ofthe plot.This
was
askillthathe acquired whilemaking
theshortcartoonsoftheearly
and
middlethirties,cartoonswhich—
sincethey ranfromjust six toeightminutes
each—
demanded
the greatesteconomy
ofaction.
When
he turned tomaking
feature films, thesame
principleswereapplied, sothatnothingthat
was
not essentialtothetelling of the story ever found its
way
onto the screen. Itwas
Disney's intenseinvolvementwith plot
development and
character,alongwithhis
uncanny
grasp oftechnicalpossibilities,thatgavehisbest movies the tightness ofstructure that has enabled
them
tosurvive so wellinourcollective
memory.
He
was
not,ofcourse, infallible.He
did produce mediocrefilms
and
evenafewthatwere
outrightfailures(usually theworstfailures
were
the ones thatdid not sustain his personal interest).The
pointisthatDisney,likeany
otherartist,deservestobejudged
byhisbest
work and
hewas,athis best,one
ofthemost
vigorousand
innovativefilm-makersinthe entire historyofthecinema.Animated
moviesare difficult to illustrate adequately.They
depend on
movement
to achieve their effect,and
a singleimage
taken from a cartoon will often
seem
staticand
lifeless.Fortu-nately, thefinalsetupthatisshotbythe
camera
isnot theonlyartwork
involvedinthemaking
ofananimated
film. Itis,infact,thelast link in an elaborate chain that includes character studies,
model
sheets,storycontinuity sketches, layouts,background
paint-ings, animation drawings, color models,
and
the like.The
work
producedatvariousofthese stages isoftenverylively.
The
artistswho
areconcernedwith storyand
layout,forexample,havetosell theirideasto theirdirectorand
theproducer(inmost
instancestheywould
bedealing withWalt
Disneyhimself)and
attempttoget intotheirdrawings the "feel"of
what
will appearon
screen. Thus, ifMickey
should receive a shock that causeshim
to fall from his chair, the storyartistmust
suggestboththeshockand
the fallina singledrawing(much
asabook
illustratorwould
do).The
layoutartistwilltake the
same
scene,provide adetailed contextfor the event,and
diagrammaticallymap
out the entire action. Eitheroftheserepresentations does, in
most
cases,givemore
ofasenseofwhat
iseventuallyseenon
screenthandoesasingleframefrom
themovie. Happily,
many
ofthesedrawingshavebeen
preservedand
we
areable tousethem
here.Not
onlydo
they effectivelyconveythe "feel" of
what
eventually appearedon
screen; they are often very beautiful in theirown
right.Some
appeal because oftheirspontaneity,othersbecause oftheirattentionto detail;and,
beyond
that,theytellus
much
abouttheway
inwhich
ananimatedfilmisconceived
and
executed.Each
ofthese drawings containssome
cluesto the secretofDisney's success, since every
one
ofthem was
touched by hisinfluence.
Each drawing
reflects his taste, fortheartistwas
always aware that itwas
subject to his scrutiny (whichwas
farfrom
uncritical).Literally
hundreds
ofartistsfigurein this story,butallof
them
functioned within the governing structure elaboratedbyDisney'simagination. Inlateryearshe
may
perhapshaveexercisedless control over
some
aspects of the operation—his interestsbecame
so diversifiedthat thiswas
unavoidable.Intheproductionson
whichhisreputationrests,however,Walt
Disney'sinvolvementwas
complete.i m
_
*
1
Early Enterprises
WalterEliasDisney
was
borninto amodest Chicago
householdon
December
5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney,was Canadian
bornand
ofAnglo-Irish descent. Eliaswas
abuildingcontractor,and
we
may
judgethe successofthatoperationby
thefactthatWalt
laterdescribed
how
hismother sometimes went
outtothebuildingsitewith the
men,
sawingand
hammering
planks.At
thetime ofWalt'sbirth, there were already three children in the family-Herbert,
Raymond,
and
Roy.Walt was
to develop an especially close relationshipwithRoy,who
was
nearesttohim
inage, a relationshipthat
was
to be of great importance to both of them. Later adaughter-Ruth-was added
tothe family."in 1906, EliasDisney decided topull
up
hisrootsonce againand
moved
hisfamilytoa forty-eight-acrefarm
outsideMarceline, Missouri.Smallfarms,thenas now,did not offeraneasy routetoprosperity.Herbert
and
Raymond,
both in their teens,had
devel-oped
ataste for citylifeand
soon returnedtoChicago.Walt and
Roy
were, ofcourse,expected tohelptheir parentswiththefarmchores. It
was
an extremely hard life, butone which Walt
laterremembered
withconsiderableaffection.It
was on
thefarmthathebegan
todraw.We
may
besurethatthis
was
notencouragedby
his parents, buthedidmake
the firsttentative steps toward his eventual career.
Meanwhile,
the farm operationwas
in trouble. In 1910, Elias sold the farmwith allitslivestock
and
moved
the family once again-this time toKansas
City,ninety-five miles southwest.
There
Eliasbought
anewspaper
delivery business. Naturally,
Walt and
Roy
were
co-opted intocontributingtheirservices
and
found themselvesgettingup
at3:30inthe
morning
tomeet
the trucksoftheKansas
CityStar. Despitethis hard work, Walt's interest in
drawing
persisted, as did agrowing taste for theatrical expression. In a rare gesture of
indulgence, Elias Disney allowed
Walt
to enroll for Saturdaymorning
classesattheKansas
CityArtInstitute(the elderDisneyjustified this
on
thegroundsthatthe classeswould
be"education-al").Thus, at the age of fourteen,
Walt
acquired asmattering of formalart training.In 1917, Elias decided
upon
anothermove.
This time he returned to Chicago,where
he purchased a part share ina smallfactory.
Walt remained
inKansas
Cityto finishouthisschoolyearWaltDisney's birthplaceat 1249TrippAvenue.
