I just realized that the 1980s UK magazine Animator had posted all its archives online. This is a great resource if there is one.

Help Needed - From Mickey Mouse to Curious George?

When the creators of Curious George, Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey, were living in Paris, France, in the mid-'30s, they created a series of cutout figures for the publisher Hachette which included a set based on Mickey Mouse and one on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, both released in 1938.

I believe we could probably learn how they got involved in this project by checking H.A. Rey's journals from those years, which are preserved in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in the Grummond Children's Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi. [H.A. & MARGRET REY PAPERS (DG0812) (V. Personal / C. Journal and Diaries / 1. Personal Journals & Diaries / 166/1-20 H.A. Rey's annual journals, 1936-1955)]

Any volunteer to go there and check?

Help needed! Once again, I need your help. Do you live in Chicago? Would you be willing to visit the library of the University of Illinois to check out two files related to Disney's participation to the 1933 Century of Progress event (probably linked to the Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watch)? If so, could you email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.

I always enjoy the Armchair Archivists series. The latest one (bottom) is particularly good.

D23's Armchair Archivists

Each day I like more and more what D23 is doing. I already mentioned a while back the first episode of the YouTube series Armchair Archivists. Since then D23 has launched 4 more episodes and the first of those at least is a must see for all of us.

Episode 2



Episode 3



Episode 4



Episode 5

I was reading recently part of John Meredyth Lucas' autobiography. John was a writer who worked for Disney on the "Zorro" TV series and on the documentary about the making of 20.000 Leagues Under the Sea. The best story Meredyth Lucas tells, however, deals with an abandoned segment for the Disneyland TV show, which would have told the story of the submarine "through the ages." What makes the story interesting is that Willy Ley was assigned to work on the project along with Meredyth Lucas. Walt apparently gave up on the idea when he saw the "rushes" with a heavyly-accented narration by Ley.

Ley, along with Van Braun and Heinz Haber, was of course also employed by the Studio at the time as adviser on Ward Kimball's space shows.

The Willy Ley papers are preserved at National Air and Space Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution) in Washington D.C. Among the documents preserved is Ley's correspondence throughout the years.

If one of you lives in Washington D.C. could you visit those archives and check Boxes 1 and 2 which contain Ley's correspondence from the '50s to find out if he discusses his work at Disney? Box 33contains documents about Man in Space (folder 7) and could also be of interest.

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[I am just finishing an article for my Wednesday MousePlanet column that will cover some of the background of the poltiical animated commercial the Disney Studio made for Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. The "I Like Ike" spot (officially titled "We'll Take Ike (to Washington") is pretty fascinating. It is the only political commercial the Disney Studio made and "Ike" was the first candidate to use television advertising.

As I was finishing up the article I came across the fact that the person who approached the Disney Studios to do the job was Jacqueline Cochran (a cosmetics executive and well known woman aviator who had severa aviationl awards). Even more amazing is that she corresponded with the Disney Studio. I found two letters (through various sources) including one from Producer Bill Anderson and another that was an excerpt from a letter by Roy O. Disney.

In his letter, Roy also included a list of the Disney employees who contributed their time and efforts to the cartoon. That list and other related correspondence is in the Jacqueline Cochran Papers, Eisenhower Campaign Series, Box 2, in the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas patiently awaiting some other researcher to journey there and reveal its contents.]

I hope someone can help. There are quite a few treasures that can still be uncovered in archives, when one knows where to look. For example, I would love to know that one of you will soon be visiting at some point in the future the library of Bigham Young University in Provo, Utah since its seems to contain important papers by and about Disney artist "Wetzel O. Whitaker" (Judge Witaker). It looks as if Judge Whitaker wrote two books:

Looking Back: An Autobiography (which I suspect is an Oral History more than an autobiography as such) and Pioneering with Film.

I have the feeling that copies of those books only exist in manuscript form at BYU (http://history.cfac.byu.edu/index.php/Wetzel_O._Whitaker).

I would interested in at least getting answers to two questions:

1. Does the manuscript of Looking Back really exist and does it contain anything about Whitaker's career at Disney (if so how I would love to get copies)

2. Does the manuscript of Pioneering with Film contain any reference to a possible involvment on the Disney Studio in the '60s on the making of the movie Man's Search for Happiness for the New York World's Fair (this was discussed on the blog a while back)?

Bill Tytla, Quebec and Prague - I need your help

While in New York, John Culhane mentioned that Bill Tytla had been interviewed during Expo 67 in Montreal and that the interview was filmed! I am assuming that the interview was conducted by the late Louise Beaudet. There is a movie titled "Vive L'Animation" from 1966 that shows up in the Archives of the Cinematheque Quebecoise and that seems to include Tytla as a participant.

Would a reader of this blog be able to visit the Cinematheque Quebecoise in order to:

1. Check out this movie to find out if it contains excerpts of an interview with Tytla?
2. Check out if the full tape / movie of the interview has been preserved there and who holds the copyright?

Another request, this time for our Czech readers or anyone that may be travelling to Prague soon. I have reasons to believe that the Prague Film Archives might contain some extremely rare material related to Disney animation (note that I might be wrong). If you are planning to travel to Prague or live there, could you please contact me?