About Roy Disney

[prberk]

Originally posted by Woody13
I stand corrected! It was 1947. See this link:

http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst203/documents/disney.html

Well, I know that it is politically risky to speak up for Hollywood insiders (such as Walt) who spoke up in that committee hearing in 1947, but I have to say: In reading the entire testimony in context, and in understanding Walt's hurt during the time of the strike, I feel that he did what he thought was right at that time. Communism was a serious threat to American values, and despite the equally wrong abuse of power by some on that and other governmental commissions at the time, Walt was right to be concerned. He chose to speak up and that was his prerogative, such as is the case in a country with "free speech," even when that speech was politically risky.

I also noted throughout the testimony that he was quick to point out that, while he named a few names, they were very few and very specific. Most important to your assertion that he turned on his animators, I noted how he emphasized the idea that his "boys" (the staff) were very much for American ideals (and against communism). This amounts to standing up for all but the VERY specific people that he genuinely thought were a risk to American ideals in Hollywood.

My point is that, while he pointed out a couple that he believed to be hurting the staff and America, he actually praised most of his staff, and MAY have, in doing so, actually helped them from the potential risk of negative testimony or hearsay from other people called before the committee.

I do not mean this to be political. I am just trying to demonstrate that sometimes our current political climate unduly shapes our understanding of history if we do not take in the historical context.

 

[Woody13]

Walt was anti-union. He used the "red scare" tactic in an attempt to defeat union organizers. Fortunately, Walt did not win this battle and the animators finally got the bargaining power that they needed and deserved. It was all about money.

Ub Iwerks relationship with Walt is an excellent example. http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Features/ubiwerks.html Walt was a rather cheap and mean spirited person and had little regard for his talented animators. Walt reminds me very much of Michael Eisner except that Walt never had a good head for business as does Eisner. :wave:

 

[JLW11Hi]

Walt made some bad decisions regarding money situations in the past with his animators, and he was quite stern with them, but I wouldn't have called him mean spirited.

He spent a lot of time with his animators and went to company ball games and all that, but after the strike, his relationship with them was never the same. Moslty it was because of how large the studio had grown from its early days at Hyperion, and Walt could no longer supervise his entire staff.

Don't forget that the strike couldn't have came at a worse time, during WWII. The war cut off overseas revenue, and movies like Fantasia and Pinnoccio never made as much money as the studio had hoped. Plus, after the strike was over, mass layoffs came to both the strikers and non-strikers, not to mention how much production was slowed down.

Walt had put most of what he had back into the company, so he had just as much riding on the outcome of the studio's productions as everyone else. Actually, according to "Walt Disney, An American Original", 40% went on strike, while the rest went back to work. They were hard times for everyone, I'm sure, so it was either go on strike or go back to work to pay the bills. When the strike was over, Walt didn't hold a grudge against any of the animators who had gone on strike. It was Sorell, the organizer of the strike, that got on his nerves, not his employees.

Honestly, I think it is good that the company was unionized, but it seems to me that it came at a really bad time.

 

[Woody13]

History is as historians write it:

http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney

Take your pick.:lol:

 

[General Grizz]

Walt: "I want a forty foot mountain with a steep drop."
Roy: "Okay, how much will it cost?"

Good balance right there. Even with Roy disagreed with Walt with "Snow White" and "Disneyland."

Walt succeeded. And he worked by his dream - a lesson to all of us! It got done. . . he acheived the dream and made the best animation, television, and theme park entertainment in the world.

That's all I have to say. . . let's skip over the 1940s and take focus on today's unsafe Disney where the vision is slowly being lost.

 

[JLW11Hi]

Originally posted by Woody13
History is as historians write it:

http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney

Take your pick.:lol:

Oops, thanks Woody. I am assuming that you were referring to this paragraph inthe text:

"After the war, the unfavorable economics of concentrating exclusively on animated movies finally caught up with Disney and his company, as they diversified into television and live-action movies, still retaining their family-friendly nature. However, Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and he named several of his employees as Communist sympathizers. Some historians believe that the animosity from the studio strike caused him to bear a grudge, along with his dislike and distrust of labor unions, leading to his testimony"

Yes, he did testify before the committee, and I do not agree with his decision to do so. He firmly believed that it was communists who tried to take over the studio.

But it was only a select number of his employees who he did not like, and they hassled him day in and day out, and "seemed more interested in the strike than comming to any agreements with the studio." These were the ones shouting insulting remarks to him through blow horns each day he drove into work with his family. That, to me, is not a way to reach agreements. Even after the studio was unionized, most of these extreemists ended up leaving the studio shortly afterward. And in the end, it was Sorel (I forget his first name), who organized the strike, and who Walt held the biggest grudge against.

Other than the select few extreemists out there, he respected the other strikers opinions, and did not hold a grudge against them.

Still, as much as I like Walt, I still do not agree with his desision to testify before the Committee. From all accounts, The House of Un-American Activities was a joke, and went about things the wrong way entirely.