Chicago,builtbyhis father.EliasDisney
(Roy was
still there,working
as abank
teller): thenhe spent thesummer
as anews
butcheron
theSantaFe
Railroad(news butchershawked
newspapers, fruit, candy,and
soft drinks), ajob which enabledhim
tosee alittlemore
ofthe country while feedinghisenthusiasm for trains—an enthusiasm
which would
providehim
with an important outlet later in life. In the fall, he joined the familyin
Chicago
and
enrolledatMcKinley High
School.Here
hecontributeddrawingstotheschoolpaper
and
managed
togetsome
further artinstruction from a
newspaper
cartoonistnamed
LeroyGossett.
World
War
Iwas
in progressand on June
22, 1917.Roy
DisneyenlistedintheNavy.
Walt had dreams
ofenlistingtoo,but hewas under
age.He
discoveredthatone had
tobe only seventeento
become
aRed
Crossambulance
driverand, thoughstillsixteen,managed
tojoinup
(hismother,probablyrelieved thathewould
bedrivingan
ambulance
ratherthanhandlingarifle,allowedhim
to falsifyhis birthdateon
the application).He
was
senttoastaging postatSound
Beach, Connecticut, but the Armisticewas
signed before he gotany
further.There was
still, however, a need fordrivers in
Europe and
he eventually found himself in France,assigned to a military canteen in Neufchateau,
where
he soonestablished himselfas the unit's unofficial artist, earning a few
extra francs with such enterprises as painting fake
medals
ontoleather jackets
and
camouflaging capturedGerman
helmetssothattheycould be passedoffassnipers'helmets.
Disney returnedtotheUnitedStatesin 1919. Hisfather
had
ajobwaitingforhim. but
Walt
was
determinedtomake
acareerincommercial
art.He
headed
forKansas
Cityand
foundwork
at a localstudiowhere
hemade
friendswithanother employee.Ubbe
"Ub"
Iwerks, ayoung
man
ofDutch
descentwho
was
tobecome
the
most
important associate of his early career. Iwerkswas
a talented draftsman,and
it soon occurred tothem
to get into businessforthemselves.They
acquireddesk spaceattheofficesofa publication called Restaurant
News
and
immediately achievedsome modest
success.But then Disneysaw
anewspaper
advertise-ment
for a job with an organization calledKansas
City SlideCompany
(soonchanged
toKansas
CityFilm
Ad).Thiscompany
made
what
we
would
now
call commercials for display in localmovie
theaters.They
were, in fact, producing crudeanimated
films. This
new
medium
and
the salary offered—forty dollars aweek—
appealedtoDisney.He
appliedforthejoband
gotit.Iwerkstookoverthe business they
had
started,butwithin afewmonths
he, too,joinedKansas
CityFilm Ad.The
animationproduced
atKansas
City FilmAd
consistedmainly ofstop-action
photography
ofjointedcardboard figures-a technique that precludedany
serious effort toward naturalism.Nonetheless,it provided Disney,stilljusteighteen yearsold,
and
Iwerks with the basic training they needed. Before long. Disney 20
EliasandFloraDisnevin1913
Walt Disneyatninemonths
WaltDisneyattheage of twelve
borrowed
acamera and
triedsome
animationon
his own.The
result
was
alittle reeloftopicalgags—
reminiscent incharacterofnewspaper
cartoons—which hemanaged
to sell to theNewman
Theater, a local
movie
house.A
number
ofshort"commercials" and illustratedjokes—
known
collectively as theNewman
Laugh-o-Grams—
were
made
forthetheater.They
dealt withsuchtopicsasshorter skirts
and
police corruption. Technically theywere
verycompetent
by the standards ofthe day, and, encouraged bythis initial success, Disneymanaged
to raiseenough
capital to leaveKansas
City FilmAd
and
setup on
hisown,
retainingLaugh-o-Grams
as thecompany's
name.
Itmight beassumed
thatayoung
man
justemerging from
histeenswould
havebeen
contentto stickwith familiar material, at least for a while, but Disney
was
ambitious
and
immediately startedwork on
a series ofupdatedfairy tales.Sixofthese
were
made:
Cinderella,The
Four
Musicians of Bremen, GoldieLocks
and
the Three Bears,Jack
and
the Beanstalk,LittleRed
RidingHood,and
PussinBoots.The
Disneyarchiveshave printsof
The Four
Musicians ofBremen and
PussinBoots,
and
they provide clear evidence that Disneywas
notoverestimating his ability
when
he entered production at thistenderage.PussinBoots,forexample,israther wellanimated,
and
the storydisplays a nicesenseof
humor
(thefairy-taleatmosphereis updated so that, for instance, the
King
ridesaround
in achauffeur-drivenconvertible).
Inthecourse of producingthese short cartoons,Disney
began
to build
up
an able staffwhich
soon included, besides Iwerks,RudolfIsing,
Hugh
and WalkerHarman.
Carmen "Max"
Maxwell,and
Red
Lyon. Unfortunately,theLaugh-o-Grams
werenotselling(onesale
was
made
butthepurchaserwent
bankruptaftermaking
a$100deposit),
and
theDisney productionteam
was
always lookingforalternatesourcesof income.
They
worked on
alive-actionshort calledMartha
and,sponsored byalocal dentist,evenmade
afilmon
dentalhygiene whichcombined
liveactionand
animationtogetitsdidactic
message
across.Max
Fleischerhad been
usingthissame
combination in his
Out
ofthe Inkwell series,and
ithad
theadvantagethatthe live-action sectionsofthemovies
were
relativelyinexpensive toproduce.
At
some
timein 1923, Disney decided to try to save hisLaugh-o-Grams
venture bymaking
just such amovie, in which a
human
heroine could cavort with cartooncharacters. Rather than simply imitating Fleischer's technique,
Disneyhit
on
theideaofreversing the basic principle sothattheliveaction
would
be introducedinto thecartoon.The
effect of blending the real Alice with the cartooncharacters
was
achievedby
photographing a little girlnamed
VirginiaDavisagainst awhite
background
and
thencombining
this film, in the printing process, with another stripon which
theanimation
was
shot.The
techniqueworked
well, but Alice'sPosterforan AliceComedywith the original Alice.VirginiaDavis
Wonderland
exhausted Disney's remaining creditand
hewas
forcedtoclose the studio.
