Essay on "How Walt Disney Changed the Movie Industry and the Moral Standards He Set for Movies"

Essay 6 pages (2061 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American culture and social impact. Specifically it will discuss Walt Disney and his impact on the movie industry. Walt Disney had a large impact on the movie industry due to the moral standards he set for his films and his company, the family values he incorporated into his films, and the timeless effects his films still have on children and families today.

There are certainly many influential and colorful American characters that have had a great impact on American society and culture, but one of the biggest names is Walt Disney. His name is legendary around the world, millions of people throng to his theme parks every year, and even more spend time viewing a classic or brand-new Disney film. Walt Disney is a legend in the entertainment industry, and his films still have a dramatic impact on society today.

Walt Disney began his film career shortly after he got out of the Army after World War I. He worked as a cartoonist for companies in Kansas City, Missouri, where he met Ub Iwersk, who became his animation partner. Walt moved to Los Angeles in the early 1920s, where he set up an animation studio with his brother Walt. They created short animated cartoons, until 1937, when they put together their first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Disney was a pioneer in film animation. His cartoon Steamboat Willie, (the first Mickey Mouse cartoon) was the first cartoon with synchronized sound, and he pioneered the use of Technicolor in cartoons after that process appeared in films. He also pioneered the idea of continual staff training, and making the staff feel at home and an integral part of the company. A Disney biographer notes, "At around this time, Walt decided that the quality of cartoons could be enhanced by providing more training for his staff. This began in 1931, and from November 1932, classes in the Studio itself were conducted" (Bryman, 1995, p. 8). The film studio grew from a staff of six to 187 by 1934, and it was then that Walt began to dream of making a full-length feature cartoon, and that film would be Snow White. It is interesting to note that the film received bad press before it was released. Author Bryman notes, "The film received much adverse advance publicity and was dubbed 'Disney's folly', because of its escalating costs and because many commentators doubted the capacity of audiences to sit through a long animated cartoon" (Bryman, 1995, p. 9). The film premiered on December 21, 1937, and became a huge success with filmgoers. It earned eight million dollars in its initial release, and the name Disney became a household word. That is what started the legend of Walt Disney, and that started his long career in feature films.

Disney continued to make animated films, but he pioneered another Disney classic film type, the film that included live action and animation. Author Bryman notes, "These films were moderately successful, but also constituted an important transitional point between the days when the company was (with the exception of the Reluctant Dragon) purely a cartoon studio and a period in which the company diversified gradually into non-cartoon films" (Bryman, 1995, p. 11). This was a big step for a studio known for its amazing animation, but it shows the diversity Disney brought to his business and how his mind was always looking for new ideas, new concepts, and new ways of doing things better, cheaper, faster, and with better technologies. People thought that the public would not sit through a feature length animated film, but they proved they would, and Disney changed the way the film industry viewed animated films, and how the public viewed them, as well.

In 1953, the Disney brothers made yet another milestone when the formed their own distribution company, Buena Vista, which distributed all their films from then on and cut out the middleman of using another film distributor who got a piece of the action. Disney really revolutionized the film industry in so many ways, from the first feature-length cartoon to the way animation was created and viewed, to building an empire out of cartoon characters and imagination.

Another technical innovation that Walt helped popularize was the multiplane camera used in animation filming. He did not invent the camera, and he was not the first to use it, but one of his animators developed a special multiplane camera that he used to film Snow White, and it revolutionized the cartoon industry because it gave the cartoon a 3-D effect, making it more lifelike and real to the viewer (Thomas 134). In fact, another author notes that Disney and his studio pioneered many different processes as they continued to grow. He writes the invented or utilized all these concepts, "Fantasound (multitrack sound) in Fantasia (1940), Cinemascope in Lady and the Tramp (1955), Technirama 70 (70mm) in Sleeping Beauty (1959), Xerox process in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and the skillful combining of animation and live action in sequences of Song of the South (1946) and Mary Poppins (1964)" (Jackson, 1996, p. 50). Clearly, Disney's work opened the doors for many other film producers to use these processes and incorporate them in their own work, and he won awards for them, too, like the multiplane camera (Jackson, 1996, p. 50).

It was a time of success and excitement at Disney studios, and the people who worked for him were caught up in the excitement of the creation process. Biographer Thomas continues, "Artists worked uncomplainingly on Saturdays and Sundays, and at night too; all were imbued with the crusadelike mission to make the first feature cartoon a success" (Thomas 140). Disney created an atmosphere of control but camaraderie with his workers, and he expected the same work ethic out of them that he held himself to - he worked long hours but was always ready for the next challenge. He rewarded them, too. When the studio was floundering, Walt still paid his animators decent salaries, and when Snow White became such a success, he gave them bonuses, sharing the success with those who had worked so hard to make it what he hoped it would be (Thomas 144).

What made Walt Disney a leader, and an exceptional one, was that he was a visionary and he managed to communicate that vision to those who worked with him. Author Bryman notes, "Walt was a 'serial visionary', someone who had big dreams about new ways of doing many things, whether it was making animated cartoons, designing amusement parks, or creating new approaches to urban living, rather than someone with a single all-consuming vision" (Bryman, 1995, p. 15). He was also intensely interested in high quality work, and his animators appreciated his attention to detail and strict guidelines, because it made them better and gained the admiration of animators at other studios (Bryman, 1995, p. 15). Many of his employees admired him because they felt he was a genius. Bryman continues, "Solomon quotes one of his animators, Dick Huemer: 'You couldn't help feeling awe in the presence of genius'" (Bryman, 1995, p. 16). He demanded control, he had his hands in just about every aspect of production and development, but he created a studio that still lives on today, and is still the mark of quality and respect in the film industry.

The loyalty and dedication of his workers came out of their respect for the man and what he stood for, and he demanded high standards from his workforce, both technically and morally, but they respected him more because of it. Of course, Disney was not perfect, and he could be moody, leading to two different sides of the same man. He was demanding, and could be degrading to his employees, as well, but he always believed that the quality of his animation was the most important aspect of his work, and that is why his animation is still the model for others to follow. He revolutionized the film industry with his use and development of animation, although today it seems that many people take all that technology for granted.

Disney's films really changed society and culture in America and around the world. First, they introduced new technologies, and they offered a genre that appealed to children and adults, something uncommon in early films. They also carried messages of goodness, hope, and good winning out over evil, themes that the Disney Company still endorses today. Disney films are family favorites, and they are one of the biggest entertainment choices for families because they are wholesome and entertaining at the same time. You would not think of seeing sexual encounters or swear words in a Disney film, because those were values that Disney would not allow, and so, Disney is synonymous with wholesome, great entertainment that will not offend or be too controversial. His movies are timeless, too, which is evident in how they keep being re-released and still sell millions of copies. Disney… READ MORE

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