Disney Animation: The Golden Age

Once there was a man named Walt Disney.  This man was busy working on various animated short films such as Laugh-O-Grams, Alice Comedies, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit that would pave the way to one of the greatest animation studios ever.  Over the years, the Walt Disney Studios has transformed from hand-drawn feature length films to fully digitally made features.  The evolution of the Studios has been divided into eras and ages that we will discuss over the next seven weeks.

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1937-1942 – The Golden Age

The Golden Age began in 1937 with the release of the first ever animated feature length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and ended in 1942 with the release of Bambi.  These films were the ones that were overseen by Walt Disney himself and helped established the Walt Disney Studios as an animation leader.  Although the films in The Golden Age and Disney films in general have wholesome and upbeat themes, a main characteristic of this era is the darkness in the films from Snow White in the forest to the death of Bambi’s mother.  The dark scenes typically took place between two upbeat scenes which helped play with the audience’s emotions.  While the five movies in The Golden Age were not the most successful of the Studios’ films, they did, however, start the trends for future films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film to be based off a fairytale and Pinnochio was the first one based off a piece of literature that was turned into a more kid-friendly version.  

Walt Disney Studios

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Based on the Brothers Grimm German fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated feature film.  The film premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937 to a receptive audience, many of whom had previously dubbed the film ‘Disney’s Folly.’  The film was released to the public on February 4, 1938 where it became a major box office success where it made four times more money than any other film released that year.

Walt Disney Studios

As title suggests, the film tells the tale of Snow White, a lovely princess with a mean stepmother - the Evil Queen - who tries to kill her because she fears the young lady is more beautiful than she is.  When the Huntsman hired to do the job cannot follow through, he tells Snow White to run away.  It is then, after running through the dark and dangerous forest, that she arrives at the dwarf’s cottage in the woods.  The dwarfs - Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey - work in a close by mine where they dig diamonds.  Snow White and the seven dwarfs form a friendship and often play music, sing, and dance after the dwarfs finish their day at the mine.  

Walt Disney Studios

However, once the Evil Queen finds out that Snow White is still alive, she uses a potion to turn into an old hag so she can poison Snow White with an apple laced in sleeping potion.  When the dwarfs return home to find Snow White seemingly dead, they place her in a glass coffin in the forest.  The dwarfs and woodland creatures watch over Snow White until one day when a Prince who had previously met and fallen in love with the princess learns of her eternal sleep and visits the coffin.  He kisses the princess, which breaks the sleeping curse.  Everyone rejoices as the Prince takes Snow White to his castle where they live happily ever after.

Walt Disney Studios

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was adapted by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith. David Hand was the supervising director and William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen directed the film's individual sequences.  The music was by Frank Churchill, Paul Smith, Leigh Harline.  It was produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures with a run time of 83 minutes.

Walt Disney Studios

Pinocchio

An Italian children’s novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was the inspiration for the Walt Disney Productions’ second full length feature film.  Released in February of 1940, the film was not a box office successful despite the praise from movie critics.  The film, however, did go on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

Walt Disney Studios

Pinocchio follows a wood carver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet he names Pinocchio.  Geppetto makes a wish that Pinocchio will become a real boy.  During the night, a Blue Fairy visits Pinocchio and brings him to life.  She tells Pinocchio that he will have to prove himself to be brave, truthful, and unselfish in order to become a real boy.  The Blue Fairy assigns him a conscience to be his guide, Jiminy Cricket. 

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Gepetto is ecstatic that Pinocchio has been brought to life and sends the boy off to school.  However along the way Pinocchio finds himself in Stromboli’s puppet show as the star as a puppet who can sing and dance without strings.  Whenever he tries to leave Stromboli’s to go home for the night, Stromboli won’t let him leave.  The Blue Fairy visits him and asked him why he didn’t go to school but once Pinocchio tells a lie, his nose begins to grow.  After a ‘vacation’ to Pleasure Island with Honest John and Gideon - the very ones who lead him to Stromboli in the first place - Pinocchio returns home to find the workshop empty.  The Blue Fairy sends him a letter that says Gepetto has been swallowed by a whale and is currently living in its belly.  Pinocchio goes on a daring adventure to save his father that proves to the Blue Fairy that he is worthy of being a real boy.

Walt Disney Studios

Pinocchio was adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith.  The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, while the film's sequences were directed by Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, and Bill Roberts.  The music was by Paul Smith and Leigh Harline.  It was produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures with a run time of 88 minutes.