He
was
not,however,thetypetobe putoffbyasetbackofthiskind,
and
immediatelyplannedtorestart hiscareer. Inthesummer
of1923
Walt
Disney,aged twenty-one, took atrain toCalifornia, carrying Alice'sWonderland
withhim
as asample. His brotherRoy
was
alreadyintheWest, recuperatinginaVeteran'shospitalfrom
aboutwith tuberculosis.
On
arriving in Los Angeles, Disneymoved
inwithhisuncle Robert Disneyat4406 KingswellAvenue. Walt began
tolookforajob and, in hisspare time,usedhisuncle'sgaragetobuild astand
fortheanimation
camera
thathehad
purchased(thiswould
haveA
laterAlice,MargieGay,seen here withanimatedfriendsandwith directorWalt Disneybeen
a conventionalmovie camera
converted to shootstop-ac-tion).
Additionstothestaff
had
tobemade
toaccommodate
thesuccessofsix
new
Alice filmsmade
inHollywood,
and one
new
employee
was
an Idahogirlnamed
LillianBounds.She
oftenworked
nights,and Walt would sometimes
drive herhome
in his car.A
romance
blossomedand,in July, 1925,the pair
were
married.Roy
Disneyhad meanwhile
marriedEdna
Francis, hisKansas
Citysweet-heart.
By
1927,itbecame
evidentthattheyhad
tofind areplacementfor theAlice
Comedies
ifthe Studiowas
toremain
in a healthyeconomic
state.They
were by then approaching their sixtiethepisode intheseries,
and
evidentlycould notkeep
itgoingmuch
longer. Apart
from
anything else, the use of live action placedsevererestrictions
on
them and Walt was
anxioustogetbacktofullanimation.
They began work on
anew
serieswhich
was
tobe basedon
theadventures ofOswald
theLucky
Rabbit.Most
businesscrisesare broughton
by incompetence.The
nearcatastrophe thattheDisneys facedin 1927 resulted fromthevery opposite.
The new
cartoonseriesturned outtobevery successful,making Oswald
theLucky
Rabbitadesirable property.There
was
justone
snag. Disneyhad
signed a one-yearcontract with Charles Mintz,
who
had
married the distributorof DisneyFilms,Margaret Winkler,in 1924(theirdistribution outletnow
tied in withUniversal Pictures).The
advertisingannounced
"Oswald
theLucky
Rabbit, createdby Walt
Disney,"but-and
thisproved to be the fatal flaw in the contract— Oswald's
name
belongedtoMintz
(who
had,apparently,pickeditoutofahat).As
the firstyearof theseries
moved
toasuccessful conclusion,Walt
Disney
and
hiswifeembarked
forNew
York,where
he expectedtoTheseriesof cartoonsDisneybuiltaroundOswaldthe
LuckyRabbitwassuccessfulenoughto attract merchandisingtie-ins.The modelsheetbelowshows
thatOswaldanticipatedsomeofthephysical characteristicsofMickey Mouse.Thepageofstory continuitysketches,ontheright,illustrateshow
cartoonstorieswereworkedoutinthisperiod
<Cfc
€*
&TJ®
ft
renegotiate the contractwith provisions fora
modest
increase of income.He
had
keptinclosecontact withhisdistributorthroughGeorge
Winkler, Margaret'sbrother,who
had
made
severalvisits toCalifornia,and
therewas no
reasontosuspect thatanythingwas
amiss.
When
Disney arrived inNew
York, however, the true reasonsforWinkler'svisitsbecame
painfullyobvious.Instead of offering an
improved
contract, Mintz actuallyproposed
one
whichwould
entail a reduction ofincome
for the Studio. Thiswas
clearly absurd, sinceOswald had been
very profitable.Obviously.Disney couldnotacceptsucha deal,and
thereality of the situation
became
apparent.Mintz
had
decided torepossess Oswald.
The
character'sname
belonged tohim.and
hisbrother-in-law
had
persuadedseveralof Disney'sbestanimatorstotake over production of the
Oswald
series.The
motive was. ofcourse,reductionofcoststothe distributor. Mintz
was
thefirstofmany
peopletounderestimate Disney.He
figured thatifhe couldhire
away
Disney's bestmen,
hewould
begettingthesame
productforareducedoutlay.
Disney
was
shockedand
hurt by this revelation.He
had
trusted Mintz
and
hehad
trusted hisemployees.It isnothard toimaginethekindsof thoughtsthat
must
have run throughhisheadas he
and
Lillian waited out the long, slow train ride back toMargieGavposeswith.
leftto right.
Ham
Hamilton.RovDisnev.HughHarman. WaltDisney.RudyIsing.
Ub
Iwerks,and WalkerHarman
California.
He
was
disgustedbutnot,asthenextfewmonths would
prove,discouraged. His1
team was
depleted butitstillincludedhistwo
most
important associates—his brotherRoy
and
Ub
Iwerks(who
was,bythen, apartnerinthe business).More
importantstill.Walt
Disneyhad
faith inhisown
abilities.He
had
reachedtheage oftwenty-sixaftertouchingmany
ofthebasesof hardshipthathad
come
toseem
archetypal ofAmerica
in the first quarterofthiscentury. His personal creed
must
have included the notion thatThisphotooftheproductionstaffwas
takenin 1932, afterDisneyhadwon
anAcademyAward-hisfirst—for thecreationofMickeyMouse
2
Mickey
Mouse
and
Silly
Symphonies
It
seems
appropriatethatthe birthofMickey
Mouse—
a creatureof mythic stature— should beshrouded
in legend.What we
can be reasonablysureofisthattheMickey
Mouse who
made
hisdebutinNew
York
Cityin1928 resultedfrom
a collaborativeeffortbetween
Disney
and
Ub
Iwerks. Itseems
probable that Iwerks. easily thebest animator of the day,
was
largely responsible for definingMickey'sphysicalcharacteristics.
Mickey
didbeara family resem-blance to Oswald, butIwerks—
eitheron
hisown
initiative oratDisney's suggestion—
made
the figuremore
compact.He
was
constructed
from two
largecircles,one
forthetrunkand one
forthe head, towhich were appended
two smaller circles, representingears,
and
rubber-hosearms and
legswhich
terminated inplump
hands (unglovedat thisearly stage)
and
largefeetwhich
gavehim
stability.
