Walt Disney: Secret Lives documentary

Walt Disney1955

Walt Disney1955

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXA2hWgvZKo&feature=related#

They are all on Youtube all 6 parts of it. I know there is another thread dedicated to what people thought of the real Walt Disney but what is everyone's opinion of these documentaries shot back in 1995? Is it a bunch of disgruntled workers calling out Walt? Is it accurate?

No doubt about it a man like Walt would be hard to work for. He was a perfectionist. This is why we enjoy things like Snow White and all the classics as much as we do. And this is why the movies have generally not been the same since. I don't have a problem with that.

People like Bill Melendez and others say some nasty things about him in this documentary. Claiming he was anti-Semetic, racist against a dark skinned man whom he got rid of for that reason, and conspiring to get people fired who he thought might be Communists. There were the allegations of him using a gangster to threaten the animators who were on strike and then it ends by saying the last 20 years of his life got "polished" with Disneyland and such so that when he died in 1966 the world felt they lost "Unlce Walt".

The other story is the firing of the animators who made the Mickey and Minnie mouse . Hey look, I like that. If I were Walt, and the mouse made me famous and gave me something to be proud of the last thing I would want would be a that litters my best creation. I'd have fired them too.

But there was another claim. That Walt could not draw. He apparently drew for the "cameras" but he could never draw Mickey Mouse. Did he not create Mickey Mouse? How could they claim he didn't know how to draw him?

So bottom line is, we all know the sanitized version WDW portrays for Walt. He is on a Christ-like pedestal at times. The truth is he was human, and inperfect. But does he deserve the criticism he gets from these animators? How accurate would it be in your opinion?
 
The MadHatter

The MadHatter

Well-Known Member
we have to separate ourselves from his personal views.....he was what he was...and what he was was a man that is remembered to this day...can we also say that we will be remembered 50+ years after we die....no..can we say we brought joy to millions of families...no
 
Jimmy Thick

Jimmy Thick

Well-Known Member
Its easy to pick on someone who's dead and can't defend themselves.


Remember Walt Disney for what he gave us, if he was a racist, anti-semite or whatever, it has nothing to do with me, or the vacations I take.
 
MUTZIE77

MUTZIE77

Well-Known Member
The fact that he was a racist and an anti-semite are false claims against him stemming from a strike I think in the 30's. He had Animators of african decent and I believe that the Sherman brothers, who produced a lot of music for Walt, were Jewish. I am pretty sure Walt was openly against communism much like most of the US back then. As for walt not being able to draw, he could draw but he wasnt as talented as the other animators like Ub Iwerks. Walt came up with the idea of Mickey Mouse and Ub brought him to life. I would suggest picking up one or two of the Walt Disney Biography's they will dispell most of what you have asked about. I just finished reading "Walt Disney: an American Original" it was a very good read.
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
This film is nothing more than a highlight of disgruntled employees that wanted a "star" for their work. So what that Disney's name was prominent in most of the company's work? An employee that designs door panels for a vehicle doesn't get his name on the rear of a car do they? Or even in the owners manual.

As far as the women's work being only in the Ink & Paint department you have to look at society back in those days. Disney wasn't the only employer to do this. It was common in those times. As was the employment to minorities. It's history.

Just my opinion.
 
Walt Disney1955

Walt Disney1955

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Against Communism back then? Heck, I'm against it still today. I have no beef with that at all. Unless someone thinks Cuba is a better place to live than anywhere in North America, go nuts.
 
WDW Vacationer

WDW Vacationer

Active Member
As someone else said-people can't defend themselves when they are dead.
Many things Walt did that are not acceptable today were acceptable in the 40s,50s and 60s.

My best guess is that these former co-workers were mad at Walt for something and wanted to let this stuff out when he and most others close to him can't defend him.

Some of it may be true,but nobody is perfect,and much of what he did was acceptable.
 
Sam Eagle 1776

Sam Eagle 1776

Member
Jimmy Thick said:
Its easy to pick on someone who's dead and can't defend themselves.


Remember Walt Disney for what he gave us, if he was a racist, anti-semite or whatever, it has nothing to do with me, or the vacations I take.
Click to expand...


Very true, a lot of propaganda against famous figures it spawned after they're dead.
 
Spike-in-Berlin

Spike-in-Berlin

Well-Known Member
Big Phil said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXA2hWgvZKo&feature=related#

and conspiring to get people fired who he thought might be Communists.
Click to expand...

