by Neal Gabler
“It is possible…” Memo, Walt to Paul Hopkins, Nov. 25, 1935, Re: Production Notes on Snow White, Snow White Prod. Notes, Nov. 25, 1935, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jul. 1934-Dec. 1936, Box 2, A1737, WDA.
“If he gave Grumpy to Tytla…” Krause and Witkowski, Walt Disney’s Snow White.
“two months of experimental animation…” Quoted in Holliss and Sibley, Disney’s Snow White.
Walt assigned. Memo, Walt to Paul Hopkins, Nov. 25, 1935.
Harry Bailey. Huemer, Recollections.
Cottrell as director. Bill Cottrell, interview by Jay Horan, Aug.-Oct. 1983, WDA.
“all the key animators…” David Dodd Hand, Memoirs (Cambria, Calif.: Lighthouse Litho, 1990).
Characters versus scenes. See Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
“I need 300 artists…” Holliss and Sibley, Disney Studio Story.
Walt never thanked him. Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Dave Smith, Oct. 21, 1974, WDA.
Seven hundred initial applicants. George Drake to Walt, Apr. 4, 1936; Apr. 18, 1936; Apr. 19, 1936, Drake, George, Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, A-D, A1511, WDA.
Cost of New York recruitment. Memo, Edward M. Francis to Walt, Jun. 12, 1936, Re: Costs—New York Art School, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA.
Resentments. Sharpsteen interview by Smith.
Twenty-two of over two thousand. Carter Ludlow to Roy, May 16, 1936; Ludlow to Louis Sobol, Jun. 17, 1936, Ludlow, Carter—1936 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Lu-Mi, (1930-1939), A2997, WDA.
Most hated man at Disney. Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
“George had huge ears…” Jay Horan, Video Interview with Ken Anderson, Bill Cottrell and Herb Ryman, Sept. 19, 1983, WDA.
“During that one month…” Bill Peet, Bill Peet: An Autobiography (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989), n.p.
“so far in advance…” Robert D. Feild, The Art of Walt Disney (New York: Macmillan, 1942).
“mythical sun…” Grim Natwick, “Animation,” Cartoonist Profiles (June 1979).
“Each new picture contained…” Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“We were part of a thing…” Dick Huemer, “With Disney on Olympus,” Funnyworld, no. 17 (Fall 1977).
“It wasn’t that you had to do…” Quoted in Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“the whole studio grew like Topsy.” Quoted in Krause and Witkowski, Walt Disney’s Snow White.
Expansion. David R. Smith, “Disney Before Burbank: The Kingswell and Hyperion Studios,” Funnyworld, no. 20 (Summer 1979); Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life; Jimmy Johnson, Inside the Whimsy Works: My Thirty-Seven Years with Walt Disney Productions, unpub. ms., 1975, WDA.
“any structure that was near…” Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“occupied all of the living rooms…” Peet, Autobiography.
Twelve buildings. Walt Disney, Autobiography, 1939, 5th installment, WDA; Memo, George Morris to Roy O. Disney, Re: insurance, April 30, 1937, Board of Fire Underwriters of the Pacific, Roy O. Disney Corr., A-C (1929-51), A2993, WDA.
“a beautiful plant.” John Canemaker, “Vlad Tytla: Animation’s Michelangelo,” in The American Animated Cartoon: A Critical Anthology, ed. Gerald Peary and Danny Peary (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1980).
Courtyard. Henry F. Pringle, “Mickey Mouse’s Father,” McCall’s, Aug. 1932.
“small municipal kindergarten…” Janet Flanner, “Boom Shot of Hollywood,” Harper’s Bazaar, Nov. 1, 1936.
“quaint, cozy look…” Peet, Autobiography.
“In the first place…” Culhane, Talking Animals.
“The desk furniture was something!” Ward Kimball, interview by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz, May 10, 1972, WDA.
“maybe an Ivy League campus…” Tytle, “Walt’s Boys.”
Average age. Clipping [1934], no title, Scrapbook, WDA.
The Mickey Mouse Melodeon. Kinney, Walt Disney and Other Animated Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney’s (New York: Harmony Books, 1988).
Baseball. Peet, Autobiography; Kinney, Disney and Animated Characters.
Pranks. Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life; Ward Kimball, interview about Walt Kelly, May 25, 1964, WDA; Bill Justice, Justice for Disney (Dayton, Ohio: Tomart Publications, 1992); Canemaker, Nine Old Men; Culhane, Talking Animals; Milt Kahl, interview by Mica Prods., Nov. 3, 1983, WDA.