He
was
alsoequipped
witha long, skinnytailand
short pants decorated with buttonsforeand
aft.The
circularhead was
made
expressive by the addition of a mischievous snout, aplum-shaped
nose,and
button eyes.He
was
designed formax-imum
easeof animation(ithad been
discoveredthatcircularformswere
simpler to animate effectively) but,beyond
that, Mickey'sidentity
had
adimensionwhich was
quitenew
incartoons.The
giftofpersonalitywas
probably Disney'sown
contribu-tion toMickey. Iwerks
made
thewhole
thing possiblethroughhis skillasadraftsman,butitwas
Disney'scontroloverthe situations inwhich
theMouse
found himselfthatallowedthispersonalitytodevelop.
Even
at thisearly date,Disneyhad
graspedthenotionthatcartoon characters should
seem
to think for themselves. Insome
ways
hemay
even have viewedMickey
ashis alterego. Certainlyhe always maintainedaspecial affectionfortheMouse,
afactwhichsuggeststhat he
was
intimately involvedin everystageofits cre-ation.The
Disneybrothershad
managed
tosaveenough
money
togoahead
with the firstMickey
Mouse
cartoons even without adistributor,
and work began
almostatonce.Thiswas
carried outinsecret at first, since the
Oswald
contracthad
not yet completelyexpired.
On
October 23, 1927, a bombshellhad
hit the motionpicture industry.
Warner
Brothers releasedThe
Jazz Singerand
thesound era
became
a reality.Lee
DeForesthad
developed apractical
sound
system at least four years earlier, but theInSteamboat Willie, 1928,thefirstcartoon tofeatureafull) synchronizedsound
track.Micke) and Minnietransformt he-cargoofariverboat- includinglivestock intoan orchestra
lywood productionchiefshad foughtsin ofthisnew development.
Now
theyhad
toconfrontit.As
thefirstMouse
cartoonswent
intoproduction,theindustrywas
still in chaos.One
Disney cartoon. Plane Crazy, had been completed,and
another Gallopin^ Gaucho,was on
thedrawing
boardsbefore the decision
was
made—
perhapsthemost importantdecision that Disneyever
made.
He
wanted
Mickey
tohave realimpact,
and
he saw thatthefuturelaywithsound.What
hehadinmind was
acartooninwhich
music,effects,and
actionwould
allbe synchronized.Wedding
sound
toanimated
drawingswas
not. he realized,something that could be
approached
casually.Where
liveactorswere
concerned,itmight beenough
fortheaudiencetohearthem
speak—
thatseemed
likeamiracleafterthedecades ofsilence(the fact thatsound
pictureswere
quickly labeled "talkies" indicatesjust
where
the public'sinterest lay)—butDisney
did nothave theready-made
starstowhom
he couldreturn thegift ofspeech.He
hadto
come
up
withamore
imaginativesolution.LesClark,
who
was
partytothese earlyexperiments,describes thesystem thatwas
devisedas follows:"We
worked
withanexposuresheeton which
everylinewas
a singleframe ofaction.We
couldbreakdown
thesound
effectssothat every eight frames we'd have an accent, or every sixteen frames, or every twelve frames.
[Sound
film runs through the projector at twenty-four frames a second.]And
on that twelfthdrawing,say, we'd accent whatever
was happening—
a hiton
theheador a footstep orwhateverit
would
be. tosynchronize tothesound
effector themusic."By
setting ametronome
tocorrespond with the accents thus establishedinthe action, a roughsound accompaniment
could be improvisedtotheanimation.One
legendaryevening. Disneyand
his co-workers presented a shortsequence from Steamboat
Wil-lie—such
was
thetitleofthenew
cartoon—
toan audience of wivesand
girlfriends.Roy
Disney projected the film from outside awindow
(to eliminatemotor
noise), whilehisbrother, alongwith Iwcrks. Jackson, Clark,and
a fewothers, improvised theirsound
accompaniment,
live, in anotherroom-all
ofthem
workingcarefully to the beat of the
metronome.
Jackson played hisharmonica
(the tunewas
probably"Steamboat
Bill") while the others provided sound effects with cowbells, slide whistles, tinpans,
and
the like. Thisaccompaniment was
transmitted to theaudience by
way
ofacrude loudspeaker system setup
byIwerks.The
wivesand
girlfriends were only mildly impressed, but theperformerswere convinced thatthey
had
now
found theanswer. Disneywent
toNew
York.He
hired CarlEdouwards,
who
hadled thepitorchestra at the
Broadway
Strandand worked
for theRoxy
chain,toprovideaband and
conductthe recordingsession.Thefirstpage oftheSteamboat Willie continuityscript.Disneykeptthis souvenir ofhisfirstmajorbreakthrough in
his office 1 11 ', D.M90a I t fsiloi sat. •HIBlo •nl of th»lltlo •oiMan "flr»t . cono 1. Toot of blue vcoloil . • ';.' -; Iloxithli ; . 1 on hit
On
September
14,Walt
wrote toRoy
and Ub:
"'We are using aseventeen-pieceorchestra
and
threeofthe best trapdrummers
and
effect
men
intown.They
get ten dollarsanhour
for this work.Itwilltake threehoursto
do
it, plus thetime the effectmen
put intoday." Laterinthe
same
letterhesays that therewould
beaboutthirty-five
men
on
the job.butthismay
have includedtechnicians.Atall events, the first recording session
was
a disaster. Disney'steam
had
developedasystem of indicating-probably byflasheson
thescreen—the
tempo
towhichtheorchestrashouldplay.Thus
the film could be projectedand
serve thesame
functionas ametro-nome.
Unfortunatelythissystemwas
alittlecrude,and
Edouwards
did notfeelinclinedtohavehis
tempo
determined by suchacoarsemechanicaldevice.Disney
was
forcedtocable Californiaformore
money
and
to tryagain.Roy
sentoutenough
money
to proceedwith asecondsession.