Oh, and I got most of my info from "Walt Disney: An American Original".

 

[General Grizz]

Disney Abandons the American Family

"Walt loved the American Family. . . " - Narrator, Carousel of Progress

Disney's Betrayal of the American Family

by J. M. Smith

In a more innocent time, the name Walt Disney conveyed a sense of trust to American parents. The company that created family-friendly icons such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bambi and Baloo the Bear was responsible for generating smiles on the faces of a nation of children.

Today, while those early-Disney characters are still revered by many children and their parents, the mega-company has orchestrated a troubling entertainment trend that would surely outrage Uncle Walt Disney, the company's founder and progenitor.

Peter and Rochelle Schweizer's new book, Disney: The Mouse Betrayed, chronicles Disney's rapid moral collapse under the direction of Chairman Michael Eisner, "the first outsider to ever run the company" and a "consummate Hollywood insider."

From the beginning of his tenure leading Disney, Eisner "set out to transform the company," report the authors. "In the first six months of his tenure, 1,000 Disney employees were shown the door." In their place, Eisner brought in 60 executives from other Hollywood studios. "The new Disney was born."

"Before, you knew when you bought something 'Disney,' it was safe," said Ken Wales, former vice president of the Disney Channel. "Not anymore."

Under Eisner's supervision, Disney has become a money-making machine. But at what price?

In 1986, the Disney-owned Miramax Films enjoyed its first movie success. It was titled, Working Girls, a film partially funded by a lesbian-owned production company that documented the day in the life of several New York prostitutes.

That film and subsequent other similar ones signified the end of Disney's traditional family dramas and heartwarming animated classics. In their place have come movies such as Pulp Fiction and the lesbian love story, Chasing Amy (both Miramax Pictures) and the loathsome music of Human Waste Project and Insane Clown Posse (under Disney-owned Hollywood Records). In addition, Disney has launched all-out attacks on religious people through films such as The Pope Must Die, Priest and others.

And while Disney "heralded" new director Victor Salva (Powder), in 1995, they forgot to tell their audience he was a five-time felon, who had sexually abused a young actor. "Those who knew about convicted pedophile Salva were shocked when he resurfaced at, of all places, Disney," detail the authors.

In addition, Walt Disney Pictures and Television has become a full partner with several cable companies in the pay-per-view venture called a Viewer's Choice, which regularly features soft-core ographic movies and specials. They [hired] star Becky Lebeau and pioneering queen Marilyn Chambers to produce films and be company spokeswomen. Despite the huge success of Viewer's Choice, however, you won't find it mentioned in Disney's Annual Report, an indication that company heads understand that parents would not be pleased with their connections, if they were to discover it.

Worst of all, the Schweizer's detail the distressing amount of pedophilia activity among Disney employees.

"Of all Disney's secrets, none is perhaps as dark and troubling as the growing number of active pedophiles in and around the Magic Kingdom," they report. Several cases of employees stalking children on the Internet are recounted. Fortunately, some of those "children" were undercover police officers who arrested the perpetrators. Unfortunately, none knows how many real children fell under the spell of Disney-employed pedophiles.

Police reports document this troubling element of the Disney legacy. In addition, company memos are exhibited in the book to document how "peeping toms" roam throughout the Disney theme parks, many of them employees who go unpunished.

According to Orange County sheriff's department detectives, Disney has frequently failed to cooperate with them on child molestation charges among employees and visitors. Area companies like Seaworld, Universal and smaller parks have participated in police task force seminars aimed at identifying and halting pedophiles from preying on children - not Disney.

Even when crimes against kids are committed at Disney, Disney ignores the problem, "particularly if a Disney employee commits the crime," details the authors.

"Disney will not release any data concerning how much of a problem it has with voyeurs," reports the Schweizers. "In the Walt Disney World security manual, ______ crimes are prominent." In addition, cases of extreme employee sexual abuse are documented.

. . . . .


All concerned parents are encouraged to read this important book in order to understand the seemingly concerted effort by Disney executives to corrupt the minds of America's children.

National Liberty Journal, 11-98
Book review by J.M. Smith, Senior Editor
Reprinted with permission.

Disney: The Mouse Betrayed by Peter and Rochelle Scheweizer, Regnery Press (359 pp.; $24.95) is available by calling 202-216-0600.

 

[General Grizz]

The American Family Association is leading a boycott against Disney for the following reaons: (LINK REMOVED - POSSIBLY CONTROVERSAL. PM me if you're interested.)

 

[Woody13]

Seems to me to be the very same path that Disneyanna walked not too long ago. :animwink:

 

[General Grizz]

Woody, there's a snake in my boot!

I am not saying I agree with all of the points in these topics, but rather am posting ARTICLES (based on requests to show that Disney DID distribute , etc. - and all the MORE reason to dupe Eisney). In fact, the second was too controversial, I took it out.

Thanks for understanding, here, have a fastpass, and reach for the sky!