DISNEY DECADES CLUB CLASS #1:
The 1920s: It all started with Alice and a Lucky Rabbit Named Oswald, Not Just a Mouse
Class Rules and Expectations
About the Presenter: Jeff Snyder
JEFF SNYDER’S
EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS AND AWARDS
Seekonk High School (Class of 2007)
A. Founding member of PEER Helping Network later named SPEAK
B. Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association (MSSAA) Principal’s Leadership Award (Presented by Principal Marcia McGovern)
C. Seekonk High School’s Student Leadership Award (Presented by Principal Marcia McGovern)
D. High School Diploma (Presented by Superintendent Dr. Emile Chevrette; High School Principal Marcia McGovern and School Committee Head Robert McClintock)
What is the Disney Decades Club?
In 2023, the Walt Disney Company and everything it stands for will celebrate its 100th anniversary, so what better way to celebrate than to learn the whole story in ten decades than with this exciting new class? This class will be taught by Jeff Snyder, Autism/Neurodiversity Advocate and bonafide Disney expert, so get your mouse ears and get ready to dive deep into 100 years of not just a company, but a cultural phenomenon!
Class Schedule
Walt’s Early Life
Walt Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, IL, the youngest son of Flora and Elias Disney. When Walt was four, the Disney’s moved to Marceline, Missouri and it was during his time in Marcelline that Walt began to develop the creative skills that he would use to make an impact on the world.
After Elias came down with typhoid in 1911, the farm was sold and the family moved to Kansas City, MO where Walt and his brother worked as Newspaper Boys under the direction of their father. It was during this time that Walt had to learn the value of hard work as his father was a stern taskmaster. While attending school in Chicago, he developed a passion for drawing cartoons for the school newspaper.
Walt During World War I
During World War I, Walt had decided to go into the Red Cross and drove ambulances, vans containing war material or cars containing important military personal. However, in order to get into the war, Walt had to lie about his age claiming he was a 17 year old when in reality he was 16 years old.
While in Europe, Walt drew cartoons that he sent to American Newspapers but they were all rejected. He also took up smoking to cope with the stress of being in the war and it would end up as a lifelong addiction.
“I Want to Be an Artist” and Laugh-O-Grams
Before joining the Red Cross during World War I, Walt approached his father and declared that he wanted to be an artist, but Elias wouldn’t allow it thinking he couldn’t make a living as an artist, but Walt said he would try whether Elias liked it or not.
Once returning to Kansas City, Walt decided to start his own animation studio calling it Laugh-O-Grams. During this time, he also met Ub Iwerks who would become his right hand man.
What is “Laugh-O-Grams?”
Laugh-O-Grams was a short lived animation studio in Kansas City, MO that Walt incorporated in 1922 to create cartoons that were modern day adaptations of classic fairy tales such as Puss in Boots and Cinderella.
Encouraged by the success of these shorts, including the adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, Walt would go on to create a new series of shorts called “The Alice Comedies.”
“The Alice Comedies”
The Alice Comedies were a series of shorts that starred a live action character in an animated world. Prior to this, Max and Dave Fleischer had created a series called “Koko the Clown” which had starred an animated character in a live action world.
To play Alice, Walt hired 6 year old Virginia Davis who would later follow Walt to Hollywood.
Who is Margaret Winkler?
Margaret Winkler was a film distributor from New York City that Walt personally reached out to in order to secure distribution rights for his Laugh-O-Gram films including the Alice Comedies. She was one of the first major female film distributors and would often sign off as MJ Winkler to avoid discrimination.
Winkler had viewed a raw demo reel of Alice’s Wonderland and agreed to Walt that her company would distribute the film series. So, she offered a contract that Walt unhesitantly signed.
The End of “Laugh-O-Grams”
Unfortunately, Walt was selling his cartoons for less than what it cost to produce them and as a result in 1923, Laugh-O-Grams went out of business and Walt had to sell his movie camera in July of that year.
However, Walt did not give up on his dream of being a filmmaker and he decided to head out to Hollywood, taking Ub Iwerks with him.
Arriving in Hollywood
Once Walt arrived in Hollywood, he initially wanted to go into Live Action filmmaking. But, when no opportunities opened up, he returned to animation and decided to focus on producing the Alice Comedies. After asking his uncle Robert, Walt set up a studio in his uncle’s garage to continue producing the Alice comedies and asked Virginia Davis’ family to relocate from Kansas City to Los Angeles.
Shortly afterward, Walt and his brother Roy incorporated their business officially as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
Who is Roy O. Disney?
Roy O. Disney was born on June 24th, 1893 as the third oldest son of Flora and Elias Disney. After serving a stint in the navy during World War I, Roy became the financial wizard of the Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio and oversaw the financial side of the business.
Enter Charles Mintz and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
However, the Alice Comedies were not to last as in 1927, Margaret Winkler married Charles Mintz who took over the distribution of Walt’s films. When Mintz grew tired of the Alice Comedies along with Walt, Walt decided to come up with a new character, one who was fully animated, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Charles Mintz…Disney First Villain?
Now, one year into Oswald’s existence, Charles Mintz sought Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for himself and in essence, stole the character from Walt along with hiring away most of Walt’s staff except for Ub Iwerks. This would characterize Mintz as one of Walt’s earliest real life villains and rivals.
However, in a juxtaposition, had it not been for Mintz’s actions, would we have had what would come next?
Lillian Bounds Disney and Edna Disney
During the early years of his studio, Walt had become smitten with a young woman hired in the ink and paint department named Lillian Bounds. At the same time, Roy had proposed to his childhood sweetheart, Edna. After Roy and Edna were married in 1925, Walt and Lillian married shortly thereafter in her home state of Idaho.
Unfortunately, Walt’s parents did not attend and Lillian’s uncle had the duty of giving her away to Walt.
Mortimer or Mickey?
While on a train from New York to Hollywood, Walt was thinking of a new character to replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He wanted a mouse instead of a rabbit and he also wanted to come with the name “Mortimer,” but Lillian didn’t like the idea and suggested “Mickey.”
Mickey’s First Real Appearance
Contrary to popular belief, Mickey’s first real appearance actually occurred in a short called “Plane Crazy” in May of 1928 and was followed by the short, “The Gallopin’ Gaucho” (both films were not originally released to the public) in August of 1928.
Steamboat Willie
Inspired by 1927’s “The Jazz Singer,” Walt realized that the only way cartoons could get a wider appreciation was by converting to sound. Striking a deal with a distributor named Pat Powers, Walt Disney debuted “Steamboat Willie,” the first cartoon with synchronized sound on November 18th, 1928 at the Broadway Theatre in New York City.
Looking ahead to the 1930’s
Walt Disney was now famous, but he still had plenty of obstacles to overcome and many worlds to conquer. Moving to the 1930’s, he could only wonder what was on the horizon, but he would soon face his first big challenges both professionally and personally.
QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Blog/Website, “Going the Distance”
https://jeffsnyderautismneurodiversityselfadvocate.wordpress.com
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