One
improvement was
thatinsteadofstickingwith thecrudeflashing device that
had been
usedatthefirstsession,Disneyhad
had
the filmreprinted with the additionofabouncing
ballsystem,toindicate the accentsaswellasthe beat,
making
itmuch
easierforEdouwards
to follow.Fewer
musicians were used at the secondA
scenefromTheKarnivalKid. 1929A
scenefrom TheFire Fighters, 1930session,
and
everythingwent
oft"withoutahitch.Steamboat Willienow
had
asound
traekand
Mickey
Mouse
was
ready tor hisdebut.
Findingadistributor
was
not easy,however.StillinNew
York. Disney took hissound
cartoonfrom
screeningroom
to screening room, but the industryremained
in a state ofconfusionand
theresponsehe
met was
discouraging.Eventually,Harry
Reichenbach.then
managing
Manhattan'sColony
Theater,saw
Steamboat Willieand
offeredDisneyatwo-week
run.The
Mickey
Mouse who
hitthemovie
housesinthe latetwentieswas
not quite the well-behaved charactermost
ofus are familiar with today.He
was
mischievous, to say the least,and
even displayeda streak ofcruelty (whichsoon disappeared), but fromthe very beginning he
had
that littlegerm
ofreal personalitywe
have
remarked
on,and
thispreventedhim
fromseeming
tobejustanothercallously cruelcartoon animal.
At times—
when
confronted by Pegleg Pete (the perennial villainwho
co-starred in both Steamboat Willieand
Gallopin'Gauclw).orwhen
forcedtodefend Minnie'shonor—
hewas
even capable of heroic behavior. His heroism, however,was
usually the heroism ofthe littleman;
itresembled the intermittent nobility of Charlie Chaplin's tramp. Chaplin undoubtedly provided Disney with
one
of hismost
important models,
and
we
may
say thatMickey and
hisgang
providedforthe
sound
era thekind of entertainmentthatChaplinand
theMack
Sennettcomedians had
provided for an earliergeneration. Since this was the
sound
era.Mickey had
to have avoice. Several people, mostly
from
the Studio,had
a shot atimmortalityastheMouse'svoice,but Disney
was
notsatisfiedwithany
of them.He knew
just the kind ofsqueaky
falsettoMickey
shouldhave,
and
itsoonbecame
clear thatonlyhe could speakforthe
Mouse
(hecontinuedtofillthisrole fortwentyyears).Minnie was
withMickey
from the very first. In SteamboatWillie, after Pete has chased
Mickey
from the bridge of the riverboat on which he isemployed
as a deck hand.Minnie
isdiscovered
on
shore, about to miss the boat.The
ship is alreadymoving downstream
when
Mickey
manages
to snag Minnie's patchedpantieswithaboathook and
haulheraboard.Later,on
the deck, they cavort with the cargo of livestock, using the variousanimalsas musical instruments
on which
toimprovise"Turkey
intheStraw."
Thissequenceisbyfarthe
most
interestinginthemovie
inthat itcontains the seedsofmuch
thatwas
tocome.
It isalsomarked
byakindof
humor
Disneywas
later toabandon on
grounds oftaste.Mickey, for example, stretches a cat's tail so that it
becomes
a stringedinstrument; thecatgivesvocalexpressiontoitsdispleasureatthismisuse ofitsanatomy.
A
good
dealof musicand
laughterisAnearlyMickeyMousemodelsheet s~^8sff~;
^^9
,^^
whichshowsthebasicsimplicity
ofhisdesign
CH^>~^
g,.
^
—
m-*1
4>
tj^3»1tf
*£*£l
Mickey
Mouse
model n?iT-Js*
^.
vlT'milkedoutofacow'sudder(later,the
Hays
Officewas
to insistthatDisney
cows
be udderless and, indeed, itwas
actively suggestedthat they find
some
suitableform
of apparel).Minnie
cranks a goat'stail,transformingtheunfortunatebeast into ahurdy-gurdy, whileMickey
playsxylophoneriffson
acow'steeth (thexylophonewas
amuch-used
instrument in thesound
tracks ofthese earlyshorts, providing
good
opportunities forvisual puns; almostany
more
or less regular group of solid objects—the rib cage of a skeleton,forexample—
coulddoubleasaxylophone).A
number
ofnew
Mickey
Mouse
cartoons appeared in 1929, sportingtitlessuchasThe
Karniva!Kid,Mickey'sChoo
Choo,and
The
JazzFool(thislastatake-offon
AlJolson).Mickey
acquired, within the space of a few months, gloves, shoes,and
amore
endearingmanner.
There were
otherdevelopments
too.The
sound
tracks
became
increasingly sophisticated,and
inmost
cases theywere
now
recordedbefore theanimatorsbegan
work.That
istosay,once astoryline
was
established, a scorewas
prepared tofit the action; itwas
recordedand
the animatorsworked
totherhythmsand
accentscontained inthesound
track.Thissystem allowedforgreaterflexibility.
To
handlethemusicsideofthebusiness,Disneycalledinanoldacquaintancefrom
Kansas
City,CarlStalling.Stallinghadhadyearsof experience in the theaterpit, providingmusic for silent
In hisearly filmsMickeyoftenappeared
asanentertainer. Thesceneshownhereis
fromBlueRhythm, 1931
' ||
.poloon. 'ilwstatu*
•ahead and ahouldoru.
aonoutof sceneulth tur
ThisstorysketchforTheGroceryBoy showshowthesceneistobelaid out. Differentstagesoftheactionareindicatedina singledrawing
movies—
abackground which
lefthim
wellequipped
for hisnew
career.AlreadytheDisney
team was becoming
extremelyadeptatsynchronizing
sound and
action,and
severaloftheearliestMickey
Mouse
pictures—The
Opry
House, for instance,and
The JazzFool—
tookmusicasthemain
substanceoftheplot.Thisemphasis on musicled inthe
same
year, 1929,toquiteanew
kind ofanimated film-theSillySymphonies. These were
tobenot merely illustrated songs, but films in which music
and
animation
were
combined
toprovideatotallynew
experience.The
name
SillySymphonies was
selectedfortheseries,and work
beganon
thefirstof them. The Skeleton Dance.The
SkeletonDance
opensascats,howlinginacemetery,are disturbed at midnight by four skeletonswho
emerge from
theirgraves.
