Q : I’m researching someone who was an important writer at Disney. His name was Erdman Penner. He was a Canadian who worked, as you know, on some of Disney’s best-loved films.
Greg, Vancouver, Canada
A: Erdman Patrick Heinrich Penner, the son of pioneer doctor Erdman Penner and his French wife, Blanche, was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan on January 17, 1905. He attended the University of Saskatchewan for two years, then the American Academy of Art and the Art Institute in Chicago, and the American School for Writers in Hollywood.  At the last one, he studied screenwriting. He joined Disney in May 1935 and remained until November 1956 as a storyman and story director. He received credit for story adaptation on Pinocchio, Victory Through Air Power, and Sleeping Beauty, and for story on Fantasia, Make Mine Music, Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp, on which he was also listed as associate producer. He married Irene Gross in 1935 and passed away in 1956, at the age of 51.
Q : Why does Disney not acknowledge Plane Crazy as Mickey Mouse’s first movie?
Mark, Mission Viejo, California
A: While Plane Crazy was animated before Steamboat Willie (as was The Gallopin’ Gaucho), they were not released until after it. The first two films had been made without sound. With the success of synchronized sound in Steamboat Willie, sound was later added to Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho, and they were released later.
Q : I have the Disney video Lucky Luke: Daisy Town, and I find it rather interesting. My question is, what prompted Disney to make this film and how come I cannot find any information about it that is not written in French?
Shelly, Great Falls, Montana
A: Disney did not make the Lucky Luke films, but only obtained the rights to release them on videocassette in the United States. Besides the Daisy Town video, there is one titled The Ballad of the Daltons. They were originally released on VHS in 1984 and reissued in 1990 (when they were also released on laserdisc). The two films had been produced in France in 1971 and 1978 respectively, directed by René Goscinny.
Q : I know that Fauntleroy is Donald Duck’s middle name, but do any of the other characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto) have middle names? I also was wondering if there has ever been a book published that details the families of the characters and their backstories?
Rachael, Littleton, Colorado
A: No, the other characters have not been given middle names. The most comprehensive book on the history of the characters is John Grant’s Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters. Perhaps your local library might have it.
Q : Can you help me find who the narrator is in Disney’s film, The Story of Menstruation?
Amanda, Durham, North Carolina
A: The narrator of this well-known educational film was Gloria Blondell. Miss Blondell came to the Disney Studio on July 25, 1945, to record the narration. She also occasionally did the voice of Daisy Duck, and is known for appearing on such television series as Thriller, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Life of Riley, and I Love Lucy.
Q : In the short “Casey at the Bat,” there is a scene where a lady in the stands pulls a pin out of her hair with the intention of doing something with it, but the next scene has been cut in all the versions I have watched.  What did she do with it?
Brian, Hillsboro, Oregon
A: There is no cut in that scene; it has always been the same. The lady in the stands is yelling “Kill the umpire,” and she pulls out her pin, perhaps threatening to do just that—but you have to read that into the story.