Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” Title: Sleeping Beauty Year: 1959 Source materials: The Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault and the the 1890 ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Another version was told by the Brothers Grimm Budget: $6 million Box office: initally $3.8 million; lifetime gross of $51.6 million Plot: King Stefan and Queen Leah happily welcome the birth of their daughter, the … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Sleeping Beauty

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” Title: Lady and the Tramp Year: 1955 Source materials : Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog by Ward Greene Budget: $4 million Box office: Estimated $7.5 million in rentals at the North American box office in 1955. $93.6 million lifetime Background: 1937, Disney story man Joe Grant came up with an idea inspired by the antics of his … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Lady and the Tramp

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (These articles will be published on both sites until further notice.) Title: Peter Pan Year: 1953 Source materials : The play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. Budget: $4 million Box office: During its initial box office run, the film grossed $7 million in domestic rentals. The movie has earned a lifetime domestic gross of $87.4 million. Background: In … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Peter Pan

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was also published on the Disqus site.) Title: Alice in Wonderland Year: 1951 Source materials : Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Budget: $3 million Box office: $5.2 million (US, 1951) Background: Walt had first discussed the movie with Mary Pickford back in 1938. Shortly after Snow White, he bought a lot of properties, including the rights to the book and … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Alice in Wonderland

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was originally published on the Disqus site.) Title: Fun and Fancy Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Year: 1947; 1949 Source materials : “Little Bear Bongo” by Sinclair Lewis “Jack and the Beanstalk” traditional cornish tale, popularized by Henry Cole “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Fun and Fancy Free, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was originally published on the Disqus site.) Title: Make Mine Music and Melody Time Year: (Make Mine Music) 1946 ; (Melody Time) 1948 Budget: (Make Mine Music)$1.35 million; (Melody Time) $1.5 million Gross: (Make Mine Music) $2.25 million; (Melody Time) $1,850,000 We’re going to go a little out of order here, since these two package films are very similar Background: … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Make Mine Music and Melody Time

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was originally published on the Disqus site.) Title: Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros Year: 1942 and 1944 Background: The Disney Studio was in trouble. While Snow White was a hit, the beginning of World War Two cut the studio off from the foreign markets for Pinocchio, Fantasia , and Bambi As a result, the studio was in debt to Bank of America, which was demanding … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was originally posted on the Disqus site.) Title: Bambi Year: 1942 Budget: $858,000 Gross: $267,400,000 Directed by: Supervising director David Hand Plot: A doe gives birth to a fawn named Bambi, who will one day take over the position of Great Prince of the Forest, a title currently held by Bambi’s father. The fawn is quickly befriended by an eager, energetic … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Bambi.

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This article was originally posted on the Disqus site.)   Title: Dumbo Year: 1941 Budget: $950,000 Gross: $1,600,000 Directed by: Supervising director: Ben Sharpsteen Plot: A flock of storks deliver babies to circus animals while they stay at their winter quarters in Sarasota Florida. Mrs. Jumbo, one of the elephants, eagerly waits for her visit, but it doesn’t come. The circus boards … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Dumbo

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This post was previously published on the Disqus site) Title: Fantasia Year: 1940 Budget: $2,280,000 Gross: $83,000,000 Directed by: direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, and production supervision by Ben Sharpsteen, Creation: Fantasia came out of the tradition of the Silly Symphonies, and Walt felt that Mickey Mouse’s popularity was waning. He decided to feature the … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Fantasia

  Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (This was originally posted on the Disqus site) Title: Pinocchio Year: 1940 Budget: $2,600,000 (estimated) Gross: $84,300,000 (USA) Directed by: Ben Sharsteen and Hamilton Luske Plot: Woodworker Geppetto finishes making a wooden marionette whom he names Pinocchio, and makes a wish on a star that Pinocchio be a real boy. During the night, the Blue Fairy … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Pinocchio

Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” (Note: originally posted on the Disqus site two months ago) Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Year: 1937 Box office: Budget: $2,000,000 (estimated) Gross: $184,925,485 (USA) Directed by: David Hand (supervising) Plot: Snow White is a princess living with her stepmother, Queen Grimhide. Jealous of her beauty, the Queen forces Snow White to work as a … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

  Welcome to my weekly discussion of the animated films of the Walt Disney Studio. I’m proceeding mostly chronologically. The title comes from a quote from Walt, “I never called my work an ‘art’ It’s part of show business, the business of building entertainment.” Title: Cinderella Year: 1950 Source materials : Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon Background: Walt was disillusioned. After the war, he was even considering selling the studio. He had long considered Cinderella, but he was also considering Alice in Wonderland and started both projects in competition. Walt was distracted by the live-action film Treasure Island and creating a large … Continue reading Building Entertainment: The Animated Films of the Walt Disney Studio. Cinderella