Walt Disney Studios

Fantasia

Fantasia consisted of eight animated segments set to classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  The music was created with the help of Fantasound, a sounds reproduction system than helped Fantasia become the first film shown in stereophonic sound.  The film was released in November of 1940 as a theatrical roadshow that was held in 13 US cities.  The high production costs and the expense of leasing theaters and installing the Fantasound equipment during World War II kept the profits for Fantasia lower than expected.

Walt Disney Studios

The film’s concept was developed as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice neared completion.  Originally set to be an elaborate Silly Symphonies short film, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse who had been declining in popularity.  As the production for the film grew higher, Walt Disney decided to use the short as part of a full length film set to classical music.  The other shorts in the film are Toccata and Fuge in D Minor, Nutcracker Suite, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Rite of Spring, The Pastoral Symphony, Dance of the Hours, and Night on Bald Mountain.

Walt Disney Studios

Fantasia was directed by Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, and Wilfred Jackson.  It was narrated by Deems Taylor with music by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  The film was produced by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen and was released by Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Pictures with a run time of 126 minutes.

Walt Disney Studios

Dumbo

Dumbo is based upon a story line written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for a toy prototype.  It was a financial miracle compared to the other films released during World War II.  Due to its successful first release in October 1941, the film was re-released four more times - in 1949, 1959, 1972, and 1976.  The critics loved Dumbo and it received acclaim from The New York Times, Variety, and Time.

Walt Disney Studios

Dumbo starts with storks delivering baby animals to circus animals on a train.  Mrs. Jumbo - one of the elephants - receives her baby and he is quickly made fun of by the other elephants for his large ears.  They nickname him “Dumbo.”  After a storm comes, Dumbo ends up in a muddy puddle.  A group of boys make fun of him and Mrs. Jumbo responds by attaching them.  She is deemed mad and sent to a cage.  Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants and is all alone except for Timothy Q. Mouse.  Timothy becomes determined to help Dumbo and appoints himself as his mentor.

Walt Disney Studios

Dumbo is forced into the spotlight as a clown in the circle where he is to fall into a vat of pie filling.  Although he’s gain popularity, Dumbo hates his job and is still miserable.  When Timothy learns that Dumbo can fly after they wake up in a tree.  After Timothy is unable to get Dumbo to fly again, he gives him a ‘magic feather’ to boost his confidence in his flying abilities.  When back at the circus, Dumbo performs the same stunt but this time he pulls himself out of the dive into the vat and flies around the circus tent.  Dumbo becomes a huge hit and is given a private car on the circus train with his mother.

Walt Disney Studios

Dumbo was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Bill Roberts, Jack Kinney, and Samuel Armstrong.  The film was produced by Walt Disney and was released by RKO Radio Pictures with a run time of 64 minutes.

Walt Disney Studios

Bambi

Bambi was adapted from the Felix Salten book Life in the Woods and tells the story of the title character and his forest friends.  The final film in The Golden Age, it was originally released in August of 1942 and re-released in 1947, 1957, 1975, 1982, and 1988.  Critics were mixed about the humanization of animals and their struggle to survive in the wild. Not surprisingly, hunters spoke out about the film and claimed it was an insult to the American sportsman.

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Bambi is the son of an unnamed doe and the Great Prince of the Forest, a position Bambi himself will one day take over as the guardian of the woodland animals.  The fawn is befriended by Thumper, a pink nosed rabbit who helps him learn to walk and talk.  His other friends include a young skunk named Flower and a female fawn named Faline.  Their quiet forest life is interrupted by Man, a hunter who kills Bambi’s mother.

Walt Disney Studios

The next year, Bambi has matured into a young stag and is told by the owl that he and Faline are destined to be lovers.  Before he can claim Faline as his, Bambi must defeat the belligerent stag Ronno, which he does.  The calmness of the forest is once again interrupted when Bambi is warned by his father that Man has returned with more hunters.  The animals flee to safety, but Bambi loses Faline in the process.  After protecting her from a group of hunting dogs, Bambi, Faline, and the woodland animals escape to the riverbank where they find shelter.  The next spring, Faline gives birth to twins while Bambi watches over them as the Great Prince of the Forest.

Walt Disney Studios

Bambi was directed by David Hand, James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, and Norman Wright.  The film was produced by Walt Disney and was released by RKO Radio Pictures with a run time of 70 minutes.

Now that we've covered the five films in The Golden Age of Disney Animation, it's time for you to tell us your favorite!  Tweet your favorite film to @TMKBpodcast!

Robyn Fleenor is a contributing writer for The Mouse Knows Best Podcast. She is an avid Disney fanatic and would rather be at Walt Disney World eating glazed almonds than anything else.  When she isn't working to pay for her next Disney vacation, she likes to binge watch TV shows and fall in love with fictional characters. She can be found tweeting at @rahrah6263.