Disney Studios Artist' Tryout Book
what Disney expected from its staff in 1938
Here's another step backwards in time: find out what Disney expected from its staff in 1938 in its Disney Studio Artist's Tryout Book.
(Source: www.animationarchive.org)
There are many reasons to like, or dislike, the Mouse House. But you gotta admit, there's a certain thrill in seeing vintage employee pamphlets, especially ones that have little cartoons on the side. What's cooler than seeing some old-school cartoons, in the 1943 Employee training manual, or an original draft of a scene from Snow White in this funky little number from 1938?
This booklet belonged to former Disney employee Clair Weeks, best known as a character animator on 1953's Peter Pan (oh, and as the grandfather of porn actress Houston). He apparently kept it with him at all times as a reference guide, which explains all the rips and stains.
Called "The Disney Studios Artist's Tryout Book," it's a valuable introduction to how things worked in the Mouse House just after they hit the jackpot with the aforementioned flick. At that point, Disney boasted 600 employees, most of them animation artists, and they were already poised to become a worldwide juggernaut after Snow White won a special Oscar the year before.
Here's a tidbit from the manual: "The first duty of the animator is to caricature life and action for the audience."
Here's another: "Briefly, the story man strives to anticipate the psychological trends of audiences and their reactions to gags, situations and stories."
Yes, and a reminder of the prevaling attitudes towards women before Rosie the Riveter and World War II: "All inking and painting of celluloids, and all tracing done in the Studio is perfomed exclusively by a large staff of girls known as Inkers and Painters . . . This is the only department in the Disney Studio open to women artists."
Yup, as an employer in 1938, you could get away with calling a woman old enough to be your mother "girl" without getting a lawsuit or a new orifice.
It's also interesting to note that Walt and his executive board were already thinking ahead to the dawn of TV: "Television, though in its infancy, opens up a vast field of entertainment. Tests already made prove that of all subjects capable of projection none can equal in clarity of transmission, the Disney cartoons."
A fascinating little slip of history. I could go on for days talking about this little brochure, so I'm just going to show you the link, and suggest you go check it out.
(A big "Thank you!" to my buddy Aaron for finding this for me)
