Written by Michael Claxton<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I spent the summer watching Disney movies, slowly making my way through all the studio\u2019s animated feature films produced during Walt Disney\u2019s lifetime. Yeah, I know. My commitment to this column is next level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m a little embarrassed to say that I was seeing a few of these gems for the first time. By the time I came on the scene \u2014 halfway through the studio\u2019s century \u2014 Disney was still cranking out fare like \u201cWinnie the Pooh\u201d and \u201cPete\u2019s Dragon,\u201d but there was plenty of other stuff vying for a kid\u2019s attention. As soon as I discovered \u201cStar Wars\u201d and \u201cThe Muppet Show,\u201d Disney\u2019s creaky old cartoons disappeared from my mind. That\u2019s how I made it this ridiculously far in life without ever seeing \u201cPinocchio,\u201d \u201cBambi\u201d or \u201cLady and the Tramp.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was delightful to watch some of these classics this summer with my mother, who saw \u201cDumbo\u201d and \u201cBambi\u201d in the theater when she was a child in the early \u201840s. Her family was not wealthy, so going to the cinema was a real treat. She remembers a time when she could see a movie and buy popcorn, candy and a drink, all for a quarter. To hit the movie theater today, you\u2019ll need to take out a loan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given that it\u2019s such an iconic brand, it\u2019s hard to imagine a time when the Disney studio took out loans itself, but that was the case for the first few decades of its history. \u201cSnow White\u201d was a huge success in 1937, earning $8 million during its initial release (over three times what it cost to make). Yet Disney struggled to stay afloat for years before and after that. \u201cBambi,\u201d for example, lost money. In 1942, during the war, the public wasn\u2019t into sad cartoons. Even Disney\u2019s 9-year-old daughter complained that (spoiler alert) \u201cBambi\u2019s mother didn\u2019t have to die.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When her father pointed out that he was just following the book, Diane shot back that he was Walt Disney and could do whatever he wanted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was not far off the mark. Her father was already a major celebrity and was well on his way to becoming America\u2019s favorite uncle. The runaway success of \u201cCinderella\u201d in 1950 solved the studio\u2019s financial woes. The next decade was a mixed bag, however, as Disney fashioned his brand of a positive, wholesome, utopian vision of America, partly inspired by his own Missouri childhood hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His pioneering TV show was a major success, but after he released a tearjerker starring Hayley Mills as a relentlessly optimistic girl, the name Pollyanna became code for a na\u00efve and unrealistic outlook. Critics complained that Disney had turned to sap, and for that film, many fans agreed. When \u201cPollyanna\u201d made only $3 million at the box office in 1960, Disney conceded that perhaps it had been \u201ctoo sweet and sticky.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then again, \u201cOne Hundred and One Dalmatians\u201d grossed $14 million the next year, so Disney still had the magic touch. And by then, Disney was far less involved in the actual films \u2014 no more three-hour improvs to pitch a story idea. Instead, he was obsessed with his new playground, which had turned his vision of utopia into a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had worked on his dream for years, long before he acquired the property in Anaheim, California. During development, he supervised every inch of the hundred-acre park. When Disneyland opened to great fanfare in 1955, he celebrated with 28,000 guests, making notes as he walked around, spotting light bulbs that needed to be changed. The night before the opening, Disney had donned a mask to help spray paint a giant latex squid. The prop from the hugely successful film \u201c20,000 Leagues Under the Sea\u201d had deteriorated in storage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A constant visitor to Disneyland, Disney would sometimes randomly jump on a ride with park visitors. \u201cLike a child with a giant playset,\u201d is how biographer Neal Gabler described him. He even had an apartment furnished so he could stay at the park on occasion, showing up early on a Saturday to stuff oranges into the juice machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With its \u201cMain Street USA\u201d and its \u201cWorld of Tomorrow,\u201d the park combined Disney\u2019s love of nostalgia with his fascination with the future. Disney was constantly breaking new ground. He had been one of the first to embrace the Technicolor process. He jumped almost immediately into television production when many filmmakers feared TV as a threat. His studio pioneered countless advances in animation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walt Disney would live only a decade or so after his beloved theme park opened. But he would be there to shepherd the film many would call his studio\u2019s masterpiece. I\u2019ll say more about that next time. Better yet, come to Homecoming and watch the story live on the Benson stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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