Dateline:02/15/01
Mickey Mouse may have been Walt Disney's meal ticket in the 1930s,
but it was the featurette and feature length animated films that made Walt Disney Studios
the Hollywood powerhouse of the forties. Walt was a genius who could see that
feature length animation was an art form of the future.
His first animated short features were a series called Silly Symphonies. They
had no Mickey or Minnie, but they had dancing flowers (Flowers and Trees was
the world's first color cartoon), fiddling pigs and rain storms. In 1933, when
The Three Little Pigs was released, the Great Depression had begun. The film
was just the antidote America needed.
Finally, the full length animated feature film was born. Snow White
was released in 1938 and the course of cinema history was changed forever.
Throughout the production of all these films, the Disney Company
licensed thousands of items, from toys to tea sets. Collectors have
been enjoying them ever since.
Next, we'll talk about recent Disney collectibles and how to tell the old from the new. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your comments, as always, are welcome. If you have something to say, write to me.
If you like, I'll subscribe you to a free short weekly email newsletter that will help you end the week with a
chuckle.
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