PBS American Experience - Walt Disney

[Tonka's Skipper]

Also:
Every Pocket Comes Out Thinner
Every Parent Carries Out Toddlers
Every Payday Comes On Thursday
Eisner's Polyester Costumes Of Torture
Exceptionally Pugnacious Castmembers Often Tease
Eisner's Profit Center Of Today
Experimental Polyester Costumes Of Today
Eager People Come On Time
Every Principle Comes Out Twisted

LOL.I bow to your vast knowledge my friend!

AKK

 

[Andrew015]

That is just not accurate. While Disney Studio was the place to work during the early years, your post ignores significant facts. Pay inequality between men and women. No limit to the hours required to work each day. Cell color specialists worked 16-18 hour days at minimum wages.

Actually, it is accurate... considering the time period. The best working environments of the 1940's don't compare very well to present-day. I think you'd be hard-pressed to name anywhere that paid men and women equally during that time.

You mention that Disney paid discretionary bonuses to all employees, up to 20% of gross profit. That is just not accurate. By Disney's own admission the four movies following Snow White did not initially recoup the investment. Point is, there was no money to pay everyone bonuses.

Notice that I used the words "in the early days". It is well documented that Disney paid up to 20% discretionary bonuses on many of his short films in the early days of his studio. This stopped with Snow White, in which bonus payouts were made only made to those whom Disney felt went "above and beyond". This can be interpreted a number of different ways (capitalism at play, greed, etc.), all of which are very debatable, but fact of the matter is, many of the things mentioned in my post (significant growth in a very short time period coupled with the effects of the Depression, etc.) were definitely factors.

While I am not pro Union in today's environment, the truth is Disney was the place every artist wanted to work, yet the pay and working conditions were less than ideal and receiving film credit for work done was nonexistent. Disney was a brilliant artist with an incredible ability to visualize success, but he was a terrible business person. Without Roy one could argue he would have never achieved this level of success. Roy kept him out of bankruptcy and Roy was who got their employees off the picket line and back to work.

I can't say that I disagree here. Walt was definitely the visionary. Roy was the business savvy.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

That is just not accurate. While Disney Studio was the place to work during the early years, your post ignores significant facts.

Pay inequality between men and women. No limit to the hours required to work each day. Cell color specialists worked 16-18 hour days at minimum wages.

While the studio had a cafeteria, gym and barber onsite, only a small percentage of employees could afford this.

You mention that Disney paid discretionary bonuses to all employees, up to 20% of gross profit. That is just not accurate. By Disney's own admission the four movies following Snow White did not initially recoup the investment. Point is, there was no money to pay everyone bonuses.

While I am not pro Union in today's environment, the truth is Disney was the place every artist wanted to work, yet the pay and working conditions were less than ideal and receiving film credit for work done was nonexistent.

Disney was a brilliant artist with an incredible ability to visualize success, but he was a terrible business person. Without Roy one could argue he would have never achieved this level of success. Roy kept him out of bankruptcy and Roy was who got their employees off the picket line and back to work.

However Magic your also over looking some significant facts:

1. The inequality between men and woman was everywhere back then.

2. They also had ball fields and picnic areas and often the studio workers took the afternoon to play and then worked the evenings. California weather. Something the other studios generally did not do.

3. I really don't know the details of all the bonuses , but Walt payed the better animators/production more money.......like most businesses then and today.

4. The *Cell Inkers/colorers* was not considered high skill or paying jobs and that also was the industry standard of the day back then.

5. Walt believed in promoting 1 name in his work *Walt Disney or just Disney*, to promote the studio work to the public. A business practice common back then as it is these days. Everyone in the industry knew who worked on the other studio productions so is really was really not a credit issue. Walt did with time change his policy.

6. I would also point out that Walt brought and built up the Cal Art school, and the studio employees could attend the school as very reasonable rates.

I do totally agree Walt was the artist and visionary. Roy was the money guy. Without Roy , Walt would have never been able to make it all work. Walt stated this himself many times. Usually when we was trying to get something done around Roy!

