The (Old) History of Walt Disney Animation Studios 1/14 - Animation Lookback

Summary

This script offers an insightful journey through Walt Disney Animation Studios' rich history, highlighting its evolution from creating shorts in the 1920s to producing iconic full-length animated features. It details the creation of beloved characters like Mickey Mouse and the making of groundbreaking films such as 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and 'Fantasia'. The narrative also touches on the challenges faced by Walt Disney, including financial setbacks and the innovative use of technology like Fantasound. The script is a tribute to Disney's legacy, showcasing its impact on the animation industry and popular culture.

Takeaways

• 😀 Walt Disney Animation Studios has a rich history of producing legendary animated films over more than 70 years.
• 🎬 The studio's early success came from animated shorts like 'Alice's Comedies' and 'Oswald the Lucky Rabbit', before the creation of Mickey Mouse.
• 🐭 Mickey Mouse was born out of necessity when Walt Disney lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and 'Steamboat Willie' marked his debut with synchronized sound.
• 🏆 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' was the first full-length animated feature film, which took 3 years and over $1.4 million to produce, and it was a groundbreaking success.
• 🎵 Memorable songs from 'Snow White' like 'Someday My Prince Will Come' were composed without a music publishing company, which led to them belonging to another music company, Bourne.
• 🤔 Walt Disney faced skepticism from those around him about the viability of a full-length animated film, but the success of 'Snow White' proved them wrong.
• 🏆 'Pinocchio', Disney's second film, was a major box office success and is considered one of the most technically perfect Disney films, winning an Oscar for its song 'When You Wish Upon a Star'.
• 🎼 'Fantasia' was an innovative concert film with animated segments set to classical music, featuring the first use of surround sound in cinema with the 'Fantasound' system.
• 🎼 The segment 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' from 'Fantasia' was expanded from a special Silly Symphony and featured a new makeover for Mickey Mouse conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
• 🎉 'Fantasia' was a financial failure initially, but it has since become a classic, with one segment inspiring a Jerry Bruckheimer film of the same name.
• 📽 The script was created during the summer and fall of 2009, and therefore does not cover films released after 'The Princess and the Frog'.

Q & A

What is the historical significance of Walt Disney Animation Studios in the context of animation?

Walt Disney Animation Studios is historically significant as it has released many of the most legendary animated films of all time, pioneering the field of animation for over 70 years.

What were the early animated works of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney before the establishment of Walt Disney Animation Studios?

Before establishing Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney made animated shorts under the name 'Laugh-O-Grams' in Kansas City and later created the Disney Brothers Studio in Hollywood, producing series like 'Alice's Comedies' and 'Oswald the Lucky Rabbit'.

Why was Mickey Mouse created?

Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, after he lost the rights to Oswald and needed a new character to sustain his studio.

What was the first synchronized sound cartoon released by Walt Disney, and what was its impact?

The first synchronized sound cartoon released by Walt Disney was 'Steamboat Willie,' which became a phenomenal success and made Mickey Mouse more famous than any other cartoon character at the time.

What was the first full-length animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and what was its budget?

The first full-length animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios was 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' with a budget of more than $1.4 million.

What was the initial reception to 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', and how did it perform financially?

The initial reception to 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' was overwhelmingly positive, earning a standing ovation at its premiere and grossing $8 million during its release.

What special recognition did 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' receive from the Academy Awards?

'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' received a special honorary Academy Award with one normal-sized statue and seven miniature statues, recognizing it as a significant screen innovation.

What was the original concept for the character of Pinocchio in the film adaptation by Walt Disney Animation Studios?

In the original plans for the film adaptation of 'Pinocchio,' the character was supposed to be a wise guy who was mostly sarcastic, similar to the original book, but was later changed to a more sympathetic character.

What song from 'Pinocchio' became Disney's official anthem and won an Oscar?

The song 'When You Wish Upon a Star' from 'Pinocchio' became Disney's official anthem and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

What was the concept behind the film 'Fantasia', and how was it innovative in terms of sound technology?

The concept behind 'Fantasia' was to create a concert film with several animated segments set to music, and it was innovative in using 'FantaSound,' a special machine that provided surround sound by emitting different sounds from speakers placed in various sections of the theater.

What was the financial outcome of 'Fantasia' upon its initial release, and what was its impact on Walt Disney?

