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Why Walt Disney Is No Friend of Jewry
by 782
[From Instauration May 1998]
In the November 1997 issue, Zip 113 gives an interesting sidelight
concerning
Hollywood's animosity towards Walt Disney, who certainly returned this lack
of
affection in full measure and was quite well known for his scarcely
concealed anti-
Semitism. Viewed from an objective vantage point, however, such anti-Jewish
feelings on Disney's part are quite understandable. In 1928, Disney's
cartoon
distributor, one Charles B. Mintz, concocted a scheme to lure the artist
away from his
successful "Alice" series in order to create a new one which Mintz would
legally
control. Disney and his brother, Roy, had no idea that Alice was still as
popular as
ever and that Mintz had lied when he told them exhibitors refused to screen
the series
any longer. Mintz held the Disney "bumpkins" in such contempt that he
actually
expected the brothers to willingly turn over to him both their new creation
and their
entire studio.
Walt, Roy and their staff, convinced by Mintz that a rabbit character would
be able to
replace Alice, worked round the clock to develop "Oswald, the Lucky
Rabbit." The
Oswald series was then peddled to Carl Laemmle, head of Universal Pictures,
a
studio Jewish to the marrow. The public went wild over Oswald, thanks to
Disney's
genius, while Mintz and Laemmle raked in the shekels. The two shysters
formed an
informal partnership to merchandise the Oswald character without Walt's
knowledge,
consent or financial participation.
In February 1928, Walt traveled to New York to meet Mintz. Following an
affable Astor
Hotel lunch, during which he went out of his way to show deference to the
youthful
Disney, Mintz ushered Walt into his office and got down to the Tribe's
favorite pastime.
His demeanor changed instantly from friendliness to cold intensit as he
laid it on the
line. Disney would take an immediate $500 per cartoon cut, a not
inconsiderable
amount in 1928. The alternative was for Mintz to take over production of
all Oswald
cartoons with the active assistance of Disney's own staff! Perhaps the
hardest part for
Walt to take was the loss of his creation, for Mintz had slyly set things
up not only to
acquire the Rabbit, but all marketing rights.
Stunned, Walt sat their wordless. We can well imagine his state of mind as
he faced a
man he had trusted completely. It is easy to envision the "hick" from a
Missouri farm
recalling all the stories of Jewish treachery and perfidy he had heard in
his
Midwestern upbringing.
It doesn't take much to imagine the raging anti-Semitism which was born in
Walt's
heart that instant, amid a scene indelibly fixed in his brilliant mind.
Instead of giving
vent to his emotions, however, he mumbled something about "thinking it
over," and
excused himself.
Believing he had Disney at his mercy, Mintz made what he felt was a
magnanimous
offer. At the next day's meeting he told Walt that a sense of "compassion"
compelled
him to make a "concession" -- the newly formed Mintz Agency would pay
production
costs and salaries for all subsequent Oswald cartoons. All Mintz asked in
return was a
mere 50% ownership of Walt Disney Studios!
Having played the goy gull long enough, Disney made the smartest decision
of his
life. He signed over everything to Mintz except his beloved studio and
caught the next
train back to Los Angeles.
On the way, Walt made a solemn vow that he would never again permit himself
to fall
into the grasping tentacles of the kosher crowd. It was an oath he would
keep till his
death. Shortly afterward, with a few deft strokes of his artist's pen,
Disney stole
Oswald back from those who had suckered him. The result? A big-eared mouse
that
would keep a Gentile studio on top of its Jewish competition for 60 years.
But this wasn't the end of it. In their book, Cartoon Confidential
(Malibu
Graphics Pub., 1991) authors Jim Korkis and John Cawley describe how Disney
fired
back at his tormentors every time the opportunity arose. He would purposely
inject
anti-Semitic scenes in his cartoons, well aware they made Jews squirm.
There was
the added satisfaction of knowing that in these pre-civil rights days, Jews
could do
nothing about what was obviously a guaranteed constitutional right:
In the original animated version of The Three Little Pigs (1933),
there is an
unflattering Jewish peddler caricature that that wolf assumes in an attempt
to trick the
pigs. Today, viewers will not find that scene because that section was
reanimated in
later years by the Disney staff to eliminate that offensive moment and the
wolf is now
merely a brush salesman. (p. 37)
It is not surprising to learn that these "revisions" occurred after Jews
took over the
Disney studio. But Korkis and Cawley mention one scene from an early Disney
cartoon which, at the time of writing, had not been expurgated: "Sharp-eyed
viewers
can still see a very brief glimpse of a Jewish caricature mouse in The
Brave Little
Tailor (1938), a caricature that was repeated in the comic strip
version of the
story." (p. 37)
The authors also let us in on a humorous example of Jewish political
correctness
when they discuss the pains which Jewish film studios, which used to poke
fun
mercilessly at blacks, have taken to clean up the old cartoons for today's
TV
audiences:
Chuck Jones and his crew at MGM took the old Tom and Jerry
theatrical shorts
that featured Mammy Two Shoes, the African-American maid who was only seen
from
the knees down, and had to reanimate new white legs over her chubby black
legs.
Phil Roman, one of those who did the new legs, remembers that, "We were
brought in
and spent days rotoscoping and reanimating the legs so that they would be
thin and
white; not thick and black. When we asked what they would do about the
(ethnic)
accent, they told us they were going to put a funny Irish voice in. We
guessed it was
all right to make fun of the Irish!" (p. 36)
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Contrast the above with this alternative version of events here.
More here on Walt Disney.
From same page, the "Oswald moves on" section...
Oswald moves on
Disney was quite confident when he went to negotiate with Charles Mintz in
New
York. He wanted his fee to increase from 2250 dollars per short to 2500
dollars per
short. Instead Mintz wanted Disney's fee to decrease to 2000 dollars per
short. When
Disney refused, Mintz had some announcements to make. He didn't need Disney
anymore. He had secretly met with a number of Disney's employees including
Harman and Ising and had signed them on contracts of their own. As the
distributor
Universal held the rights to Oswald and they could make their own cartoons
with him
if they wanted to, Disney returned to his Studio in defeat and along with
Ub Iwerks
and the remaining employees he started working on a new project to replace
Oswald
as Disney's star.
This meeting was very important for the history of animation because of its
consequences in the long run. It is well known that Disney's next project
was Mickey
Mouse but there were other developments spawned from the meeting. Charles
Mintz
wasn't idle either. He continued to provide Universal with Oswald cartoons,
produced
now in a new Studio under his brother-in-law George Winkler. Thanks to
Harman and
Ising, now chief animators, the 25 shorts produced till mid-1929 were of
the same
quality as those produced by Disney's Studio.
But then Carl Laemmle decided to create an animation department for
Universal and
hand the rights to Oswald to it. The new Studio would be run by Walter
Lantz and
would later spawn even more famous characters like Woody Woodpecker. Ozzie
of
the Circus, released on January 5, 1929 was the first in a long series of
shorts
produced by Lantz' Studio. As for Mintz and Winkler, their Studio and their
careers
were over.
But Harman and Ising weren't even started yet. They found employment again
creating a partnership with producer Leon Schlesinger. Together they
created an
animation Studio on behalf of Warner Bros.. The short Sinkin' in the
Bathtub, released
on April 19, 1930 was the first of a long series of cartoons called Looney
Tunes that
would spawn more famous characters like Bugs Bunny.
Ironically enough, Oswald, the reason for these developments, has long been
obscured by characters later created by the Studios formed as a result of
his creation.
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