I need your help.

This letter was sent by Disney artist Kay Nielsen to a friend on December 1940. As you can see, his handwritting is a real challenge.

Here is my current interpretation of the text:

[We are all right, only we are deadly tired – now the dentist is over – it was a horror and [dominated] all my weekends for three months. Tomorrow I am to have the first conference on The Swan of Tuonela. I have got Bill [Wallett] back and he is going to work with me on that music – and it is wonderful music too – only I wished I was not quite so tired. I have done too much and worked too hard on the little [XXX] but I hope this will be good – it might too. I seem to be the sombre sector at that place. God knows whether they really like it – and I have yet to hear anything about the new contract. Strange we must admit.]

Could you help me figure out the XXX? Am I making some mistakes on some other words?

[UPDATE: As many of you noted, the missing word is "mermaid". This now appears so obvious that I want to kick myself ;-)] 

[And here is the corrected text thanks to several of you:

"We are all right, only we are deadly tired—now the dentist is over—it was a hard one—it ruined all my weekends for three months. Tomorrow I am to have the first conference on The Swan of Tuonela. I have got Bill [Wallett] back, and he is going to work with me on that music—and it is wonderful music too—only I wish I was not quite so tired. I have done too much—or worked too hard on The Little Mermaid. But I hope this will be good—it ought to. I seem to be the sombre note at that place. God knows whether they really like it—and I have not yet heard anything about the new contract. Strange one must admit."]

I had the pleasure of watching this weekend on Netflix the episode of American Experience from PBS about Henry Ford and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am mentioning this, of course, because its director is Sarah Colt, who is in the process of directing a 4-hour long documentary about Walt Disney which will be released in the fall of next year on PBS.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Sarah earlier this year and know that she has done her homework. I have a feeling this documentary will be something truly special and I am hoping that it will be one of the best movies about Walt to date.

Time will tell...

I just ordered the books Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles' Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier and Pleasure Island (Images of Modern America). They are not Disney history books, of course, but so many former Disney Imagineers worked on those two parks that I know many of you would like to be aware of their existence.

The documentary about Disney and Italy, which I mentioned a while back on the blog has finally been released in DVD. The good news is that the DVD contains English subtitles (but it uses the European format, so unless you have a multi-zone player you will not be able to watch it in the US).

The documentary is very weak, both from a structural standpoint and from the point of view of historical accuracy. However it contains enough rare sequences of Walt visiting Italy for me to be happy to own it. I am a very special nut case, of course, so I would not really recommend any of you outside of Italy to pick that one up.

This just in from Jim Lentz at Heritage Auctions:

[Did you know Heritage auctions weekly Comic and Animation auction is selling tons of vintage disney animation drawings cels and extibles each week? If you could let people know I'd appreciate it.  This week a ton of feature animation 1990 crew jackets as well as great 30s Disney animation drawings.  These type itmes are up every week!]

I didn't know and I enjoyed what I saw.

Not 100% Disney history related but I am very much looking forward to Sebastien Roffat's second volume of his history of animation in France, now available on Amazon.fr

This just in from one of Disney Legend Cy Young's relatives. Does one of you speak Mandarin? Could you help me dig out the info related to Young's early career in China?

If so, please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

[Dear Didier，

My Grand-uncle Cyrus Young’s given name in Chinese is 锡冶 （See Yeh）, and his second name is 左匋 (Zuo Tao).  The following websites might help you to find some of his early activities in fine arts in China.

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5992bc5c0100tacs.html

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/df498a8eb9d528ea81c77909.html]

Very interesting ebook released recently on the iTunes Store for $4.99. If you want to get the pdf copy, you cal email Dexter Francis at dwf@d-innovation.biz.

Two upcoming books which might prove quite interesting:

- Walt Disney, from Reader to Storyteller: Essays on the Literary Inspirations
- A Wish Your Heart Makes: From the Grimm Brothers' Aschenputtel to Disney's Cinderella by Charles Solomon

The autobiography of Bobby Burgess has just been released by Theme Park Press...

This photo just in from Gunnar Andreassen.

J.B. Kaufman's new book, Pinocchio: The Disney Epic, which will be released in February of next year is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Can't wait!!

