I see what you are saying but you can't really use stole. It might not be fair but unfortunately it's the way the world works. I have to agree with @Goofyernmost, if you work for a company, your creations are theirs. Should Ub get more credit for his contributions? Yea, just like jack kirby and steve ditko should get more credit and not just stan lee. Unfortunately that's how history works most of the time.
When did any of us say that wasn't true about Walt. But, to say that the person that had the final say in absolutely everything made public for many decades didn't create the idea of the character and, by absence of any other recognition created the image the he did everything. But, to steal his own product from a paid employee just isn't possible. After it was decided that he wanted to go a little further and review different ideas of what Mickey would look like and what type of personality he would have I'm afraid that those very traits that you mentioned are still part of the creative judgement from the person with the final say.
I'm going to use the same old thing as everyone else, if you hate him so much, why are you on a Disney discussion board. If we compare his behavior with what is presently acceptable behavior he will fall short, but, we are not in the 30', 40' or 50's anymore. To a man, the ones that you're trying to posthumously defend, almost unanimously stated that he drove them to greatness by demanding more then they thought they were capable of. Just because today's society is a massive pile of milksops and get upset every time someone looks at them funny is not comperable to what happened in the past. I don't look at him as a god and I probably wouldn't have wanted to work directly for him, but, they did and they stayed. There is no reason to get ones knickers in a knot almost 100 years later. Work on the injustices of today, you cannot change yesterday. Point your anger in the direction of today serious human rights problems. How Disney did or didn't act is unchangeable history from a much different time and outlook.Wow lots to unpack there, but thank you for giving me a great laugh this morning.
1. So you don't really have any objection to the fact that he was (apparently) awful to many of his employees, and an avowed McCarthyist? I realize the young people on here don't probably know what McCarthyism is, but you certainly should. If not, here's a link:
McCarthyism - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
2. Your focused on the legal definition of theft. I don't know of anyone (credible) that has claimed Disney didn't LEGALLY own Mickey. The questions raised were more ethical in nature, which speaks to character.
3. You probably also know (and don't particularly care) about how Uncle Walt was known to treat gay people? Ironic given the billions of dollars the gay community has paid into Disney (even back when he was still alive)... And NO, not everyone in the 60s behaved that way, particularly in Hollywood.
4. I get many people have an oddly personal/emotional attachment to Walt (pictures of him on the walls, etc.) and are personally offended when someone raises questions about his character, who he really was, and the embellishments made by the company about him for marketing purposes (i.e. to make money). Still, that's no reason to resort to fibs like "...you did say he stole Mickey!" because all I did was bring knowledge of these reports into the discussion, with a link to an article that uses THOSE WORDS as the headline (I didn't write that article), and a book where THAT is the contention (I didn't write that book.) In both cases it appears that the "stealing" contention is based on an ethical definition rather than a legal definition. Again... character.
5. As I've said REPEATEDLY, Walt was a great business leader: shrewd and smart. He did lots of great things. What I question is the constant glorification (almost worship) of him, and definitely statements like "We all have enjoyed the end product or the place wouldn't be packed 53 years after his death." Statements like that disrespect the thousands of people who worked for the Company after 1966 and who are the ones actually responsible for MOST of things you probably love... Did you experience DL in the 60s? Here's some of my favorite pictures:
Most people's definition of the "glory days" of incredible detail came AFTER Walt. People like Jack Lindquist deserve credit for that (and if you read his autobiography you can tell he didn't exactly love Walt...)
Yesterland: Disneyland Park Entrance
www.yesterland.com
FYI.. I am WDW AP holder (many years), past DL AP holder, former employee, etc... I love Disney the organization, but I hate "alternative facts" and all I'm trying to do is provide other data points for people to consider.
Excellent Article:
The cruel reality of Disney's world
A new book strips away the last illusions about kind Uncle Walt to reveal an uncaring husband, bullying boss and rabid anti-communist witch-hunter.www.theguardian.com
My personal theory is that the dividing line is January 28,1986. Media companies including Disney (ABC)were blamed by a handful of special interest organizations of inflicting trauma on youth by promoting the teacher in space program. As far as I remember that was the last live launch of a space shuttle to be carried nationally on network TV. Media tech began to change rapidly about that same time . I’m not saying there was any conspiracy against “futurism” per se, just that the circumstances of the time. It was the first time most people had that moment of knowing exactly where the were when it happened...live. Even the JFK assasination was not as immediately defining as Challenger. Kennedy’s death had at least a modicum if filter. There was no filter on Challenger.
The Kennedy Assassination didn't have filters, I had lack of technology or constant national coverage that newer technology provides. They had to find random people that happened to be filming it (literally filming) for it to be shown. Believe me when they did show it, seeing the mans head explode was pretty intense. Along with that we got to witness a murder, live on TV. We watched Oswald shot in real time. Although the Challenger was as tragic, we never saw anything pertaining to the people in the craft, all we saw ever, was the explosion. Having lived through both, the public shock and scaring emotionally generated by Kennedy and that immediate time after was much more traumatizing to all ages, then the Challenger.
