This is the second of two parts adapted from two articles that appeared in Issues Four and Five of YARF! way back in May and then July of 1990. Originally done with an absolutely ancient version of Aldus Pagemaker on a Macintosh SE, they were an interesting look into the printed page. This time out, Disney characters are the focus.
Last time, we looked at a book about the Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes. This time we’ll do the flip side with the “Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters” by John Grant (Published by Harper and Row, 1987. Suggested retail price $35.00) It would be fair to say that Disney enjoyed a wealth of characters because of both features and shorts, where as Warner was limited to shorts.
The introduction to this book sets the tone to explain why Disney characters were (and are) different from those of other studios:
“Until a character becomes a personality it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, it’s actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience.”
Those words of Walt Disney describe why his studio became to the most successful animation company of it’s day. We think of these characters as real, and in that, the Disney animators have succeeded. This doesn’t mean that Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry aren’t good characters, but the Disney staff seemed to have the ability to bring it’s characters to life in ways that were above the other studios. We see Disney characters as real personalities with real emotions in real life situations. Looking at shorts from other studios, that wasn’t always possible or something necessary. A personal example comes in the Disney feature, “Lady & The Tramp”. The scenes early one with lady as very young puppy derive from reality. Having been through the same situations in my own life (as my mother bred cocker spaniels for the dog show world once upon a time), I laugh every time I see these scenes because I can identify with the real quality of them. That’s the Disney secret!
This book comes as close to being complete (for the publication dates) as any I have found about Disney characters. It is broken down by short subjects and animated features. It is (was) current up to 1985’s “Wuzzles” and “Gummi Bears” for shorts and up to 1986’s “The Great Mouse Detective” for features. The section on shorts id sorted by characters rather than by subject title, and they are in chronological order of appearance. That list begins with the “Newman Laugh-O-Grams” which Walt produced for a local cinema in Kansas City in 1921. The running times were less than a minute. The first character listing is for “Julius the Cat” from the “Alice” series of shorts. They featured a live action young girl (Alice) interacting with the animation. Julius is a Felix look-alike and never appeared in anything other than the “Alice” shorts. The listing also includes a filmography with all possible appearances.
Here is a typical character entry — for the character “Bootle Beetle”:
BOOTLE BEETLE:
If they were small, and especially if they were insects, they inevitably became foes of Donald Duck. Bootle Beetle, who first appeared in the short “Bootle Beetle” (1947), carried on the great tradition. Voiced by Dink Trout, the little coleopteran got his name thank to Jack Hannah, who directed the original short. Hannah’s wife knew of a racehorse in Pomona called “Beetle Bootle”, and he merely switched the two names around.
Of the three shorts he made, the first, “Bootle Beetle” is probably the best known. The elderly Bootle is telling the younger Ezra Beetle of the ills of running away and recalls the story of his own youth, which seems mainly to have occupied chases between himself and Donald. Nowadays, although Bootle is an old man, so is Donald — and elderly Duck is still chasing him. He is still reminiscing in “Sea Salts” (1949), about the time he and Donald were shipwrecked. Of their surviving provision Donald always seems to get the best ration but somehow this does no disrupt the friendship of the two.
His final outing was in the short, “The Greener Yard” (1949). Yet again he is reminiscing to Ezra. Once upon a time, he tells the little beetle as the two of them survey Donald’s yard over the fence, he took the risk of plundering that yard for food. However, all that happened was that he was chased by Donald and nearly lost his life. He tells the story so dramatically (with flashbacks to the real action) that young Ezra is content to stick with the meal he has in front of him rather than trying for the delights on the other side of the fence.
Bootle Beetle’s career never got off the ground. Somehow he was not really enough of a personality to make it to the top — although, in contradiction to that, it should be pointed out that Buzz-Buzz who has no personality except for a venomous desire to use his sting, did much better for himself.
Filmography —
“Bootle Beetle”, August 1947
“Sea Salts”, 1949
“The Greener Yard” 1949Ezra Beetle appeared only in “Bootle Beetle” and in “The Greener Yard”.
The entry is accompanied by two color views for both Bootle Beetle and Ezra Beetle. A major character such as Goofy has an appropriately larger entry consistent with all of his appearances. Each Entry give all the information about the character, and if known, a credit for the voice(s) which contributed to it.
