The Disney Cartoonists' Strike o' 41'

[Story]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kipw/sets/72157594477322717/

More period history that you don't get spoon-fed: Apparently new online, this fellow scanned in the relevant pages from a NYC "Indie/Leftist" newspaper. I thought the character masks were inspired. lol

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

This is an interesting subject. It makes sense that the artists of any animation studio would go on strike, if they are not appreciated enough, nor is their union.

Reminds me I still think Disneyland has an underground bootcamp where you're forced to smile, or you do 100 smiles as punishment. Those employees will never be seen smiling outside of Disneyland!

Even their picket signs are great works of art! lol

 

[Lady Day]

Those are cool.
Being an animator was a solid middle class job in those days.
This is an interesting read.

LD

 

[dhermann1]

Disney strike

I read a good bio of Disney called "The Disney Version". Seems he was a real control freak, and treated animators as if they were shift workers on an assembly line. They went nuts. This coincided with the production of Fantasia, and the start of WW2 (reducing the revenues from Europe). The result was that the studio's income dropped precipitously and they almost went out of business. It's hard not to have mixed feelings about old Walt on every level. But he still produced some wonderful stuff.

 

[Fletch]

Thanks for the interesting link - and as a sidelight...I had known PM was very early in paying attention to television, but what a surprise to see them in 1941 doing a feature one of the first TV commercials! And for Botany ties, no less! Wow...that's the kind of history you can't even dig for, because who knows where to dig.

 

[CharlieH.]

Looks like I'm not the only Cartoon Brew reader here!

Interesting note about the strike:
While animators were picketing, a film called The Reluctant Dragon was in production. The film's main attraction was Robert Benchley' tour of the studio and naturally we get to see the animators and other employees merrily at work (Disney got Alan Ladd to play one). One wonders if those folks were playing happy-go-lucky Disney employees for the cameras at morning and painting their picket signs at home.
The strikers were supposedly later parodied as the clowns who went to hit the big boss for a raise in Dumbo.

 

[Story]

Looks like I'm not the only Cartoon Brew reader here!

Actually, boingboing.net