The Art of the Title Card: Dude Duck

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the classic Donald Duck cartoon Dude Duck, released on March 2, 1951.  Directed by studio veteran Jack Hannah, the short showcased the battle of wits between Donald and the horse Rover Boy #6 at the Bar None dude ranch.  Layout was by Yale Gracey; background by Art Riley.

Image © Walt Disney Company

The True Life Winston Hibler

While he certainly has one of the most recognizable voices in the history of Disney entertainment, Winston Hibler has ironically remained one of the more quiet giants behind so many studio success stories and productions both animated and live action. Most famous as the narrator of the True-Life Adventure films, Hibler’s creative efforts however, extended far beyond the award-winning nature documentaries that were the hallmark of his more than thirty-year career with the Disney Studios.

A Pennsylvania native who arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930s to pursue an acting career in motion pictures, Hibler ironically found work with Disney in 1942 behind the cameras. He began his studio career as a camera operator, but quickly became a technical director on many of the government-commissioned training films being produced for the U.S. military.

Hibler’s first entertainment-based endeavor was writing the Johnny Appleseed sequence from the 1948 package feature Melody Time. One of the most underrated gems of Disney animation, Johnny Appleseed was an auspicious debut that Walt Disney himself took notice of. Hibler quickly found himself fast-tracked into feature animation, providing story content for films such as The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty.

But paralleling his contributions to the animation department was his involvement in a series of films that would ultimately become his legacy at Disney for work both as a performer and as a writer. While the True-Life Adventures literally pioneered the nature documentary genre and collected countless awards and accolades, decades later it seems that it is Hibler’s gentle, storyteller-based narrations that are best remembered by a generation of baby boomers and their parents. And it was a job Hibler never intended to do.

When preparing Seal Island, the first in the True-Life Adventure series, Hibler recorded a test track to check for story continuity. According to Hibler’s family, Walt previewed Seal Island for his wife Lillian using Hibler’s “scratch track”. When Lillian later viewed a cut sans-Hib, she pointedly asked Walt what happened to the first guy. Hibler subsequently voiced the final theatrical cut and went on to narrate all the remaining True-Life Adventure films, as well as the People and Places travelogues and numerous episodes of the Disney television program. With the exception of Walt himself, his is likely the most famous non-character voice in the history of the studio.

But the brunt of Hibler’s creative energies on the True-Life films was channeled behind the cameras. While starting as a writer, his subsequent experience allowed him to grow a career that came to encompass producing and directing credits as well. He was the force behind the vast majority of the live-action animal-themed episodes on the Wonderful World of Disney during the 1960s and 1970s, and the likes of Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, Lefty the Dingaling Lynx, and Ida the Offbeat Eagle became staples of Sunday evening entertainment.

Impressively, at the same time Hibler was also largely involved in the studio’s live action feature slate as well. Producer credits appear on such films as Those Calloways, The Ugly Dachshund, Follow Me Boys! and The Island at the Top of the World. He was working on early concepts for what would ultimately become The Black Hole when he passed away in 1976.

Hibler’s talents turned up in other places as well. He contributed lyrics to songs such as "Following the Leader" from Peter Pan and "I Wonder" from Sleeping Beauty. But what is likely one of his most famous and widely heard (and for the most part uncredited) works was this notable speech written for Walt in 1955:

“To all who come to this happy place – welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

While in the past score of years, people such as Marc Davis, Mary Blair, John Hench, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston and numerous other studio and Imagineering legends have rightly and prominently been given recognition that was long overdue, Winston Hibler’s legacy of contributions seems to still remain on the periphery of Disney history. While his lack of extensive animation and theme park notoriety has likely kept his profile lower than that of many of his contemporaries, he was certainly a cornerstone of the Disney Studio for many, many years. His creative impact extends far beyond the True-Life Adventure narrations he became most noted for.

Images © Walt Disney Company

From the Jungle Cruise queue area at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Jungle Cruise - The Criticism is Intense!