Upon its initial release, 'Fantasia' was a financial failure, causing Walt Disney to lose a significant amount of money, despite its innovative approach and later recognition as a classic.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Walt Disney Animation Studios: A Legacy of Animation

This paragraph delves into the history and impact of Walt Disney Animation Studios, which has produced some of the most iconic animated films. It begins with the early days of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney, who initially created animated shorts in Kansas City and later moved to Hollywood. The paragraph highlights the creation of Mickey Mouse after the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the innovative release of 'Steamboat Willie', the first synchronized sound cartoon. It also discusses the challenges and triumphs of producing 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', the first full-length animated feature film, which defied expectations and earned critical acclaim and a special Academy Award.

05:02

🏆 The Evolution and Success of Disney Characters and Films

The second paragraph focuses on the evolution of Disney characters and the studio's approach to storytelling and innovation. It discusses the initial struggles with 'Pinocchio', which led to a halt in production and the eventual introduction of a stronger supporting cast, including Jiminy Cricket, who would become an iconic character and the voice of Disney's official anthem. The paragraph also touches on the creation of 'Fantasia', an experimental film combining animation with classical music, which, despite its initial financial failure, has become a classic. It mentions the technical achievements of the film, including the use of Fantasound, an early form of surround sound, and the various segments that make up the film, each with its unique style and narrative.

Keywords

💡Walt Disney Animation Studios

Walt Disney Animation Studios is the primary animation production arm of the Walt Disney Company, known for creating iconic animated films over the past 70 years. The studio is a central theme of the video, showcasing its history and the struggles it overcame to produce legendary animated films. It's mentioned as the first animation studio that comes to mind, emphasizing its significance in the animation industry.

💡Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a classic character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. In the video, Mickey Mouse is highlighted as a character born out of necessity when Walt Disney lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Mickey's introduction in 'Steamboat Willie,' the first synchronized sound cartoon, made him an instant sensation, more famous than any other cartoon character at the time.

💡Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first full-length animated feature film produced by Walt Disney. The video describes the film's production as a pioneering effort in the animation industry, with a budget of over $1.4 million and a three-year production period. The film's success and its memorable songs, such as 'Hi Ho, Hi Ho,' and 'Someday My Prince Will Come,' are emphasized, showcasing its impact on the studio's history.

💡Pinocchio

Pinocchio is another significant animated film by Walt Disney, based on the book by Carlo Collodi. The video discusses the film's production challenges, including a halt after six months due to Pinocchio's character not being strong enough. The introduction of Jiminy Cricket as a supporting character and the film's eventual success, including winning an Oscar for 'When You Wish Upon a Star,' are highlighted.

💡Fantasia

Fantasia is a unique animated film by Walt Disney that combines animation with classical music. The video explains that Fantasia was born from the idea of expanding 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' into a concert film with several animated segments set to music. The film's innovative use of 'FantaSound,' an early form of surround sound, is mentioned, as well as its financial failure despite being considered a classic today.

💡Silly Symphony

The Silly Symphonies were a series of animated short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. In the video, the series is noted for introducing characters like Donald Duck and Goofy and for being a precursor to the more ambitious full-length animated features. The series is an example of the studio's creative experimentation and character development.

💡Jiminy Cricket

Jiminy Cricket is a character introduced in Pinocchio, who became one of Disney's greatest supporting characters. The video mentions Jiminy Cricket's role as a conscience for Pinocchio and his importance in strengthening the film's narrative. His song 'When You Wish Upon a Star' is highlighted as Disney's official anthem and a significant contribution to the film's legacy.

💡Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was an early character created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The video explains that Walt Disney lost the rights to Oswald, which led to the creation of Mickey Mouse. Oswald's loss was a turning point for Disney, prompting the development of new characters and stories.

💡The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a segment in the film Fantasia, based on a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The video describes how this segment was originally a Silly Symphony short featuring Mickey Mouse as the apprentice. It was later expanded into a part of Fantasia, becoming a significant part of the film's innovative approach to animation and music.

💡Animation Innovation

Animation Innovation in the video refers to the groundbreaking techniques and ideas that Walt Disney Animation Studios introduced to the industry. Examples include the synchronized sound in 'Steamboat Willie,' the full-length animated feature 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' and the use of 'FantaSound' in 'Fantasia.' These innovations set new standards for animation and storytelling.