Cover for the program of an event that took place in El Paso quite a few ago. Found on ebay recently by Gunnar Andreassen. I love it!

Fun letter found on ebay recently.

Sadly: Dick Jones, actor who provided voice of Disney's Pinocchio, dies at 87.

One more magazine with a Disney cover (from Portugal - 1938) thanks to Gunnar Andreassen.

This just in from Garry Apgar from Film Daily, July 2, 1938, p. 2.

At the celebration of the "Victoires du Cinéma Français 1948" given at the ministry of Industry in Paris. From lef to right, the winners: Monsieur Bellfort representing Alfred Hitchcock, Walt Disney, Jennifer Jones, Jean-Pierre Mauclaire, director of Cinémonde magazine, Robert Lacoste and François Mitterrand, ministers of Commerce and Industry, and minister of Information, Louis Jouvet, Michèle Morgan, Jean Cocteau, Jean Delannoy, Louis Jourdan representing Grégory Peck. Cinémonde July 4, 1949.

Disney artists Art Stevens and Charlie Downs clowning around. Courtesy of Julie Svendsen.

A great 4th of July to all of you! Enjoy the weekend.

This just in. Can anyone help?

[My name is Chelsea, and I am a Cinema and Animation student at Elon University. I am currently completing an Honors undergraduate thesis on the use of stereoscopic 3D in hand-drawn animation. As part of my research, I am looking into older methods of converting Disney-style animation into 3D, including Disney's own work in the field. I came across your Disney History blog while collecting articles, and was impressed by the depth and detail of your archive. At the moment, I am running into a roadblock in my search, and am hoping you can shine a light on where to look next for new information.

Specifically, I am trying to learn more about the short films Melody and Working for Peanuts, both released by Disney in 1953. While I know these films were both produced in 3D (Melody being the first 3D animated film ever), I'm having a hard time learning anything about the specific processes used to convert the 2D animation into a 3D viewing format. Most 3D history books focus on live-action 3D films, and I wouldn't know where to start looking in Disney short film research. As both 3D filmmaking and Disney history are not taught by my school, my professors are equally unsure of where to look for more information.

In your research, have you come across any references to the techniques used in the production of either of these films? Are there any books or DVD extras you would recommend? Or, are there any websites, archives, or other historians you would point to as a better source of insight? Any information about these films and their creative process would be a great boon to my research and final thesis paper.

Thank you very much for reading, and have a wonderful day!]

While looking for some information about Gustaf Tenggren's work on Bambi for my upcoming book, I stumbled upon this great interview with Maurice "Jake" Day and his photographic work in Maine for Bambi which I know you will all enjoy.

Some truly unique documents in Heritage's new auction. Call client services at 877 437 4824 if you want to register to bid.  (You can't bid without registering).

Here is a book I am really, really looking forward to picking up!

Retta Scott is known for being the first female animator at Disney, but we focus so much on this part of her career that we forget that she spent most of her time working in the Story Department. I would love to discover more about that other part of her career.

She is seen here working on an abandoned project from the mid-'40s called On the Trail, which would have been accompanied by a segment of Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite. In a short interview with Robin Allan, Retta mentioned having worked with James Bodrero on that specific project.

Did Gustaf Tenggren work very shortly for Fleischer's in Miami? We know that he lived for a short while in Miami after he left Disney in 1939 and one source mentions that he worked on the Fleischer short Snubbed by a Snob. Would any of you have any evidence that would support what remains for now an unproven theory?

And here is an article which was released in the magazine Click dated May 1939. Again, thanks to The Bulletin, we know that the artists featured here are:

Morman Ferguson
T. Hee
Otto Englander
Bill Cottrell
Ted Sears
Wilfred Jackson
Bill Tytla
Mike Holoboff

This article was released in the May 1939 issue of Redbook.

Thanks to a short piece released in the internal Studio newsletter The Bulletin dated April 7, 1939, we know that the artists and employees whose photos appear in the magazine are:

Campbell  Grant
Helen Ludwig
Dick Belcher
Paul Allen
Jack King
Ned Washington
Dick Rickard
Leigh Harline
Webb Smith
Al Perkins
Mary Weiser
Martharose Bode
Ted Sears
Sam Slyfield
Cliff Lamb

The key question now, of course is "Who's who?" Can you help?