The
skeletons go throughsome
fairly elaborate dance sequencesand
then, atdawn,
scurry back to their resting places.The whole
thingisset tosuitable sepulchral music, acomposition ofStalling's which utilizedelements from Grieg's"March
oftheDwarfs"
(many
film historianshave erroneouslyreportedthat theofthe
Mickey
Mouse
shorts,theaterowners were
alittlenervous ofthe reception that
would
be accorded thisnew
kind of cartoonentertainment,
and
soThe
SkeletonDance and
itssuccessorswerereleased underthebyline
"Mickey
Mouse
PresentsaWalt
DisneySilly
Symphony."
These first
Symphonies were
received wellenough
for theseries tocontinue. Certainly they
were
originalinconcept,but theynow
seem
rather less interesting than the earlyMouse
shorts.Mickey
gavehis pictures a central corearound
which the actioncoulddevelop.
The Symphonies had no
such core.Each
ofthem
•»
yf->
In1929.Disnevlaunchedanewseriesof cartoonswhich
hecalled SillySymphonies.Thefirstofthesewas The
SkeletonDance
Fromtheveryfirst,the SillySymphoniestouchedawide
varietyofsubjectsand moods. Examplesillustratedhere arefromThe MerryDwarfs,1929,and Winter.1930
Thiscamera—adaptedinthe late I
twentiestoshootanimation—isstill inusetoday
was
constructedaround
a rather generalizedtheme—
The Merrv
Dwarfs, Winter,
and
Springare typical earlytitles—which
had
tobestatedbeforeitcouldbe explored;with thetechniquesavailablein
1929
and
1930. thiswas
quite a challenge. In aMouse
cartoon,however,
you had
only to catchone
glimpse ofMickey
toknow
exactly
what
toexpect,and
thisallowedtheanimatorstotakemuch
more
forgranted.For
thefirstyearortwo
oftheirexistence,theSymphonies had
no
realfocus. Butwe
must emphasize
justhow
significantitisthatDisneyinstituted
them and
thenpersistedwiththem
when
itwould
have
been
fareasiertoexploitMickey
forallhewas
worth. Beforelong,the
Symphonies would
have an invaluablerole toplayinthedevelopment
oftheartof animation.We
shouldlay torest,too,the idea that the classical music content of these cartoonsshowed
Disneydisplayingpretensionstoward highculturein thisseries.All theevidencesuggeststhathe
saw
himselfasmaking
motionpictureentertainmentforthegeneral public.
By
theend
of 1930,Mickey had
become
an internationalcelebrity.
Known
inItalyasTopolino
and
asMikiKuchi
inJapan,the
Mouse
continuedhisadventures,savingMinnie
fromimmola-tionbyfire
and
worse,confrontingPeteinvarious exoticsituations,and
performingtoaudiences ofexuberant animalswhose
tasteinmusic ranged from ragtimeto violinconcertos.
A
simple-minded
bloodhound
made
an appearance in a 1930 picture calledThe
Chain
Gang
and
developed, before long, into Mickey's faithfulcompanion
Pluto.As
Mickey'scareerunfoldedinthethirties,other characterssuch asHorace
Horsecollarand
ClarabelleCow
began
to enjoy the status of co-stars, but their personalities offered
relativelylittlefortheanimatorsto
work
with and. asthepicturesmas
^
SillySymphonyposters, 1932
became more
sophisticated, theirrolesbecame
lesssignificantand
eventuallyvanishedentirely.
And
in 1931,Mickey was
importantenough
forTime magazine
todevotea featurearticle to him.By
theend
of 1931, Disney'sdemand
forconstantimprove-ment had
driventhecostofa singlecartoontoabout$13,000.The
Studio
was
barelybreakingevenand
in 1932another innovation drove costs still higher. In that year, Disney released a SillySymphony
called Flowersand
Trees. This cartoon caused a sensationinthe industry.Itwas
infullcolor.Technicolor
had
introduced a two-color system as early as1929, but it
had been
usedsparinglybythemajor
studioswhich,with
good
reason,thoughtithad
littlemore
thannoveltyvalue(itschief limitation
was
thatthecolor valueswere
somewhat
distorted).By
1932, however, Technicolorhad
a three-strip system ready whichofferedfarmore
accurate color reproduction,and
Disneyatonce
saw
itsadvantages.Flowersand
Treeshad been
partlymade
asablack-and-whitefdm. Thisfootage
was
scrappedand
thewholething
was
done
again in color. Itwas
premiered atGrauman's
Chinese Theater in
Hollywood
along with Irving Thalberg's production of StrangeInterlude.Flowers
and
Trees
X
-J?^
This 1932 cartoon hasa specialplacein
Ihe historyof animationasthefirsttohe
madein fullcolor.Fromthispointon.all
SillvSymphonies were producedin
By
today's standards.Flowersand
Treesisastrangemixture ofcharm and
absurdity.A
romance
between
twoyoung
trees isdisruptedbyacrabbytree
stump
who
initiatesafirethatthreatens thewhole
forest.Birdspuncture cloudssothatrainfallsand
dousesthe fire.
The
stump
is destroyedand
the twoyoung
lovers are married, with aglowworm
for awedding
ring, while neighboringflowers celebratetheirnuptials.
Whatever
weaknessesor strengthsthiscartoon
may
havehad
wereovershadowed
bythe fact thatitwas
incolor.Colormade
itavaluable propertyand,fromthatpoint on, all SillySymphonies were
fully chromatic. Disneymade
an advantageous deal with Technicolorwhich
gavehim
exclusiverights tothethree-color process, asfarasanimation
was
concerned,for the next
two
years.For
the time being, theMickey
Mouse
cartoonscontinuedtobeinblack
and
white—
theywere
successfulenough
nottoneedthe extraboost—
buttheSymphonies
tookfulladvantage ofthe
new
possibilities.Almost
atonce theybecame
more
inventive.Flowersand
Treeswas
followed byKing Neptune
and
BabesintheWoods, both ofwhich
displaytighterstructureand
livelieractionthananythingpreviouslyseenin this series.