 This week's best clickbait.  It landed in a Google feed.

"Fan-Favorite Magic Kingdom Attraction Now Facing Intense Criticism"

Spoiler Alert! It's Jungle Cruise.

The photo featured with the article shows kids with balloons in front of Cinderella castle. Not an elephant or tiger in sight.  It takes five whole paragraphs before it even identifies Jungle Cruise as the subject. Classic clickbait tactics. Shameful editorial guidelines.

So the Jungle Cruise is now facing intense criticism.  From who?  It would appear that said criticism is coming solely from the author of the post.  The article is clearly an opinion piece where the writer projects very contrived  observations and conclusions on unnamed and unattributed sources. It generalizes the consensuses of whole demographics (i.e. "teens find it tame, "younger children lose focus").  The criticisms articulated are generally mild and certainly at no point intense.  It's as if the headline was written before the article.  Disguising hollow conjecture as objective journalism is a dishonest and sad way of generating attention.

As to the supposition itself - In my subjective (and clearly identified) opinion, Jungle Cruise is a perennial theme park attraction that has endured for over seven decades and will likely be around for at least seven more.  To say that it is suddenly facing intense criticism is nonsensical.  It transcends comparisons to thrill rides and other new tech attractions by way of brilliant and detailed designs (right down to its wonderful queue elements) and a legacy of historical significance and sentimental nostalgia.  It is important to also recognize that the perceptions of the very vocal but largely insubstantial coalition of influencers, lifestyle bloggers and clickbait journalists do not in fact represent the opinions of the vast majority of Walt Disney World visitors.  Most guests will likely experience Jungle Cruise once every few years, not two or three times every week. That degree of repetition is bound to inspire boredom and cynicism in even the most devoted Disney enthusiast. 

The Art of the Title Card: The Brave Little Tailor

It's fitting that one of Mickey Mouse's best cartoons would also have one of the studio's premiere title cards. Released in 1938, The Brave Little Tailor shines, as does its brilliantly designed title rendering. Unfortunately, it's difficult to even speculate as to the artist of the piece, as the short did not display credits. IMDB lists Les Clark and Frank Thomas as background artists

Explore the 2719 Hyperion Archives:
The Brave Little Tailor and the Beanstalk

Image © Walt Disney Company

Caxanga!

"Down in Brazil there's a sing-song game they play,
When you hear this tune it haunts you night and day.

Just play it once and I'm sure that you will find,
This quaint melody will linger in your mind."

Buried within the depths of Disney historical obscurity is a hidden gem known as Caxanga. It is one of my very favorite Disney cartoons. But among the likes of The Band Concert, In the Bag, Who Killed Cock Robin or the many others that occupy the very subjective halls of Jeff Pepper-determined fame, Caxanga has one very unique distinction. It was a production that was never completed, and hence, has never graced a movie screen.

Alternately called A Brazilian Symphony, Caxanga was one of many concepts that emerged from the early 1941 Latin American junket by Disney Studio personnel that ultimately gave birth to Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros and a number other similarly themed film sequences and cartoon shorts. The creative roots for Caxanga were documented in the film South of the Border with Disney, released in 1942.

South of the Border with Disney was a thirty minute film released in late 1942, that collected footage Walt Disney, artist Lee Blair and production assistant Larry Lanburgh took with 16mm cameras on that 1941 research trip-goodwill tour of Latin American countries. It predated the releases of any and all efforts it would ultimately inspire, primarily Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. The matchbox game, like other concepts showcased in the film, were then just ideas and notions of the potential entertainment to come.

Footage from the film shows production supervisor Norm Ferguson, story man Bill Cottrell, technical director Jack Cutting and artist Mary Blair demonstrating the matchbox game. An off-screen narrator explains--

"And here's an old Brazilian game called Caxanga. They say the Indians played it centuries ago. It was played with shells originally, but today they use matchboxes. The object is to go through this passing routine without missing. Here again, rhythm plays an important part. First you sing the verse, then hum it, then play to the tempo in silence."