Wonderful new blog discovered this weekend, linked to the early history of Disneyland and its main contractor, Arrow Development. Enjoy!

I have just received a copy of Charles Solomon's new book Once Upon a Dream: From Perrault's Sleeping Beauty to Disney's Maleficent. The text is highly readable and it is beautifully illustrated. Charles mentions that Sleeping Beauty is his favorite Disney movie and it shows.I especially enjoyed the chapter about the origins of the story.

There is nothing really brand new in this book in terms of sources or illustrations but the overall product is a very, very nice one and will really satisfy the casual Disney enthusiasts. It is a great gift and a book I like having on my shelves.

I also hope that one day Charles will consider writting an in-depth history about the making of the movie aimed at Disney scholars. One is allowed to dream :-) Until then, I will enjoy this volume, Bob Thomas' original Art of Animation and Pierre Lambert's artbook on "La Belle au Bois Dormant".

I am looking for good photos of Disney model sheets. Not any model sheets though. The ones I am  posting today all have one thing in common: if you look at them closely you will see that they all contain some initials below the production numbers and the initials of Joe Grant.

JM (for John Miller) on the Lampwick one, the two of Peter Pan
MP (Martin Provensen) on the horse from Reluctant Dragon.
AH (Albert Hurter) on Dumbo
DR (Dick Rickard) for the other model sheet of the Reluctant Dragon

Do you have others? I am especially interested in those which would contain the initials JM (John Miller), JW (Johnny Walbridge), WS (Walt Scott), JB (James Bodrero), MP  (Matin Provensen), and other members of the Character Model Department.

Please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

I just realised that More Cute Stories, Vol. 4: 1964/65 New York World's Fair has just been released. I love Rolly's stories and will get my copy today.

Quite a few treasures, as always, in Heritage Auctions latest Disney auction, including a few story drawings from Mickey's Service Station.

Great photo of Walt in Paris during the 1935 trip to Europe, recently uncoverd by the Disney Archives. I wish I had had access to it for Disney's Grand Tour. Oh well...

Ferdinand Horvath's diaries

As some of you know, a month ago I had the opportunity of buying a very unique set of documents: the original diaries of Disney's concept artist Ferdinand Horvath. They cover his whole life and are a true treasure trove, which I will use (among other elements) as the basis for the chapter on Horvath in my upcoming book about Disney's concept artists. The diaries are mostly in German and are being translated by Hans Perk at the moment.

One of the entries I stumbled upon yesterday was in English. The entry for December 26, 1935 reads:

[Meeting with Walt and Bianca [Majolie], Conf. - Radio City Silly Symphony Ballet.]

I have a feeling they were discussing the abandoned Silly Symphony "Flower Ballet" but what I am wondering is why the mention of "Radio City"?

Any ideas?

This just in from Dan Cunningham:

[I put up a short post for Donald Duck's 80th Birthday, with a focus on Clarence Nash. The body text is relatively basic information, but at the end there's a download link to a PDF I've compiled from a 1991 Filmfax magazine article with some very good posthumous stories and quotes from Nash. Here's the link.]

Looking for Diana March

I am currently exploring the fascinating world of women in Disney's Story Department before WWII: Bianca Majolie, Dorothy Ann Blank, Grace Huntington, Kathleen Millay, Sylvia Holland, Ethel Kulsar, etc.

The Studio seems to have employed a writer in the late '30s called Diana March, who worked on the abandoned Don Quixote project. The only other thing I know about her (thanks to Arienne Tytla's autobiography) is that Diana married layout artist Art Heinemann.

Would anyone of you have anymore info about her? If so, could you email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

One of the hardest exhibition catalogs to locate these days...

Coming soon for those of you who read Italian and who are interested in Disney comic artists.

Another great photo of Walt sold on ebay recently...

Here is a book I am really looking forward to picking up this week. No illustrations, unfortunately, for obvious reasons, but the text is bound to be fascinating. Way to go David!

Walt again. In the mid-'30s this time.