When Disney Legend Kay Kamen signed a contract with Walt and Roy Disney to join the Company in 1932, he became the exclusive licensing representative of the untapped world of Disney character merchandise. With prior sales experience of properties such as the Our Gang comedy shorts, Kay helped start the licensing of Disney’s characters, whose …
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Elderly and lovable Bootle Beetle narrates the tale of The Greener Yard, the Donald Duck cartoon short that crawled into theaters on this day in 1949. Starting out cooking dinner for his son, the younger beetle just wasn’t in the mood for “bean” for dinner and was hoping for a tastier meal. The elder beetle …
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It was on this day in 1949 that movie theaters first served the Goofy cartoon short Tennis Racquet. Throughout the years, Goofy has been depicted in many styles and sporting different looks, including the married Mr. Geef. Tennis Racquet featured a brown, earless version of Goofy as announcer, spectators, players and the maintenance man. The …
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Chip and Dale always seem to “fowl” up Donald Duck’s plans, and in Winter Storage they continue to succeed. Deciding they need to store food in preparation for the cold winter, Donald’s stash of acorns for seeding seems like the perfect source. Although this is a Donald Duck cartoon short, the chipmunks even seem to …
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The husband/wife team of Alfred and Elma Milotte was hired by Walt Disney to film real life in the land of the midnight sun, Alaska. After viewing their filmed footage, Walt particularly felt that the seals sequences had the most promise and asked the couple to further shoot the life of the seal without indication …
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The Pluto cartoon short Pluto’s Sweater was first released on this day in 1949, spinning the yarn of a pretty pink sweater that Minnie Mouse has knitted for Pluto, much to his own dismay. Pluto is noticeably not too keen on the idea of wearing the sweater, and Minnie’s cat Figaro delights in Pluto’s uncomfortable …
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On this day in Disney, Walt proved to his distributor that the public was interested in documentary nature films as the first feature in the True-Life Adventures series garnered an Oscar®. Walt hired Alfred and Elma Milotte, two nature cinematographers, to shoot the footage that formed the beginning of the series. They began filming in …
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When you walk through Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom park of many lands, it’s evident there must have been many influences in its creation. On this day in 1948, Walt Disney returned from a trip that proved to be another great inspiration for his dream park. Walt and Disney Legend Ward Kimball had embarked on …
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During World War II, the Disney studio had deep economic problems, with many staff members away at war and much of the studios’ facilities being utilized for war efforts. This combination of factors made it impossible to produce typical full-length animated features. Thus, the “package” features were created, combining shorter segments into motion picture compilations. …
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While Donald Duck is a much-beloved character, he has never been known for clarity of speech. In 1948’s Donald’s Dream Voice, Ajax voice pills change the duck’s dialogue into something quite suave and debonair. But alas, he loses the magic medicine and is subjected to live eternity with the voice of an average talking duck. …
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