Jim on Film
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This doesn’t mean that everything Walt Disney made was magic. Not only did he make such great films as The Sword and the Rose, The Light in the Forest, and That Darn Cat!, he also had a hand in misfires such as Babes in Toyland, Westward Ho, the Wagons!, and Bon Voyage. But in looking over the output of the studio during his lifetime, he had far more successes than failures, and even in failure, rarely did he create something that was horribly awful. Even Babes in Toyland has its fans today. In comparison, nothing Walt Disney himself created was ever quite as bad as Flubber, Inspector Gadget, or Tom and Huck.
Even with the misfires, the output of his studio also always felt organic, as if it really had his handprint on it all. One gets the idea that he really thought Big Red, Almost Angels, and Mary Poppins would make for great movies, instead of thinking he’d be appealing to an underserved portion of the market by releasing a movie about kids with Almost Angels or thinking he could capitalize on a trend with Mary Poppins.
I also respect Walt Disney for being a visionary who thought outside the box. This can be seen early in his career when he insisted on attempting to synchronize sound with the animation in Steamboat Willie, adding color to his Silly Symphonies, or creating a full-length animated feature with songs integrated into the plot. But even later in his career, he looked for ways of doing his own thing. At the time he conceived it, there was nothing like The Mickey Mouse Club on television, and Disney created the concept with very specific ideas of how it should be. With his weekly television series Disneyland (and its many name-altered version through the years), Disney created an entertaining way to promote his latest projects, to maximize the use of his growing film library, and to create a name for himself. He was also able to identify talent and create stars, which he did with Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, Hayley Mills, Annette Funicello, and others. Whether it was in animation, live-action, or in other endeavors, Walt Disney knew how to think differently.
Lastly, I most admire Walt Disney because he was concerned about product rather than finances. That is not to say that he spent wildly on his projects. After all, he was leading a publicly held company whose goal was to make money for its investors, but there are numerous stories told where he disregarded financial concerns in favor of a quality product. For example, according to the special edition DVD release of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the budget of the film was so high, if the film had not been a success, it could have closed the studio, much as was the case for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When the first filmed conception of the giant squid battle failed miserably, Walt Disney insisted on re-filming the action sequence with expensive alterations. This is similar to the sequence Ken Annakin discussed from The Sword and the Rose, in which Annakin was concerned about cost over-runs. Disney told Annakin to let him worry about the money and for Annakin to make the film Disney wanted. He seemed to understand that quality would always make for a commercial success while shortchanging those who came to respect all that his name stood for would be riskier than spending money on quality.
Walt Disney, as many others have said, was an original. Born and raised in the Midwest, he arrived in Hollywood with a special set of values and ideas, and when he set out to create his own studio, he did it in the way he wanted. Now, I no longer just enjoy his many films, but I can look at the man and see him as a unique visionary.
The values that Walt Disney used to run his company are still valid today. Quality will always, in the end, survive the long haul when thrown into the marketplace with quick-buck competition. A name can still mean something if it represents a quality product. Dreaming new things rather than following the pack is risky but worth it. And true artistic talent is always better than middleman meddling.
Walt Disney, a man with lessons for everyone that are worth learning.
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-- Jim Miles
Jim On Film is published on the first Thursday of each month.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted January 8, 2004