I Read a Walt Disney Biography
Nov. 2nd, 2003 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolphins_logIn Disney MGM there was a fascinating walkthrough of the life of Walt Disney. Here are some images from the second half of that walkthrough. All of the models are the original mock-ups of the various parks. A majority of them Walt had a direct hand in. Some obviously came after his life.
This is Walt's office. Everything that was in his office in California was moved here. This is where Disneyland first became a concrete idea.
Snow Whites Castle at Disneyland.
The Jungle Cruise Adventure
Cinderella's Castle and the Epcot Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World
Bell's Castle at Eurodisney
Tokyo Sea at Disney Tokyo
The Tree in Animal Kingdom and the Bear at California Adventure.
This "museum" got me to thinking about Walt Disney's life, and who he was. I'd heard a lot about him from various sources throughout my life, things like wanting to build Disneyworld because Disneyland got so encroached upon by urban clutter. I wanted to put it all into focus.
I bought a book, "Walt Disney: An American Original" by Bob Thomas. I took three weeks to read it and in that three weeks I managed to immerse myself further into my vacation. If you look at all the music I've been listening to for the past few posts you'll notice it's all Disney. I learned quite a bit about Walt. He put creativity before finances. That drove his brother, Roy, nuts. Roy and Walt were partners from the beginning. Roy was the financial wizard. They were always at odds, but in the end they both made it work.
During WWII they were literally and physically taken over by the government. The Afternoon of December 7, 1941 the Army commandeered the Disney Studio and removed all of the camera equipment. They needed the stages for servicing military equipment. The Disney's, rather then fighting back, threw in with the Army and started to create educational films about how to use and work with various equipment. They even convinced the powers that be that their animated characters were perfect for the task, one by getting the message across and two, by keeping it entertaining. One such films has the educator asking for volunteers and choosing 7 at random. Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy, Sleepy, Doc, and Dopey. There was no slapstick in the film, the dwarves simply demonstrated how things worked.
Roy and Walt would unify when it was necessary. Walt once commented that if Roy came to Walt's office it was good news. If he called him to Roy's office it was bad. After the war, since they were unable to create the films they wanted, they found themselves 4,000,000 in debt to Bank of America. Roy called Walt to his office and gave him the news. The directors of Bank of America wanted to see them. Walt commented "Do you remember when we scrambled to find someway to finance a 1,000 debt, Roy? Now were in debt for 4,000,000. We must be doing something right."
The two of them went to the meeting and were pretty worried about it. But the CEO of the bank changed things. While all the other directors were sitting around the desk and looking stern, the CEO of Bank of America remained standing and walked about the room. At one point he came up behind the Disney's and kneed them in the back. "Don't look so glum," he whispered. "It's going to be alright." He then turned to the other directors and challenged them, asking if they had ever seen a Disney movie. He eventually won them over.
There is a point in the book that touches my family. We were friends with the Milotte's. The Milotte's did a lot of filming for the Disneys in Alaska after the war. They were the photographers for the film "Seal Island", the first of the "True Life Adventures" series of films. The Milottes once invited our family to visit them at their home and share Alaska Stories. I thought that was kind of neat that the biography connected with us a little.
What I found surprising was that Walt would never give praise. He expected the best from his artists and crafts people. He was very emotional and wouldn't hesitate to tell them if they were blowing it, but if they got things right he wouldn't say a thing. The animators figured out ways to interpret Walt's behavior. If, during a presentation of some film, they saw Walt crying they knew they got it right [Walt cried easily]. If, in the park, he got off a ride and giggled, they knew they got that right. If a ride was wrong he'd get off and simply say "Fix that thing!"
I finished the book Thursday, while taking my parents to the Airport. I found myself thinking of the similarities between the way Roy and Walt worked together and the way my parents work together in their craft. They are amazingly of similar mind. I think I like that thought, that "Mom and Dad" are like "Roy and Walt Disney."
This is Walt's office. Everything that was in his office in California was moved here. This is where Disneyland first became a concrete idea.
Snow Whites Castle at Disneyland.
The Jungle Cruise Adventure
Cinderella's Castle and the Epcot Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World
Bell's Castle at Eurodisney
Tokyo Sea at Disney Tokyo
The Tree in Animal Kingdom and the Bear at California Adventure.
This "museum" got me to thinking about Walt Disney's life, and who he was. I'd heard a lot about him from various sources throughout my life, things like wanting to build Disneyworld because Disneyland got so encroached upon by urban clutter. I wanted to put it all into focus.
I bought a book, "Walt Disney: An American Original" by Bob Thomas. I took three weeks to read it and in that three weeks I managed to immerse myself further into my vacation. If you look at all the music I've been listening to for the past few posts you'll notice it's all Disney. I learned quite a bit about Walt. He put creativity before finances. That drove his brother, Roy, nuts. Roy and Walt were partners from the beginning. Roy was the financial wizard. They were always at odds, but in the end they both made it work.
During WWII they were literally and physically taken over by the government. The Afternoon of December 7, 1941 the Army commandeered the Disney Studio and removed all of the camera equipment. They needed the stages for servicing military equipment. The Disney's, rather then fighting back, threw in with the Army and started to create educational films about how to use and work with various equipment. They even convinced the powers that be that their animated characters were perfect for the task, one by getting the message across and two, by keeping it entertaining. One such films has the educator asking for volunteers and choosing 7 at random. Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy, Sleepy, Doc, and Dopey. There was no slapstick in the film, the dwarves simply demonstrated how things worked.
Roy and Walt would unify when it was necessary. Walt once commented that if Roy came to Walt's office it was good news. If he called him to Roy's office it was bad. After the war, since they were unable to create the films they wanted, they found themselves 4,000,000 in debt to Bank of America. Roy called Walt to his office and gave him the news. The directors of Bank of America wanted to see them. Walt commented "Do you remember when we scrambled to find someway to finance a 1,000 debt, Roy? Now were in debt for 4,000,000. We must be doing something right."
The two of them went to the meeting and were pretty worried about it. But the CEO of the bank changed things. While all the other directors were sitting around the desk and looking stern, the CEO of Bank of America remained standing and walked about the room. At one point he came up behind the Disney's and kneed them in the back. "Don't look so glum," he whispered. "It's going to be alright." He then turned to the other directors and challenged them, asking if they had ever seen a Disney movie. He eventually won them over.
There is a point in the book that touches my family. We were friends with the Milotte's. The Milotte's did a lot of filming for the Disneys in Alaska after the war. They were the photographers for the film "Seal Island", the first of the "True Life Adventures" series of films. The Milottes once invited our family to visit them at their home and share Alaska Stories. I thought that was kind of neat that the biography connected with us a little.
What I found surprising was that Walt would never give praise. He expected the best from his artists and crafts people. He was very emotional and wouldn't hesitate to tell them if they were blowing it, but if they got things right he wouldn't say a thing. The animators figured out ways to interpret Walt's behavior. If, during a presentation of some film, they saw Walt crying they knew they got it right [Walt cried easily]. If, in the park, he got off a ride and giggled, they knew they got that right. If a ride was wrong he'd get off and simply say "Fix that thing!"
I finished the book Thursday, while taking my parents to the Airport. I found myself thinking of the similarities between the way Roy and Walt worked together and the way my parents work together in their craft. They are amazingly of similar mind. I think I like that thought, that "Mom and Dad" are like "Roy and Walt Disney."
