When Disney historian J. B. Kaufman visited The Walt Disney Family Museum recently, the Interpreter team had the pleasure of engaging him in conversation about the Disney Studio during the early 1930s. “There was a tremendous explosion of creative energy going on. Walt’s career and the fortunes of the company were taking off. Something very clever and original was going on and coming out of the Studio,” Kaufman told us. “Mickey Mouse was surpassing the popularity of other cartoon characters.” It was this period in the Disney story—when a lovable cartoon mouse was growing in fame in every corner of the world, and amazing innovations in animation were occurring regularly at the Studio—that the Interpreters chose for the topic of the August Look Closer series. The opportunity to talk with Kaufman, whose specialty is this period, proved to be invaluable as we prepared for our presentations.
In particular, we focused on artifacts relating to the animated short Mickey’s Gala Premiere, released in 1933, Mickey’s “peak year,” according to Kaufman, when “an outstanding series of Mickey shorts was produced.” This unique black-and-white short, running a little over seven minutes, was designed and animated by Disney legend, Joe Grant, and features remarkable caricatures of celebrities during that era. At the beginning of the action, all of Hollywood is on parade as the stars arrive at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to honor Mickey Mouse on his big night: the premiere of his latest cartoon. The short continues with the screening of the new cartoon, the audience’s humorous reaction, and the many accolades heaped on Mickey.
The artifacts, four animation drawings from Mickey’s Gala Premier attributed to Disney Studio artists, are displayed in a case next to an area in our museum leading from Gallery 3 to 4. Two of the drawings show Mickey surrounded by striking caricatures of famous Hollywood personalities such as Maurice Chevalier and Edward G. Robinson, and popular comedians like Laurel and Hardy and Will Rogers, whose work had greatly influenced Walt through the years. Another drawing features Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar as they arrive at the premiere, while a fourth illustrates a detailed section of the crowd rushing the theater. All are done in graphite or graphite and colored pencil on paper.
During the gallery talks, we mentioned that Mickey’s Gala Premiere was meant to be a joke of sorts, but was actually a reflection of what was really happening in the industry at the time. Mickey Mouse was an international celebrity, and as Kaufman described, “Huge Hollywood stars were fawning over a mouse.” When, at the end of the short, it is revealed that Mickey’s wonderful experience is all a dream, however, the tone becomes almost self-deprecating. As Kaufman explained it, the film ends up being a “mildly self-mocking acknowledgement” of Mickey’s fame, and the Disney Studio’s rightful place in the movie industry.
Other items of interest in the same case as the animation drawings are several eye-catching black and white photographs of Walt. Five of the pictures show him with celebrities of the time, most notably the Barrymores, whose signed photograph reads: “To Walt Disney with the affectionate gratitude of three ardent fans: Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore.” Below these is a large photograph of Walt and Lillian at the Ninth Academy Awards® dinner in 1937 (the Disneys in the lower right hand section), followed by pictures of Walt with honorary degrees from Yale and Harvard. The photos and animation drawings come from various sources: individual donors, The Walt Disney Company, and the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. All testify to the success and increasing popularity of Walt, Mickey Mouse, and The Walt Disney Studio during the 1930s.
Mary Beth Culler
Museum Interpreter
at The Walt Disney Family Museum