Eighty Years Late To Get Your Christmas Pig Pattern
The above is from 1933. Implied again is notion
that Walt Disney personally drew his cartoons, and from how credits for the shorts read, what
other conclusion could there be? Disney was by his own admission not much of an
artist, but he was determined that the company and all its works revolve around
his name, a sound approach to product branding. Most children probably grew up
thinking Walt drew all the Disney stuff, realization he didn't coming
on heels of knowledge there was no Santa Claus. But wait --- are there adults
today who assume WD sat at easel to create and see through all of Mickey,
Donald, and company? Many know littleenough about animation to assume it could
be a one-man operation. Disney apparently didn't discourage belief that he drew.
If fans asked for a Mickey sketch, he'd give it to them. The Feg Murray cartoon
above reveals in fact the impossibility of Disney personally doing his own
stuff. To topic of further product branding, there is the ad at left for McCall's
pattern for the Three Little Pigs from a 12/12/33 newspaper. Disney
licensed characters to increase awareness of output and collect revenue from
sale of doo-dads bearing mouse, duck, and pig imprint. Here was where profit
increasingly was for the company, it being tough to break even on cartoons Walt habitually
overspent to make. The Pig Pattern served as Christmas giving in 1933,
each item presumably Mom-made and thus unique. How many of such
survive today, and how collectable would they be?
Everybody knows THREE LITTLE PIGS was a monster hit, but it may not be as well known that it was tough for exhibitors to get prints! The theater I grew up in (in Brookline, Massachusetts) opened in 1933 and printed a program book listing its first attractions. Among them was "Three Little Pigs" (IN FRENCH)" [emphasis theirs). Looks like the United Artists exchange in Boston didn't have enough English-language prints to go around, and serviced this booking with a print from a Canadian exchange.
2 Comments:
Everybody knows THREE LITTLE PIGS was a monster hit, but it may not be as well known that it was tough for exhibitors to get prints! The theater I grew up in (in Brookline, Massachusetts) opened in 1933 and printed a program book listing its first attractions. Among them was "Three Little Pigs" (IN FRENCH)" [emphasis theirs). Looks like the United Artists exchange in Boston didn't have enough English-language prints to go around, and serviced this booking with a print from a Canadian exchange.
Here is an ad I was able to find, from Australia:
http://www.cartelespeliculas.com/galeria/albums/userpics/10118/THE_DAILY_NEWS%2C_Thursday%2C_July_5%2C_1934_%28Australia%29_B.jpg
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