One
factorwhich
contributed to theirinventivenesswas
the additiontothestaff,in 1932,of AlbertHurter.A
Swiss-bornartist,hehadlearned the artofanimationatthe Barre studioin
New
York.From
the very beginning ofthis association Hurterhad
a very special positionatthe Studio,Disneyrealizing thathisgiftwas
forproducing
what became
known
as"inspirationaldrawings." Thisisto say that he spent his time developing visual ideas for future projects
and
improvisingon
themes
which might trigger theimaginations ofstory
men
oranimators.Neptune'scourt inKing
Neptune
and
thegingerbread houseinBabes intheWoods
reflect his influence.He
was
trained inEurope and
his drawings wereimbued
with thespiritofthe gothicfairytale.Thisadded
another dimensiontothenativeAmerican
vigoroftheDisneyproduct.As
the Studiocontinued to evolve. Hurter's influence
was
feltmore
and
more
strongly.In 1933,Hurter designedthesettings
and
main
charactersforwhat
turned out to be the greatest Disney successup
to thattime—
thefamous
Three Little Pigs. It is hardly necessary torecapitulatehere either the plot or the successof
Frank
Churchill'shittune.
"Who's
Afraidofthe BigBad Wolf?" The movie was
asmash. Theatersretainedit
week
afterweek and
itsimpactreflectsthe factthat it
went
farbeyond any
oftheearlierSymphonies
intermsofplot
and
characterdevelopment.The
following year. 1934.saw
the production of several excellent SillySymphonies
includingThe
Tortoiseand
theHare,The
Grasshopperand
the Ants,and The
Wise LittleHen—
all of which were moralfablesand
showed
justhow
proficient theStudiohad
become
atstructuring a storyand
establishing character.The
Three
Little
Pigs
In 1932,Walt Disney produced TheThreeLittle
Pigs—acartoonwhich hadan extraordinaryimpactonthe
Americanpublic.Itshittune.
"Who'sAfraidoftheBigBad
^x\\;
/i1
It*
111
, : f i1
?y IV
a-if*,;'-* t
X
*
From 1932to 1934. the SillySymphonies
evolvedanewrangeofsubtleties.Shown
herearescenes from,lefttoptobottom. FatherNoah's Ark.TheTortoiseandthe Hare,and TheGrasshopperandtheAnts.
Lullaby Land, 1933.topright,presentsa child'sdreamadventuresinalandscape
metamorphosed fromthepatchworkquilt thatcovershisbed.Below:TheGoddess of Spring,fromthefollowing year
Tortoise
and
theHare
putAesop
intomodern
dressas the rakishhareloses hisracetothetortoiseagainst amilky landscapethatis
typicalofthose early color cartoons.Thismilkiness resulted from
thefactthatEmilFlohri, the Studio's top
background
artist,mixed
agreat dealof white
pigment
withhiscolors,lightening tonesthisway
ratherthanbythinninghispaintwithwater. InThe
Grasshop-perand
theAnts, thegrasshopperisaparticularly well-established character(histheme
songis"The
World
Owes
Me
aLiving")keyedto the voice talent of Pinto Colvig.
Colvig—
a former circusclown—was
a musicianand
amember
of the gag team, but hisgreatestclaimto
fame
isthathe providedthevoiceofGoofy,who
had
had
his first supporting role in a 1932 cartoon, Mickey'sRente.
Jk
This layoutdrawingforThe WiseLittle Hen. 1934, illustratesthesceneinwhich DonaldDuckmadehisdebut.Heis discovereddancingahornpipeonthe deck ofasomewhatdecrepit barge,right.
When
theWiseLittleHenasksafavorofhim,left,hefeignsatummyache,
establishinghimselfas asomewhat
unreliableanddisreputable characterfrom
theveryoutsetofhiscareer
The
Wise LittleHen
introduced another voice talentand
anew
characterwho
was,within a year,tochallengeMickey
asDisney'sstar attraction.Thischaracterwas,ofcourse,
Donald
Duck,and
theman who
providedhim
withavoicewas
Clarence"Ducky"
Nash.Until Disney discovered him.
Nash
had
worked
for a milkcompany,
entertainingchildren withhisanimal imitations.One
ofthese imitations evolved into Donald's ill-tempered
quack and
made
hisvoiceknown
allovertheworld.Donald
Duck
had
a relativelymodest
role in his firstscreenappearance.
He
debuts as a miserable creature, livingon
aramshackle houseboat,
who
feignsabellyache every timetheWise
Little
Hen
askshim
forassistance (in thisfirst incarnation hewas
drawn
byArt Babbittand
by DickHuemer.
who
had
joined theDisneystaffofanimators).Donald'sbill
was
alittlelongerthanitistoday,buthe
had
thesame
voice,thesame
sailorsuit,and
thesame
irascible temperament.
He
quicklymade
thejump
toco-starringrulesin
Mickey
Mouse
picturessuch asOrphan'sBenefit, irritatingeveryone
on
thescreen butendearing himselftoaudiences.Many
animators found the
Duck
difficult towork
with, but two inparticular—
Dick
Lundy
and
FredSpencer—
had away
withhim
and
theymust
begivenmuch
ofthe creditfordevelopinghim
intoastar.
WaltlooksonasMaryModer.Pinto Colvig.and DorothyComptonrehearse
"Who'sAfraidoftheBigBad Wolf?"