The next scene shows an artist drawing a number of story sketches, suggesting a future cartoon or sequence of Donald Duck playing the game.

Attempts were made to incorporate caxanga into ideas that were being considered. At various points of development, the game had been in story plans for "Aquarela Do Brasil," a sequence ultimately completed for Saludos Amigos; "Carnival Carioca," a unrealized vignette that followed Jose Carioca and Donald Duck visiting the carnival in Rio; and an early concept for "Blame It on the Samba" that was to have featured Carmen Miranda. Storyboards for the proposed sequence featured Jose and Donald visiting Miranda during a nightclub performance of the title song. The two then reminisce of an earlier visit to Rio on the Night of San Juan, where Donald had become infatuated with a Miranda-styled lady parrot. She, Donald and Jose had then played the matchbox game for a few moments. "Blame It on the Samba" later evolved into a segment in Melody Time, in a more abbreviated and distinctly different form, due mainly to the unavailability of Miranda caused by contractual difficulties.
The game later became the centerpiece of two separate proposed cartoon shorts. The first borrowed elements from the aforementioned "Blame It on the Samba." It featured Donald and Jose out for a night on the town in Rio. Donald falls for a cute duck, this time a caricature of Aurora Miranda, who would be showcased in The Three Caballeros. Donald and Jose play a game of caxanga with the stakes being a date with Aurora.

The second concept progressed to the beginnings of pencil animation with some recorded music and dialog. In 1995, a reconstruction of the short was included on the laser disc set Exclusive Archive Collection Three Caballeros-Saludos Amigos. Despite its non-animated, rough draft nature, it is in many ways a wonder, and an entertaining indication of "what might have been." As I said, it is one of my favorite Disney cartoons, despite its unfinished status.

The short opens with Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and interestingly enough, Goofy, seated around a table on a rooftop patio, playing the matchbox game. The setting is Rio as reflected by the view from the nearby balcony; it was no doubt based on a similar panorama of Sugarloaf Mountain enjoyed by Disney artists while staying in Rio de Janeiro. The details of a photo featuring Lee and Mary Blair that appeared in the book The Art and Flair of Mary Blair, bear a clear resemblance to the crude but still distinct scenery and location depicted in the Caxanga storyboard sketches.

Donald is quickly exasperated by both a clever gag involving on-screen subtitles and the furious pace of the tabletop game. The short then quickly transitions more into a clear musical vignette as Donald carries the melody of the aforementioned catchy tune with him into sleep and dreams. As Donald lies in his bed, water faucets, a clock, window shutters, a chandelier and even the lights of the city all begin to sound off in tempo to the melody. The storyboard sketches exhibit a pulsing, wacky dreamscape not far removed from the Pink Elephants sequence in Dumbo, but reflecting visual styles successfully executed in both Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros. Sheep of the counting nature transform into matchboxes; Donald's bed becomes one with the game; oversize matchboxes morph into versions of Donald, Jose and Goofy who then substitute Donald for the matchbox in play. In on especially creative sequence, Donald precariously scampers across the tips of igniting matchsticks. Upon attempting to balance on the final one, his form goes into silhouette and then morphs into a crowing rooster, announcing the dawn and a hopeful respite from both the music and its inspired torment.

It's interesting to speculate as to where the creative process might have ultimately taken Caxanga. Based on the reconstruction, its clever and entertaining conceptualizations certainly had the potential to make it a vibrant, imaginative addition to Disney's Latin American canon.

Images and Video © Walt Disney Company

Originally published on 2719 Hyperion February 2, 2008

Vintage Snapshot: Sid Cahuenga's One-of-a-Kind Antiques and Curios

I miss Sid Cahuenga.  During the early years of the Disney-MGM Studios, this retail location just inside the front gate was a gold mine of movie memorabilia.  I personally procured numerous items including movie one-sheets, press photos and other assorted ephemera dating back as far as the 1950s and 1960s.  The authentic memorabilia that was the store's hallmark diminished over the years until the retail incarnation finally closed in 2013.  Retaining its theme, it was repurposed for MyMagic+ and has since evolved into a PhotoPass support and service center.

