In 1916, The color process for Technicolor was developed by Kalmus, Comstock & Westcott, Inc., but it wasn’t until 1932 that the fourth color process gave the ability to produce true and realistic colors in film. Dr. Herbert Kalmus was faced with the challenge of convincing the studios that Technicolor was a good idea. Knowing that Walt Disney was a fan of the three-color process, Dr. Kalmus convinced Walt of its potential, and soon after, Walt signed a two year agreement with Technicolor, giving him sole rights to the process for animated shorts, certainly making the other cartoon producers green with envy. At that time, during the production of Disney’s 29th Silly Symphony, Flowers and Trees, Walt Disney decided it was the perfect film to BRANCH out into the world of color, so at great cost all work was scrapped and the film was redone, helping set the ROOTS for the future of animation, and soon all Disney cartoons would be made in color, and seen by audiences beginning on this day in 1932. The film was a colorful success and garnered Walt Disney his first Academy Award®.