ComposerFrankChurchillisatthepiano
-TT
r
ih
mm
M
-•^»iii
A
group photographtakenattheStudiointhe mid-thirties,aboutthetimethat staff expansionwaspickingup
momentum
A
theatermarqueeadvertisingMickeyMouseInOrphan'sBenefit, 1934,DonaldDuck
cameinto hisown.Hisefforts toentertain agroupof children arefrustratedbythe malicious behavioroftheaudience,which
causeshimto dissolveinto helplessrage
jt
Mickey, meanwhile,
had
become
virtuallya nationalsymbol, andassuch hewas
expectedtobehave
properlyat all times.Ifheoccasionallysteppedoutofline,
any
number
ofletterswould
arriveat the Studio from citizens
and
organizationswho
felt that the nation's moral well-beingwas
in their hands. Itwas
becoming
harder
and
harder tofindcomic
situationsforMickey
thatwould
not give offensein
some
quarter.Eventuallyhewould
be pressuredinto the roleofstraight
man.
but thegradualchange had
not yeterodedthe core ofhispersonality, andthe
Mouse
cartoons ofthe mid-thirties were consistently inventive whilebecoming
increas-inglysophisticated.3
Six
Cartoon
Classics
Once
Hollywood had
come
totermswith thechallenge of sound,theindustry
began
toexplore theavenuesthathad been opened
up.The
filmedmusical,forinstance, offeredpossibilities thathad been
totally
beyond
the grasp of silent cinema,and
thisnew
genre presented the theater-goer with variedand
novel experiences.There
were,forexample,theWarner
Brothers' musicals—tinseled epics like Forty-SecondStreetand
FootlightParade—
withBusby
Berkeley's spectacularchoreographic symmetries punctuating the
fictionalshow-businesscareersof suchstarsas
James
Cagney,Joan
Blondell,DickPowell,
and
Ruby
Keeler.Maurice
Chevaliersanghis
way
intoFrench
highsociety inRouben
Mamoulian's
quasi-operaticLove
Me
Tonight; themovie
fan could also indulgehimself,byproxy, inthesilk-hatsophisticationofFredAstaire.It allhelped
keep
theDepressionatbay.What
isincredibleisthat, in thistime ofplentyinthemotion
picture industry,
Walt
Disneywas
abletoreacha positionof higheminence—
matchingthatofthegreateststarsand producers—
witha
modest
output ofanimated
films,none
ofwhich
ranfor longerthaneightminutes!
Nowhere
is Disney's talent as a great story editormore
apparent thaninthe shortsofthe mid-thirties.
He knew how
totake asimple gagsituationand
squeeze everylastdrop
ofhumor
outofit.
And
then hewould
find away
oftopping thatwithasituationeven funnierthanthe
one
precedingit.Forpractical reasons,an
animated
cartoonisusuallybrokendown
intovery shortsegments(differentanimators beingassignedtoeach ofthese),so that the effect,
on
the screen,isof veryrapidcuts
from one
character toanother. Disney learnedhow
to takeadvantage ofthis as a storytelling device.
He
badgered his storymen,
hislayoutmen,
and
hisanimationdirectors into the realiza-tionthateverycuthad
tobe meaningful,thateachshortsegment
ofthe film
must
contribute to its overall pace.No
decisionwas
implemented
withouthisapproval,and
hewas
constantlyon hand
with fresh ideas tospurflagging imaginations.
Each
cartoonwas
planned
down
tothelastdetail.Dozens
of people might be involved in this, but the entire processwas
controlledby Disneyhimself.By
thetime segments ofactionwereassignedtoindividualanimators, Disney
had
an almost 43complete
knowledge
ofhow
the final productwould
lookon the screen.The
one
factorthathe couldnot controlwas
theanimationitself.
Here
hehad
to relyon
the talentshehad
gatheredaround
him
and,by 1935,theywere
quiteconsiderable.During
1935. Disneyreleasedeighteencartoons.At
leasthalfof
them
are gems.A
good
deal of valuable visual material has survivedfromthisperiod,and
thischapterisillustratedwith story continuity drawingsand
other artwork
relating to six of thesemovies.
Four
ofthem
(The Cookie Carnival,Music
Land,Who
Killed
Cock
Robin?and
Broken
Toys) are SillySymphonies.
Mickey'sService Station
was
thelastMouse
cartoontobeproduced
inblack
and
white;The
Band
Concertwas
thefirst tobemade
in color.WIio
Killed
Cock
Robin?
Disneygivestheold nurseryrhymeanew
twist.Robin,itturns out.isnotdead, but
hasmerelybeenwoundedbv Cupid's arrow.
ThetriumphofthecartoonisJenny
Wren,theobjectof Robin's passion,who
isa thinlydisguised caricatureof
Mae
WestI 1
Broken
Toys
^sSL
—
£2.
r
The mainplotofthiscartoon involvesa sailordollwhoperforms anemergency
operationto restore the sightofadainty
littlecreaturewhohaslosthereyes.
A
neatly constructedlittlefilm,itistypica of Disney productions duringthe mid-thirties
Music
Land
Inthistwistonthe
Romeo
andJuliet story,thesonoftheKingof theIsleof Jazzfallsinlovewiththedaughter oftheQueenoftheLandof
Symphony. Thereisbadfeelingbetweenthetwo monarchs. andwhileona clandestinevisittohissweetheart,thePrinceof Jazziscapturedand
imprisoned.
War
breaks outandthePrinceescapesandtakestotheSea of Discord,accompaniedbyhis love.When
bothmonarchsrealizethat their offspringare indangerofdrowning, thevcallacease-fireandsetofftothe rescue.Allendshappily.ThePrinceandPrincessaresoon joinedina double wedding.A
BridgeofHarmonyunites thereconciledkingdoms.Inthiscartoonthecharactersspeak withthe voicesof musical instruments.The LandofSymphonyblastsitsrivalwith Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture,blowingholesintherococosaxophoneskyscrapers(seealsooverleaf)
A
-V
Music
Land
-J:yv
llAAu
I,
;TtfJ 1 f"!.7r423®
;'f1
.1 H l;^
'_---'<"" " ,"'''"''Mickey's
Service
Station
ThiswasthelastMickeyMousecartoonto bemadeinblack-and-white.PeglegPete, theperennialvillain,bringshiscarinfora
check-upbecause he hasbeenhearinga squeak.Mickey.Donald,andGoofyrip the car apart lookingfor thesourceofthe offendingnoise.Itturnsouttobea cricket
whichhasconcealeditself inthe vehicle, butour heroesdonotdiscoverthisuntil thecarhasbeenreducedtowreckage