AKK

 

[luisov]

Interesting review by former Disney animator Floyd Norman, who worked for Walt Disney himself back in the day. He was pretty harsh towards this documentary, claiming that the film lacks true balance and even opinions of people who actually knew Walt.

http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2015/9/17/my-review-of-the-walt-disney-documentary

 

[rteetz]

Interesting review by former Disney animator Floyd Norman, who worked for Walt Disney himself back in the day. He was pretty harsh towards this documentary, claiming that the film lacks true balance and even opinions of people that actually knew Walt.

http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2015/9/17/my-review-of-the-walt-disney-documentary

The Disney family museum released a short statement as well.

 

[crazy4wdw]

The Disney family museum released a short statement as well.

Thanks for this information.

Here's the link in case anyone is interested: http://www.waltdisney.org/blog/american-experience-walt-disney

 

[tjwithasmile]

It described Walt struggling to reconcile himself against the "Walt Disney" character he portrayed on television. "Walt Disney doesn't smoke, but I smoke. Walt Disney doesn't drink, but I drink." I think that despite his inner turmoil in being both versions of himself, he WAS true to himself. Walt Disney World (and Disneyland) represent the best versions of what our inner selves could be, full of hope, imagination, happiness, and the very real belief that dreams do come true.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

Yes He left some clues and said some things right before his death that are still a mystery today about how he wanted things and future projects.

Are you referring to the "Kurt Russell" note touched on elsewhere in this discussion, or other plans? If other plans, can you point me in the direction of some good source materials? It's fascinating to me how much Walt had to offer, and how it seems like he picked up speed in the final decade or so -- almost as if he were rushing to get as much as possible out of his head and into the real world for us to experience. I'd be grateful for any reading on clues about what he couldn't get to in time.

I think the pbs special tried to be even-handed but I have to agree with Floyd Norman when he says that it suffered from being afraid of sounding too pollyanna-ish. In so doing, it seemed drained of any passion, and the narrative bordered on bland.

But it was really great to see footage of things I'd only read about -- and see why trains captured their imagination (Kimball and others in addition to Walt).

 

[rteetz]

Are you referring to the "Kurt Russell" note touched on elsewhere in this discussion, or other plans? If other plans, can you point me in the direction of some good source materials? It's fascinating to me how much Walt had to offer, and how it seems like he picked up speed in the final decade or so -- almost as if he were rushing to get as much as possible out of his head and into the real world for us to experience. I'd be grateful for any reading on clues about what he couldn't get to in time.

I think the pbs special tried to be even-handed but I have to agree with Floyd Norman when he says that it suffered from being afraid of sounding too pollyanna-ish. In so doing, it seemed drained of any passion, and the narrative bordered on bland.

But it was really great to see footage of things I'd only read about -- and see why trains captured their imagination (Kimball and others in addition to Walt).

I was referring to Kurt Russell.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I have always found Eric Sevareid's eulogy to Walt to be compelling:



“It would take more time than anybody has around the daily news shops to think of the right thing to say about Walt Disney.


He was an original; not just an American original, but an original, period. He was a happy accident; one of the happiest this century has experienced; and judging by the way it’s been behaving in spite of all Disney tried to tell it about laughter, love, children, puppies and sunrises, the century hardly deserved him.


He probably did more to heal or at least to soothe troubled human spirits than all the psychiatrists in the world. There can’t be many adults in the allegedly civilized parts of the globe who did not inhabit Disney’s mind and imagination at least for a few hours and feel better for the visitation.


It may be true, as somebody said, that while there is no highbrow in a lowbrow, there is some lowbrow in every highbrow.


But what Walt Disney seemed to know was that while there is very little grown-up in a child, there is a lot of child in every grown-up. To a child this weary world is brand new, gift wrapped; Disney tried to keep it that way for adults…


By the conventional wisdom, mighty mice, flying elephants, Snow White and Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy and Dopey – all these were fantasy, escapism from reality. It’s a question of whether they are any less real, any more fantastic than intercontinental missiles, poisoned air, defoliated forests, and scraps from the moon. This is the age of fantasy, however you look at it, but Disney’s fantasy wasn’t lethal. People are saying we’ll never see his like again.”



Eric Sevareid

CBS Evening News

December, 1966


AKK