💡Disney Characters

Disney Characters are the fictional beings created by Walt Disney Animation Studios that have become cultural icons. The video discusses the creation and evolution of characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket. These characters are central to the studio's identity and are used to illustrate the studio's creative process and storytelling prowess.

Highlights

Walt Disney Animation Studios is renowned for releasing many of the most legendary animated films of all time.

The studio's history includes a struggle to create films and the evolution of the studio over 70 years.

Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney initially made animated shorts under the name Laugh-O-Grams in the 1920s.

Walt Disney lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, leading to the creation of Mickey Mouse.

Mickey Mouse's debut in 'Steamboat Willie' made him more famous than any other cartoon character at the time.

Walt Disney's Silly Symphony series and characters like Donald Duck and Goofy were created in the 1930s.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first-ever animated feature film, with a budget of over $1.4 million and a three-year production time.

Snow White's success earned it a special honorary Academy Award for being a significant screen innovation.

Pinocchio was a major box office success and is considered one of the most technically perfect Disney films.

The song 'When You Wish Upon a Star' from Pinocchio became Disney's official anthem.

Fantasia was an innovative concert film with several animated segments set to music, featuring the first surround sound in film.

Fantasia's segment 'The Nutcracker Suite' depicted the changing of the seasons with fairies and other creatures.

The 'Rite of Spring' segment in Fantasia tells the theory of evolution and features ancient Greek mythical creatures.

The 'Dance of the Hours' segment in Fantasia is known for its whimsical portrayal of ostriches, hippos, and alligators.

The 'Night on Bald Mountain' segment is considered one of the creepiest in the film, featuring an apocalyptic hell scene.

Fantasia's 'Ave Maria' segment is described as one of the most beautiful moments created by Disney.

Despite being considered a classic, Fantasia initially resulted in a significant financial loss for Walt Disney.

Transcripts

when you think of any Animation Studio

you would think of today's popular

Studios like DreamWorks Pixar or blue

sky however I bet the first one that

automatically came out of your head was

the one and only Walt Disney Animation

Studios and not just because you looked

at the title for over 70 years this

studio released many of today's most

legendary animated films of all time

today all we talk about all the films

that they have made the struggle that

Disney had to go through to make the

films the Studio's history and many more

it's going to be interesting funny

surprising and you might learn a few

things on your favorite movies I want

you guys to keep in mind that I made

this during the summer and fall of 2009

so I won't be talking about the Princess

and the Frog or any other films released

after that and now we invite you to

relax let us pull up a chair as

animation look back proudly

presents Walt Disney Animation

Studios now let's start from Walt's

Beginnings Walt Disney and his brother

Roy O Disney were only making animated

shorts under the name logs during the

20s in Kansas City then they moved to

Hollywood making the Disney Brothers

Studio with two different series that

were mildly successful Alice's comedies

which were based on the books of Alice's

Wonderland and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

in 1928 Walt lost most of his animators

because he refused to reduce production

budgets of Oswalt that was offered by

Charles B mint after Walt lost Oswald he

needed to create a new character to

replace the rabbit and thus Mickey Mouse

was born when wall released the first

animated sh of sound in 1928 called

Steamboat Willie the mouse became a

phenomenal on more famous than any other

cartoons at the time like Felix the Cat

and Disney went on competition against

Max Fletcher who created Betty Boop and

popey in 1934 after that Walt was big

with his Silly Symphony series and

creating other Disney characters like

Donald Duck and Goofy he decided to make

something that no one has ever seen

before make a fulllength animated

feature film this was Snow White and the

seven dves the first ever animated

feature film it's the story about a girl

named Snow White who lived with and took

care of seven dos but her evil

stepmother the queen poisoned her with

an apple but then her prince charming

came in to give her a kiss and lived

happily ever after Walt Disney got the

idea when he was 15 from watching a

silent film version at the Kansas City

conventional Hall on February 1917

it had a budget of more than $1.4

million and it took 3 years to make it

the memorable songs like hi ho hi ho hi

ho whistle while you work just whistle

while you and Someday My Prince Will

[Music]

