Q : I have a sketch called “Even Melons Come to Life” listed by Albert Hurter. It looks like it is done in pencil—what is the chance this might be an original? Note that it is not signed.
Nicholas, Wyandotte, Michigan
A: Albert Hurter was a sketch artist, who was constantly drawing, sketching, and doodling, so it is possible that there are drawings of his out there. As a tribute to Hurter after he died, Disney artists compiled a book of his drawings, entitled He Drew as He Pleased (Simon & Schuster, 1948). There is also some Hurter artwork in Didier Ghez’s new book They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden Age (Chronicle Books, 2015).
Poster for Disney Animated short Mickey Mouse film Get a Horse
Q : Why is the animated short called, Get a Horse? What's the inspiration behind it?
Avi, Irvine CA
A: For an answer, I went to the director of the cartoon, Lauren MacMullan. Here is her reply: "As the Mickey short was being made, I decided I wanted a title that sounded decidedly unmodern--as if if was named in 1928, not 2013. 'Get a Horse' is actually a phrase from the early days of the auto. As cars started venturing out of the city into the country, the newfangled contraptions would spook farmer's horses, who had never seen anything like it and often reacted badly. But the cars themselves often broke down, or had tire troubles; and when this happened, the farmers would ride by and make fun of the drivers by yelling, "Get a horse!" As the short has Mickey and Horace facing off against Pete and his car, I thought this would be a fine title."
Poster for Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
Q : I just saw Saving Mr. Banks, and loved it. But one thing plagued my mind during the whole movie. How could there have been a Pooh stuffed bear in Mrs. Travers' room when the rights to Pooh were only signed over in 1961? The Disney version of Pooh isn’t released until after Mary Poppins. My understanding of Disney marketing is that it didn’t truly explode pre-movie release until the 1990s. I have searched the Internet and cannot find a date when licensed Winnie the Pooh items were released for sale?
Lori, Rochester, Michigan
A: Disney’s first Winnie the Pooh film was Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in 1966. There would not have been Disney Pooh merchandise before that year. Our earliest Pooh merchandise was sold as an exclusive through Sears for several years.
Q : Walt Disney revolutionized the animation industry by having the first full-length color movie Snow White and his inventions like the multiplane camera and the storyboard. How else did he revolutionize the animation world? How did people respond and react to his works?
Jasmine, Lowell, Arkansas
A: Walt also pioneered synchronized sound in animation (with Steamboat Willie). But his key accomplishments were not just in technology, but in story and artwork. He hired excellent writers and artists who were able to bring his ideas to life on the screen. He spent the necessary funds to train his artists, supply them with the best equipment, and give them the time they needed to come up with the highest quality product possible. He was gratified by the response from theater audiences, and by the multiple awards his films won.
Q : In The Sword of the Stone, Wart has three different voices. Why did they do that?
Jewell, Redlands, California
A: Because it takes so long to make an animated feature, boys’ voices often change during production. For later recording sessions, the directors sometimes have to call upon other boys who sound the same as the voice actor in the original recordings. In this case, the two replacements were sons of the director, Wolfgang Reitherman.
Q : In today’s This Day In Disney segment (March 17, 1939) on the D23 website, it states that the first time Goofy is referred to by the name Goofy is in the short film Goofy and Wilbur from 1939. But in the Mickey Mouse short Mickey’s Trailer, from 1938, you can hear Mickey say the line “Okay, Goofy” when Goofy asks him if they need any milk. Shouldn’t this be counted as the first time the character is referred to by the name Goofy since the film was released almost a year earlier?
Dennis, Alabama
A: Goofy and Wilbur was the first cartoon released as a Goofy cartoon, and perhaps that is what the posting meant. The character appeared in a 1938 book as Dippy the Goof, and he appeared in a number of Mickey Mouse cartoons after his debut in 1932, before the Goofy series began.