The Art of the Title Card: How to Be a Detective

We are introducing a new series here at 2719 Hyperion that celebrates a largely overlooked and little appreciated component of classic animated shorts - the title card.  While largely generic and plain during the Disney Studio's early years, full canvas illustrations became the standard for title cards from the late 1930s onward.  Examples ranged from the minimal to the elaborate, but were almost always striking in design, composition and execution.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the artist behind any given card.  Conventional wisdom suggests either the Layout or Background credited individual was responsible so that is the attribution we will make here.

Our inaugural entry is from the 1952 Goofy short How to Be a Detective.  The design employs a clever mashup of magnifying glass and disguise elements to create a noir inspired vignette.  Al Zinnen was the credited layout artist; Dick Anthony did the backgrounds.

Explore the 2719 Hyperion Archives:
How to Be a Detective - December 12, 1952

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Saunders

This month marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Disney incarnation of A. A. Milne's beloved character, Winnie the Pooh.  The animated short subject Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree premiered in theaters on February 4, 1966.  From humble beginnings, an IP empire was born.  It was the only Disney-produced Winnie the Pooh film released in Walt's lifetime.

Surprisingly, unless you have an old school VHS machine or a laserdisc player, you cannot view Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in its original form.  In 1977, it was absorbed with Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too into the feature length The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  After VHS and laserdisc releases, those short subjects were essentially retired in favor of the longer compilation.

Professional Disney Adult Driven to Begging!

This week's best clickbait.  And trust me, I don't search for this stuff.  

"I’m a Professional Disney Adult. Here Are 9 Things I’m Begging You to Bring to Your Disney World Hotel in 2026"

Okay, what is a Professional Disney Adult?  I recognize that influencers have strategically spun the term Disney Adult from a negative into a perceived positive, but I thought Disney Adult-ism related more to extreme and potentially dysfunctional fandom.  The author here seems to be defining it as a respected vocation and clearly not a non-profit one.  I get it, from an editorial standpoint, Disney Adult is likely more palatable in a clickbait headline than the more honest "influencer."  But "professional?"  Where does one get their Disney Adult degree?  Or their influencer degree for that matter?

The premise of the post is that you spend so much time in your Disney hotel room that you absolutely need among other things, a humidifier ($28), white noise machine ($15), portable hanging shelves ($33) and a laundry hamper ($8).  Who spends that much time in their hotel room??? I mean it's Disney World, not a remote cabin in the backwoods.

The supposed subtle pitch (I'm Begging You to Bring . . . ) translated means "I'm begging you to buy any or all of these 9 things so we can earn a nice commission.  Why would you be begging otherwise?  Sure, all the necessary disclaimers are there, but it all seems just so . . . insincere.  The trend in clickbait headlines is to personalize, but if your best friend talked to you this way, you'd probably cock an eyebrow and quickly change the subject.

Sadly, this type of click-driven, revenue generating online journalism has become a shameful standard.  And too many once reputable news and information sites have tragically adopted these editorial practices and replaced journalists, historians and travel writers with self serving influencers selling you anything and everything you don't need.

Snapshot: Alligator Swamp R.I.P.

The Rivers of America was sadly on its deathbed when I visited Walt Disney World this past June.  The barricades were mere weeks away when Alane and I took one last trip on the Liberty Belle riverboat.  It was a bittersweet voyage as it brought back memories of my first visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1973 when I would have circled the waterway in either the Admiral Joe Fowler or the then recently christened Richard R. Levine.  The mostly static vignettes viewed from the decks remained every bit as charming as they did five decades ago.  Alligator Swamp is now but a Snapshot and a happy memory.