comece Will Belong To The Music Company

borco and it still does today because

the studio didn't had its own music

publishing company at the time during

production everybody around Walt

including his brother Roy and his wife

Lillian were telling him that nobody and

I mean nobody would sit and watched more

than 10 minutes of a cartoon let alone

90 but later on walw proved them that

they were wrong on the opening premiere

of December 21st 1937

the film earned a standing evation and

it got $8 million during its release

past celebrities like Charlie Chaplan

and Sergey eisenstein call it one of the

greatest American

Classics it earned a special honorary

Academy Award that had one normaliz

Statue and seven little statues given by

Shirley Temple for Walt Disney as a

significant screen Innovation which has

Charmed millions and pioneered a great

great new entertainment field 2 years

later Walt tried to put his experiences

he learned from Snow White into use on

his second film Pinocchio based on the

book by Carlo Kodi it's about a wooden

puppet brought to life by a blue Ferry

who goes into mischief and Mayhem to

prove that he can be a real boy in the

original plans Pinocchio was supposed to

be like a wise guy who was mostly

sarcastic similar to the original book

in other words Pinocchio was supposed to

be a douchebag wal had to bring

everything to a halt after six months of

production the problem was Pinocchio

wasn't a strong enough character to

carry the film how did they solve it a

better Supporting Cast now here's where

Jimmy Cricket comes in originally looked

like an actual Cricket now he's like a

dude with no ears he would become one of

Disney's greatest supporting characters

the opening song he sang When You Wish

Upon a Star will become Disney's

official Anthem and possibly in my

opinion the greatest Disney song of all

time later on Jiminy would star on TV

shows educational shows and would play

an important role on the Square Enix

video game Kingdom Hearts another

mentionable character is Gideon you know

that hobo cat that follows Honest John

around during the entire film he was

originally supposed to talk and would

have been voiced by Mel blank yeah

that's right the same guy who voiced

everybody on the Looney Tunes would

actually do something for

Disney anyways they decided to make it

mute but whims kind of like Dopey from

Snow White today all of the recorded

Lines by Mel are all

deleted well except for some hiccups

that they kept for the film

all right let's just go back to

Pinocchio before I get too carried away

here on its release it became a major

box office success in the US the rest

however was delayed because of World War

II and its afterm match it won an Oscar

for When You Wish Upon a Star and many

film historians felt that it's the most

technically perfect Disney film of all

time going back to 1938 the popularity

of Mick mouse was going down wal wasn't

prepared to let his favorite creation be

forgotten so he decided to make a

special Silly Symphony called The

Sorcerer's Apprentice based on Go's

badic poem

de originally it was supposed to be

Dopey as The Apprentice but Disney

quickly switched it to Mickey conductor

liopo dakowski offered Walt to conduct

The Sorcerer's Apprentice at no charge

the short gu got better attention to

detail and Mickey Mouse got a new

makeover by animator Fred Moore one day

Sakowski suggested to Wal to expand The

Sorcerer's Apprentice into a concert

film with several animated segments set

to music that is when Fantasia was born

some of the other segments are toota and

Fugu and D Minor where it starts out as

an orchestral liveaction sequence and

then I really don't know then there's

The Nutcracker sweep it describes this

changing of the seasons from Summer to

Winter to be precise with fairies

dancing mushrooms fishies flowers and

leaves then there's the right of spring

that tells the theory of evolution from

the Earth's Beginnings to the extinction

of the

dinosaurs then it's the pastoral

symphony that features ancient Greek

mythical creatures and gods it was

controversial for the partial nudity and

racial characters after that is the

dance of the hours that features

ostriches hippos and

alligators yeah this could be the

weirdest segment out of the entire film

trust me on that then it's Night on Bald

Mountain where an apocalyptic hell comes

out one night then it got stopped by the

sounds of church bells actor Bella

Lugosi was hired once to do some poses

for chabog you know that giant black

demon in the segment but animator Bill

titla didn't like it so Lugosi got

replaced it can be easily said that this

could be like the creepiest segment of

the entire film and finally it's the a

Maria the best way to describe this

segment is that this is one of the most

beautiful moments I've ever seen made by

Disney also the film featured Fanta

sound a special machine where different

sounds of Music would come out of

several speakers that were placed in

different sections of the theater in

short Fantasia was the first ever film

to be in surround sound it won two

special Academy Awards one for Walt and

one for Sakowski Jerry brookheimer will

make a film based on the segment The

Sorcerer's Apprentice called well yeah

The Sorcerer's Apprentice even though

today it's considered a classic there's

something that wal couldn't avoid he

lost a buttload of money on it

[Music]