“Drawing the Line” is a seriously entertaining look at animation history

Jim Hill

18 years ago

If you’re a Disney history buff, you’ve undoubtedly seen this photograph before …

It’s from the infamous strike of 1941. When hundreds of artists & animators picketed right outside of the Buena Vista Street entrance to the studio. With the hope that Walt would then be shamed into officially recognizing the unionized employees who worked at Disney Studios.

This was the event that literally tore Walt Disney Productions in half. The bad feelings that came about as a direct result of this strike lasted for decades. With the staffers who dared to cross the picket line forever being labeled as scabs by their co-workers who’d participated in the ’41 walk-out.

Given the strong emotions involved here, it’s easy to understand why the 1941 strike tends to be the one event that Disney historians tippy-toe around. Out of concern of possibly offending any senior corporate officials and/or any surviving members of the “Nine Old Men.”

That’s why I found Tom Sito‘s “Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson” (University Press of Kentucky, October 2006) so refreshing. Here finally was a book that didn’t pussy-foot around this particular piece of Disney history. Tom just tells this tale, warts and all.

Mind you, Sito isn’t just a gifted & gutsy storyteller. As President Emeritus of the Animation Guild (I.A.T.S.E. Local 839), Tom’s in a unique position to comment on animation history. Given that — over his 30+ years in the biz — Sito has had the chance to sit down and chat with some truly legendary figures. People like Margaret J. Winkler …

… The woman who put Walt Disney under contract in 1923 to produce his “Alice in Cartoonland” series. Which effectively launched Walt’s career in Hollywood.

Thanks to all these conversations that Tom had with animators who worked back in the 1920s, 1930s & 1940s, he now had this treasure trove of stories about what it was really like to work at Disney, Warners, Fleischers and UPA back in the day. Back when Walt wasn’t the kindly old Uncle Walt that we saw on television. But — rather — a somewhat desperate producer who was just trying to keep his troops motivated so that they could then complete all of the pictures that Disney had in its production pipeline at that time.

It’s this aspect of “Drawing the Line” that I particularly enjoyed. Sito doesn’t tell these stories from the safety of sixty years later. But — rather — Tom tries to put you right there in the moment. To give you a real sense of what was really on the line when these artists went out on strike.

By the way, “Drawing the Line” isn’t just a book about the Walt Disney Company. While there are many entertaining stories in here about the various colorful personalities that worked at that studio over the past 75 studios, Sito’s after bigger game. He’s out to tell the story of the impact that unionization had on the entire animation industry in the United States. The battles that were won as well as the jobs that were lost.

Which sounds like it could be pretty dry stuff. But not the way that Tom Sito tells this story. “Drawing the Line” gets the balance just right. It mixes large chunks of well-researched animation history with big handfuls of amusing anecdotes. Which is why you’ll do a lot of laughing as you read through this 425-page hardcover. Which manages to poke fun at current studio heads like DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg …

… even as it’s giving you a solid understanding of the history of unionization of animation in Hollywood.

What’s also great about “Drawing the Line” is how clearly Sito sees the parallels between animation’s past and its future. How — whether you’re an animator working with a pencil & paper on Disney’s “Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs” or a CG artist working with an electronic tablet & keyboard on DreamWorks’ “Over the Hedge” …

— chances are that you still need someone in your corner, making sure that studio management actually honors its end of the agreement. Which is where the Animation Guild comes in.

Anywho … As good a writer & storyteller as Mr. Sito may be, Tom’s even more entertaining in person. Which is why — if you’re an animation fan who’s going to be in the Bay Area next weekend — you really owe it to yourself to head over to the Cartoon Museum of Art next Friday night. When Tom will first be doing a presentation, then signing copies of “Drawing the Line: The Untold Stories of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson.”