The section on features is a bit more involved but again well done. Once more, it is arranged in chronological order but this time by title rather than by character. Beginning with “Snow White” (released December 21, 1937), it covers the features in order. Some of the entries may seem out of place here as you don’t think of them as features. But they are listed that way because that’s how Disney released them to the theaters. A good example is the World War II feature, “Victory Through Airpower”, (1943). While it was a promotional film for escalating the war effort through increased reliance on air power, it does contain animation. And it is all detailed in the entry for the title. There are also other entries for live action films that included animation in their productions.
Usually an entry is headlined by the title. Then the characters are listed, followed by the credits (which include the voices). After the credits, the date of the release is given as well as the total running time of the film. Then a section with notes on the film and it’s production is presented. A synopsis of the story is offered, and then the listing for the characters. Views of the character accompany the list. Due to space considerations in YARF!, a full example of a feature reference would be too much. But here is a condensed version to offer you a sample of the information that is found in a typical listing.
“Melody Time”
Characters:Little Toot section:
Little Toot, Big Toot
Voices/Musicians: The Andrews Sisters
Release Date: May 27, 1948
Running Time: 7.5 minutesLittle Toot Section:
As the Andrews Sisters tunefully tell us,
“Little Toot was just a tugboat,
A happy harbor tug.
He came from a line tugboats fine and brave.
But it seems that Little Toot,
Simply didn’t give a hoot.
Though he tried to be good he never could behave.”In other words, like many another small Disney hero, “Little Toot”, a New York harbor tug, is the “naughty one”. Indeed, he is an extremely mischievous little boat. We see him indulging in all sorts of minor misdemeanors before one day he goes too far, peppering the portholes of a liner with blasts of dense smoke. After this excursion, he is lucky not to be caught by the prowling police boats, which are grim faced and blue.
“Little Toot” resolves in the future to be good and help his father, “Big Toot”.
His first attempt ends in disaster; a vast liner ends up spinning uncontrollably to land in the streets of New York, surrounded by bent and battered skyscrapers.
“Little Toot” is escorted out to sea — past the 12 mile limit — by the police boats and left there to the mercy for whatever fate might have in store for him.
A storm blows up. As the sky thunders and the waves crash, a chorus of huge, red, sharked-jawed buoys verbally chastise him “Shame! Shame! Too bad! Too Bad!”
“Little Toot” is such a reject that even the circling beam of a nearby lighthouse detours around him. This is bad enough, but then the storm really hits. The poor little tug is having difficulty staying afloat when a rocket flare lights up the sky; a liner is in distress out by the dreaded rocks. “Little Toot” promptly sends back an SOS to the New York tugs and they immediately send out a rescue expedition, but he is by far the nearest to the liner and so it is really up to him.
Hooked up to the liner, he strains to pull it clear but to no avail… until a bolt of lightning hits his stern. The effect is electrifying in both senses of the word and in no time “Little Toot” has saved the liner and the day. He returns to a hero’s welcome, and at last — and for the first time — his father, “Big Toot”, has cause to be proud of him.
Stills of “Little Toot” do not so him justice; he is not the flat neutral character he appears to be in them. The drawing of him is simple, yet somehow it conveys the fact that he is essentially a naughty child — infuriating much of the time but nevertheless very lovable. His father, “Big Toot”, comes across as a gritty workin’ man, gruff and reserved yet with a heart of gold. Just how the Disney animators achieved such is impossible to tell; perhaps they did not know it themselves, but did it all by instinct.
That last paragraph sums up again what makes Disney characters come to life and why we can feel that they are real and relate to them so well. That’s the magic that character animation is best at and Disney does it best of all.”
This book may take up a bit of space on the coffee table or a shelf, but it is worth the effort. Again it is a valuable reference source and a can provide inspiration as well as background. It may be hard to find in the stores, but if you look, it might even be among the bargain tables. Trust me, it’s worth the effort.
Now there have been several editions of the book, and it is about time for another edition to make the rounds, we can hope. Again it would make a great electronic version complete with a database feature. Throw in a few short movie clips for some of the better known characters and or features and they would have no trouble selling, I’m certain.
If you’re serious in looking for a copy of this title, Amazon does have both new and used of the first and third editions for sale. The 1987 1st edition or the 1998 3rd edition can be found at those links.
Next week? That’s something I’m pondering right now. A couple of good things to share with you all…
On the donation front for the Message Boards, kudos to our own Instidude for doing his part by sharing a donation with us. As nice as that is, we have about two-thirds of what we need to make the advertisements go away again. Every bit helps folks, no matter how much. So think about it, will you?