For a lot of Americans, the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
signaled the start of four long years of hardship, sacrifice and struggle. As
the United States suddenly found itself plunged in World War II.
For Walt Disney, the sacrifices began on December 8, 1941.
When he got word that – in order to protect the nearby Lockheed planet (which
was located right nearby at the Burbank Airport) – the War Department had
ordered that 500 troops be billeted at Disney Studios.
Thus began a little known but hugely important era in Walt
Disney Company history. One that Walt Disney Family Museum consulting historian
and author Paul F. Anderson will be exploring this Saturday at 3 p.m.When
Anderson presents "World War II: Fighting the War with Ink and Paint" in the
WDFM Theater.
Steven Vagnini and Paul F. Anderson (far right) looked back on the history of Epcot as
part of their "Walt Disney's Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" presentation at D23's
Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th event. Photo by Jim Hill
Inbetween his very popular "Weird Disney" and "Walt Disney's
Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" presentations at this past weekend's Destination
D: Walt Disney World 40th event, Anderson and I got the chance to chat
to about some of the stories that Paul will be sharing this week during his
WWII talks at the WDFM.
"There's kind of a misconception out there that World War II
really got in the way of Walt's plans for the Burbank Studios. Which is why so
many of the full-length animated features that Disney was looking to produce
& release in the early 1940s wound up getting pushed off 'til the latter
part of that decade and even the early 1950s," Anderson explained. "But truth
be told, those government contracts that Walt & Roy landed to produce
training films during the war years actually wound up saving the Studio."
Anderson actually discovered this story while researching
World War II's impact on Walt Disney Studios. Which was when – thanks to his close ties with the Walt
Disney Family Foundation – he got access to some rarely seen material.
The above is one of 250 or so rarely-seen images
from Paul F. Anderson's personal collection
which will be featured in Saturday's
presentation at the WDFM.
"I actually got to go through all of Walt's war era correspondence
from 1939 to 1946. His personal mail, his inter-office communication as well as
his business correspondence. Probably over 10,000 different documents," Paul
stated. "And – in the process – I came across this amazing set of letters from
Roy to Walt informing him that the Bank of America, early in 1942, was in
essence was calling in the loan and preparing to set aside all assets for the
gradual liquidation of the loan."
Now think about that for a moment. The history of the Walt
Disney Company effectively ending in 1942. That means no Disneyland. No "Mickey Mouse Club." Instead of the 50
animated full-length animated features that we know today, only "Snow White," Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Dumbo" and "Bambi" would have been completed.
"But thanks to those government contracts, Roy was then able
to go to the Bank of America and show them that the Studio once again had a
guaranteed revenue stream. Which could then potentially make up for all of the
monies that had been lost when the European markets for Disney's films had been
cut off by the start of the war," Anderson continued. "Once the Bank of America
executives saw that, they backed off. Which gave Walt & Roy the financial
breathing room that they needed at that moment, gave them a chance to regroup."
Artists from Walt Disney Studios created insignias for all sorts of military units during
World War II …
This isn't to say that all those government contracts to
produce WWII training films were easy money. The terms of the contracts that
Disney had signed actually prevented the Studio from making a profit on any of
these productions. They all had to be produced at cost. What's more, given all
of the commitments that Disney had made to various divisions of the War
Department, the Studio really had to ramp up its annual output. Which – between
1942 – 1943 – went to 209,000 feet of animation. Which was over 5 times the
Studio's usual annual output.
"And then when you figure that Disney was doing all this at
a time when nearly one third of the Studio's personnel was being called away
for military services, it's just extraordinary," Paul said. "Mind you, Walt was
regularly appealing to Southern California draft boards. Trying to explain that
what Disney's artists & animators were doing was crucial to the War effort.
But not everyone was willing to listen to what Walt was saying."
Now you might think – given the tremendous financial
pressures that Walt was under at this time, plus the huge workload that Disney
Studios was shouldering during the war years – that Walt would have become
angry, bitter, closed off. But again – based on what Anderson learned while
burrowing those thousands of pieces of personal correspondence – that
assumption would prove to be wrong.
… Take — for example — the medical insignia featured in the above photograph.
Which features Donald Duck giving a caricatured Japanese solider a shot.
"During that time, Walt was constantly being asked to help
out with the war effort. Whether it was people asking him if he could appear at
bond rallies or make appearances on radio shows for morale purposes or donate
items that could then be auctioned off. And whenever he could, Walt did in fact
help out." Anderson said. "But no one's ever talked about any of this stuff
before because this era in Disney history tends to get stepped over. It's
thought not to be as fun or exciting as the creation of the first
feature-length cartoon or the world's first theme park."
But to Paul's way of thinking, so much of what came after
for Walt was shaped by his experiences during the war years. Which is why
Anderson has devoted a good portion of his life to studying what went on at
Walt Disney Studios between 1939 and 1945. Which is his long-in-the-writing
book on Disney and World War II is one of the more eagerly anticipated tomes in
film & animation history circles.
Of course, if you'd like a little taste of what that book
will be like, might I suggest that you make your way to the Walt Disney Family
Museum this weekend? Where – on Saturday – you can catch Paul F. Anderson's
"World War II: Fighting the War with Ink and Paint" presentation. And then – on
Sunday – you can come back for a screening of 1944's "Victory Through Air Power." Which will be proceeded by Paul's talk on how Walt Disney Studios made
this particular animated feature. More importantly, the enormous impact that
"Victory" had on the Allied war strategy.
Concept art for "Victory Through Air Power." Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
These are two presentations that no serious film historians
and/or WWII buffs should miss. So – if you get the chance this weekend – be
sure and make your way to the Walt Disney Family Museum and catch Paul F.
Anderson's Walt and World War II talks.
Your thoughts?