“psychiatrist’s heaven.” Arthur Miller, “Walter in Wonderland,” LAT Magazine, Sept. 4, 1938.
“If this is not a crazy house…” Ferdinand Horvath, Jun. 1, 1933, quoted in John Canemaker, Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists (New York: Hyperion, 1996).
“too much visiting…” Memo, Walt to All Prod. Employees, May 20, 1935, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1935, He-R, A1509, WDA.
“Why don’t you get some of that…” Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
Drinking. Canemaker, Nine Old Men; Kinney, Disney and Animated Characters.
“Maybe more ideas…” Kinney, Disney and Animated Characters.
Stag films. Kimball interview about Kelly.
Pornographic cartoons. Kimball interview by Finch and Rosenkrantz.
“dipping your pen…” Kinney, Disney and Animated Characters.
“Ben Sharpsteen.” Ibid.
At least thirty-five couples. Tytle, “Walt’s Boys.”
“sexual intercourse.” Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
“Walt’s big happy family.” Sidney Skolsky, “Mickey Mouse—Meet Your Maker,” Hearst’s International Cosmopolitan, Feb. 1934.
“Dad wanted to take care…” Amy Boothe Green and Howard E. Green, Remembering Walt: Favorite Memories of Walt Disney (New York: Hyperion, 1999).
No time clock. Douglas W. Churchill, “Disney’s ‘Philosophy,’” NYT Magazine, Mar. 6, 1938.
Sick leave. Jim Korkis, “Excuse Me, But Have You Heard of Paul Murry?” POV, no. 5.
Vacations. George Morris to Roy, May 17, 1933, Roy O. Disney—1933 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Personal & Trips (1930-33), A2994, WDA.
“I want you to take…” Walt to Bill Garity, July 6, 1934, Garity, William E., Personal File, Roy O. Disney Corr., G-Lo (1930-41), A2996, WDA.
Salaries. Culhane, Talking Animals; Klaus Strzyz, “Art Babbitt,” Comics Journal, no. 120 (March 1988).
Salary adjustments. Memo, Walt to Paul Hopkins, May 10, 1937, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA. Walt asks Hopkins to check on assistants in the special effects department whose time records are not complete and “to size up them and [place] a valuation on their ability and make whatever salary adjustments are necessary.”
“His ambition is to pay…” Douglas W. Churchill, “How Mickey Mouse Enters Art’s Temple,” NYT Magazine, Jun. 3, 1934.
“‘You know, Joe’…” Quoted in Eliot, Dark Prince.
“pioneer in more things…” [Jan. 26, 1938], Otis Ferguson, The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson, ed. Robert Wilson (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1971).
Left-wing praise. Gregory A. Waller, “Mickey, Walt and Film Criticism from Steamboat Willie to Bambi,” in Peary and Peary, Animated Cartoon.
“physically unable…” Memo, Paul Hopkins to Walt, Nov. 7, 1936, InterOffice Comm., Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, E-L, A1512, WDA.
Only as good as last scene. Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“I have never found…” Bambi Story Meeting, April 5, 1939, quoted in Steven Watts, The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997).
“I believe it will help me…” Jack King to Walt, May 31, 1933, K, D.V.’s Letters, 1931-33 Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1930-1934, J-O, A1504, WDA.
“Ben realizes he is not talented.” Quoted in Hubler, Disney.
“He’s OK.” Quoted in Watts, Magic Kingdom.
“son of a bitch…” Hubler, Disney.
“The verbal beatings…” Ibid.
“I was constantly called upon…” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Richard Hubler, Oct. 29, 1968, WDA.
Bonus plan. Walt Disney, interview by Pete Martin, Reels 6 & 7.
“to be repaid…” Roy to Walt, Aug. 31, 1935, Roy O. Corr. Re trips: 1934-1935 Folder, Roy O. Disney Corr., Disney, Roy O.—Personal & Trips (1934-41), A2995, WDA.
“I was always trying…” Deposition of Walt Disney, Jun. 19, 1942, Superior Court, California, No. 471865, Babbitt case, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice, 1938-1944, A-B, A1625, WDA.
Details of bonus plan. Memo, Bill Garity, Apr. 8, 1936, Babbitt case, Walt Disney Corr., InterOffice Communications, 1938-1944, A-B, A1625, WDA.
