Q : Hey Dave! I’m a huge fan of your work. Your encyclopedic knowledge of Disney is amazing! Anyway, I just wanted to know the name of the music that plays in the beginning of the 1932 classic Flowers and Trees. I must have searched for an hour without results.
Mohammad, Sacramento, California
A: That piece is “Kamennoi Ostrow” by Anton Rubinstein. Other works included in the cartoon are Schubert’s “Erl King,” Mendelssohn’s “Ruy Blas Overture” and “Wedding March,” Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” Margis’ “Valse Bleue,” and Chopin’s “Funeral March.”
Q : I am a museum curator working on an exhibition about the history of tourism in Yellowstone Park. I know that Disney made a film called Yellowstone Cubs in 1963 and I am interested in what sorts of holding the Disney Archives might have related to this film and to Yellowstone Park in general. Could you please advise me as to whom I might contact at Disney to obtain more information about this?
Michael, Bozeman, Montana
A: If you will write your questions to Disney.Archives@disney.com, they may be able to help you.
Q : I am in possession of two cels and backgrounds from Ferdinand the Bull. It is my understanding that the originals were lost to the Disney Company due to fire. They are not in great condition by any means, but rather than pay to restore them and sell them, I thought that it might be of interest to the Disney Archives to simply have them back. I see them as being of more value to an archive or museum than to myself!
Olivia, Dallas, Texas
A: You can contact the Archives at Disney.archives@disney.com. (No original cels have been lost in fires at the Disney Studio. The early cels were not kept because they were on unstable nitrate cellulose material.)
Q : I’m doing some research on my Cy Young essay for Didier Ghez. And to get some accurate info, I was curious if you know in which scenes his name appears in the animator drafts. His last animation was for the Disney feature, Bambi, but he was not credited. I was curious if you knew some particular scenes he did that credit his name in the draft—even though he was an effects animator?
Steven, Horsham, England
A: Cy Young’s only mention on the animation draft for Bambi is sequence 12.1, scene 37.3 (ducks on pond take off).
Q : I have a question about the Disney short How to Swim from 1942, starring Goofy. About a minute into the cartoon, the narrator states that “…with the aid of a piano stool, we learn the basic strokes of swimming.” Right after that, he goes on, “breathing is of first importance.” At that moment, there is an absolutely lovely melody in the background. Was it recorded from a known work, or was it a creation for the cartoon?
Stephane, Sterling, Virginia
A: The composer of the score for How to Swim is Disney staffer Paul Smith. Besides his own compositions, he also used three other pieces of music in the cartoon; while I am not sure where these appeared in the film, they were, in this order, “Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep” (by Joseph Knight), “Over the Waves” (by Juventino Rosas), and “Frankie and Johnnie” (traditional).
Q : A long time ago on Vault Disney, I saw a movie about an old man trying to find some kids in a magical land. I’m not sure if they were his grandchildren or not but I remember that everyone was little. I think the kids had been turned into little people as well. I remember seeing a lot of trees and grass and maybe flowers. I can’t remember as much as I would like. I know it was in black and white, and I think I remember the old man in a car singing with his grandchildren. I would really like to know the name of this movie. I can’t seem to find out anywhere.
Shae, Texas
A: You may be thinking of The Gnome-Mobile (1967). Walter Brennan was the grandfather, and the two kids from Mary Poppins played his grandchildren. In the redwood forests of California, while riding in an old Rolls Royce, they encountered a colony of gnomes who were living there. The movie was in color, but perhaps you saw it in black and white on television.
Q : I’m watching Dumbo and one of the elephants sounds exactly like Minnie Mouse. Is the person that did the voice work for Minnie the same as the elephant?
Salvador, Oxnard, California
A: None of the actresses who did the voices of the elephants in Dumbo had also voiced Minnie Mouse. The uncredited actresses were Verna Felton, Noreen Gammill, Dorothy Scott, and Sarah Selby. Felton played the elephant known as Matriarch, Gammill was Fidgity, Scott was Giddy, and Selby was Prissy… and good luck to anyone who knows which elephant is which.