I have absolutely NO problem with this. I hate communists and I hate communism. My country was divided by the communists and I lived in a city that was divided surrounded until 1989 by a communist dictatorship, in West-Berlin. I grew up with the Berlin Wall in every direction if I went more that about 10 miles.
I visited East Germany several times and I saw what life under a communist rule means. My Girlfriend grew up under communist rule and wasn't allowed to leave her country before the communist dictatorship was overthrown in 1989.
If Walt fired communists from his company, congratulations. Why should he employ people that try to bring a system to power that would steal everything from him he had created. Do you know how the only amusement park in East Germany, in East Berlin, the Kulturpark was like? Absolutely terrible, no US-citizen would have payed a DIME to see it.
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Just so we're clear on the criticism:

I don't think anyone has ever criticized Walt for being against Communism. I think the issue is more his collusion with the whole McCarthy/HUAC scene, where a lot of people lost their jobs and livelihoods just for attending leftist meetings or reading the "wrong" literature. What could have been just an attempt to uproot Soviet spies in the government turned into what a lot of people think was a witch hunt, where having the wrong political ideas or associations could get you in serious trouble in an ostensibly free country.

My take is that you can't judge a man too harshly for cooperating with the government of his country. When the U.S. Congress asks for your help, you typically say yes, especially if you see yourself as a patriotic type.

Walt seemed to see attempts to unionize his studio as legitimate Communist plots. It was part of the culture in those days to see Bolsheviks around every corner. His view was probably too simplistic, but it was probably sincere.
 
Magenta Panther

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
Bill Melendez was a crappy animator who made those ugly-looking Peanuts cartoons. Judging by the animation quality of those toons, he probably couldn't cut it at Disney and that's why he was so bitter.

When it comes to so-called racism etc., Floyd Norman, a black man who worked for Walt himself, has stated many times that he never saw or heard anything from Walt that could be called racist, or anti-Semitic. I think I'd trust his word over a failure like Melendez.
 
ddbowdoin

ddbowdoin

Well-Known Member
this is so stupid... "walt disneys name dominated the screen, diminishing the work of his artists..."

ummm... yeah, he was the owner and creator of the COMPANY! When you buy a Ford, its called a Ford... you don't find a model that is all of a sudden called Joe Wilson because he worked on the engine on the assembly line!
 
Crockett

Crockett

Banned
This documentary is disturbing. But as a member of the Disney fan clan, I can choose not to buy into any of it. As true Disney faithful, there are ways for us to step around such negative claims against Walt.

The most commonly used method (and my personal favorite), is the urban legend card. You can swat down anything negative against our House of Mouse by simply saying: "That is an urban legend, and NOT true at all." This works very well on the simple-minded.

Now, what if there are actual documented statements from individuals who knew Walt, and claim these things are legit? How do we knock those into the realm of doubt? Simple. One of the previous poster's to this thread did this brilliantly. Simply throw some sort of scenario against the accuser to put their claims in doubt. (i.e. "These were workers who were angry at Walt, and wanted to stir up his reputation by saying...") You can get creative with this method, but make it believable. Either way, Walt's name is kept clear.

With enough of us Disney Faithfuls out there to use any method possible to keep Walt's name out of the mud, then by sheer numbers alone of people saying those are "urban legends", "lies", etc, those bringing up Walt's shady past will be perceived as liars, despite what the truth is.

As Disney fans we need to look at the positive of Walt, and forget the negative. Documentaries such as this are FALSE ;) and do not represent the real Walter Elias Disney.
 
puntagordabob

puntagordabob

Well-Known Member
Big Phil said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXA2hWgvZKo&feature=related#

They are all on Youtube all 6 parts of it. I know there is another thread dedicated to what people thought of the real Walt Disney but what is everyone's opinion of these documentaries shot back in 1995? Is it a bunch of disgruntled workers calling out Walt? Is it accurate?

No doubt about it a man like Walt would be hard to work for. He was a perfectionist. This is why we enjoy things like Snow White and all the classics as much as we do. And this is why the movies have generally not been the same since. I don't have a problem with that.

People like Bill Melendez and others say some nasty things about him in this documentary. Claiming he was anti-Semetic, racist against a dark skinned man whom he got rid of for that reason, and conspiring to get people fired who he thought might be Communists. There were the allegations of him using a gangster to threaten the animators who were on strike and then it ends by saying the last 20 years of his life got "polished" with Disneyland and such so that when he died in 1966 the world felt they lost "Unlce Walt".

The other story is the firing of the animators who made the Mickey and Minnie mouse . Hey look, I like that. If I were Walt, and the mouse made me famous and gave me something to be proud of the last thing I would want would be a that litters my best creation. I'd have fired them too.

But there was another claim. That Walt could not draw. He apparently drew for the "cameras" but he could never draw Mickey Mouse. Did he not create Mickey Mouse? How could they claim he didn't know how to draw him?

So bottom line is, we all know the sanitized version WDW portrays for Walt. He is on a Christ-like pedestal at times. The truth is he was human, and inperfect. But does he deserve the criticism he gets from these animators? How accurate would it be in your opinion?
Click to expand...

My opinion is that this "documentary" is crap.....and belongs (as do the video files on youtube) deleted into the dustbins of NON-history.
 

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