“Nobody liked it really…” Ben Sharpsteen, interview by Don Peri, Feb. 6, 1974, WDA.
Redoing work of poorer animators. Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“Some sort of magic light…” Ward Kimball, interview by Richard Hubler, May 21, 1968, WDA.
“I definitely intend…” Ed Strickland to Walt, n.d., St Folder, Walt Disney Corr., 1936-1937, S-Z, A1514, WDA.
“night and day…” Quoted in Krause and Witkowski, Walt Disney’s Snow White.
“It was the love of his life…” Hubler, Disney.
“Open with dancing…” Discussion on Entertainment Sequence of “Snow White,” [Jan. 1936], 10-12 p.m., Snow White Story Meetings, Jan. 1936-Jul. 1936 folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“[H]e was telling it all the time…” Eric Larson, interview by Mike Bonifer, WDA.
“Every time he’d come into a room…” Eliot, Dark Prince.
Three or four dozen times. Greene and Greene, Inside the Dream.
“Whether he used the idea…” Sharpsteen interview by Hubler, Oct. 29, 1968.
“It would be good for her…” Story Conference on Seq. 3B, Snow White Alone in the Woods, Sat., Jun. 27, 1936, 8:45 to 1:00 p.m., Story Meetings, Jan. 1936-Jul. 1936 folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings—Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“[S]he is stooped over…” Story Conference on Seq. 3A, Snow White and the Huntsman in the Woods, ibid.
“Let him break…” Seq. 11A Lodge Meeting, Story Conference, Dec. 7, 1936, 9:00 to 12:30, ibid.
“I like good comedy…” Story Conference on Snow White Spook Seq. (4D), May 21, 1936, ibid.
“his fanny in the last half…” Seq. 3D, House Cleaning, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sweatbox Notes, Seq. 1b-10B, Box 6, A1732, WDA.
“Dopey could come in…” Story Conference Seq. 4A & 4B (Dwarfs in the Mine and Marching Home), Nov. 2, 1936, 9:00 a.m. to 11:50, Snow White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“It was often difficult…” Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“What we are trying to do…” Dwarfs Personality Meeting, Dec. 29, 1936, Snow White—Story Meetings, Dec. 16-31, 1936 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“everyone who had ever been associated…” Joseph Barbera, My Life in ’toons: From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century (Atlanta: Turner Publishing, 1994).
“It is my opinion…” Quoted in Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“all walking on tiptoes…” George Sherman, “Bill Tytla Interview,” Cartoonist Profiles (Aug. 1970).
“There is a lot of stuff…” Bill Tytla, “Handling of Dwarfs in Snow White,” Action Analysis Class, Dec. 10, 1936, WDA.
“I think they’re afraid…” Note, Ted Sears, n.d., InterOffice Communication, S.W. Notes (things to watch), SW Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jan. 1937, Box 3, A1736, WDA.
“The one thing I don’t want…” Eric Larson and Ham Luske, Training Course Lecture Series, “Analysis and Handling of Animal Characters in Snow White” [1937], Undated Soup Eating Seq. folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meeting, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“It was funny…” Frank Thomas quoted in Krause and Witkowski, Walt Disney’s Snow White.
Factions. David R. Smith, “Ben Sharpsteen…33 Years with Disney,” Millimeter, Apr. 1975.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for.” Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
“bunch of Cinderellas.” Ibid.
“we have come to the conclusion…” Sears to Klein [Nov. 1933] quoted in I. Klein, “When Walt Disney Took Another Giant Step!” Cartoonist Profiles, no. 33 (Mar. 1977).
“I guess we could do better…” Clark to Thomas and Johnston, Sept. 14, 1978, quoted in Canemaker, Nine Old Men.
Complaints about Natwick. Memo, Paul Hopkins to Walt, Re: Grim Natwick, Aug. 22, 1935, InterOffice Communications, Walt Disney Corr., 1935, He-R, A1509, WDA. According to Hopkins, Natwick had been delivering only 35 percent of his quota footage in the shorts.
Natwick versus Luske. See Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
Natwick’s scorn. See animationartist.com/columns/DJohnson/FourFaces/fourfaces.htm. Johnson believes that Walt retained Luske’s early animation of Snow White encountering the dwarfs’ cottage, most likely because it would have been prohibitively expensive to scrap it all, but that he inclined toward Natwick’s and Campbell’s drawings.
“Snow White was a sweet and graceful…” Canemaker, “Grim Natwick,” Film Comment, Jan.-Feb. 1975.
Twenty-six scenes. Barrier, Hollywood Cartoons.
Mute Dopey. Untitled sheet. Nov. 25, 1935, Snow White Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Sept.-Nov. 1935, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jul. 1934-Dec. 1936, Box 2, A1737, WDA.
“happy sort of fellow.” Snow White Dwarfs’ Personalities, Dec. 3, 1935, Snow White continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Dec. 1935, A1737, WDA.
Deafy jettisoned for Sneezy. See Snow White Continuities, gag suggestions, etc. Jan.-Feb. 1936 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jul. 1934-Dec. 1936, Box 2, A1737, WDA. In Fred Moore’s Leica reel notes he refers to Sneezy, though Dozey is used instead of Sleepy.
James Gleason. Gleason to Walt, Aug. 30, 1935, G, Walt Disney Corr., 1935, A1508, WDA.
“[H]e did all these inspirational movements…” Kimball interview by Bonifer.
“characteristics of the dwarfs.” Story Conference, Personalities of the Seven Dwarfs, Nov. 3, 1936, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Snow White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“he forgot we were there.” Thomas and Johnston, Illusion of Life.
“[T]he animators themselves don’t know yet…” Tytla, “Handling of Dwarfs in ‘Snow White.’”
“[W]e have got to have characteristics…” Story Conference, Personalities of the Seven Dwarfs, Nov. 17, 1936, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Show White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“To me, Erny…” Handwritten notes on Snow White Dwarfs’ Personalities, Dec. 15, 1936, Snow White—continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Dec. 1936 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jul. 1934-Dec. 1936, Box 2, A1737, WDA.
“superficial mannerism.” Story Conference Discussion on Personalities of Dwarfs, Nov. 17, 1936, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Snow White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“I think you have to know these fellows…” Story Conference on Characteristics and Personalities of the Seven Dwarfs, Dec. 15, 1936, 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Story Meetings, Dec. 1-15, 1936 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“He is, like Doc…” Handwritten Notes on Snow White Dwarfs’ Personalities, Dec. 15, 1936,
Snow White—continuities, gag suggestions, etc. Dec. 1936 folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jul. 1934-Dec. 1936, Box 2 A1737, WDA.
“Harlan has a characteristic…” Ibid.
Stepin Fetchit. Story Conference, Personalities of the Seven Dwarfs, Nov. 17, 1936, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Snow White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
Moore’s descriptions. Story Meeting on Discussion of Dwarfs Personalities and Characteristics, Dec. 8, 1936, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Story Meetings, Dec. 1-15, 1936 folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings, Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“we are depending upon…” Snow White Dwarfs’ Personalities, Dec. 3, 1935, Snow White continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Dec. 1935, A1737, WDA.
Name Dopey. Diane Disney Miller, as told to Pete Martin, The Story of Walt Disney (New York: Holt, 1956).
“Dopey has some Harpo…” Story Conference, Discussion on Personalities of Dwarfs, Nov. 17, 1936, 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Snow White—Story Meetings, Nov. 1936 only folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“The boys couldn’t seem to get him…” Holliss and Sibley, Disney Studio Story.
“He is slow at figuring things out…” Discussion on Dopey, Dec. 9, 1936, Story Meetings, Dec. 1-15, 1936 Folder, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Story Meetings Oct. 1934-1937, Box 1, A1731, WDA.
“I think the thing…” Story Conference on Characteristics and Personalities of the Seven Dwarfs, Dec. 15, 1936, WDA.
Inviting Eddie Collins. Story Meeting on Discussion of Dwarfs’ Personalities and Characteristics, Dec. 8, 1936, WDA.
“in a way like Pluto.” Snow White Dwarfs’ Personalities, Dec. 3, 1935, WDA.
“You know the way a dog…” Holliss and Sibley, Disney Studio Story.
“Details that Are to Be on Dwarfs…” Jan. 8, 1937, SW continuities, gag suggestions, etc. Jan.-Feb. 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Continuities, gag suggestions, etc., Jan 1937—undated, Box 3, A1736, WDA.
“She read the lines.” Bill Cottrell, interview by Jay Horan, Aug.-Oct. 1983, WDA.