Walt Disney Classified: The Layout Manual, Part 1
Walt’s message in his 1941 employee Layout Manual marked the transition for the studio from solely entertainment production to a defense plant turning out training films.
Category Archives: Bossert Behind-the-Scenes
Walt Disney Classified: “What Is Propaganda?”
Disney’s studio also created countless wartime posters, pamphlets and insignia for the war effort. Here’s one that uses Donald Duck as its spokesman.
A Look at the Music Behind Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
Having worked with Tim Burton on five previous films prior to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman found this collaboration to be even easier than the rest.
Walt Disney Classified: WEFT and the 3-Point Identification Systems
These were the first U.S. Government contracts awarded to Disney during World War 2 – and opened the floodgates for many other training pictures that consumed the studio for the duration.
Walt Disney Classified: “High Level Precision Bombing”
During World War II Walt Disney produced over 200 training films for various branches of the United States Military and other U.S. Government departments.
Hank Porter: Disney’s Go To Artist for Insignia Designs during WWII
One of the unsung heroes of Disney’s WWII efforts is artist Henry “Hank” Porter who was a one man designer of many emblems and insignias during World War II.
The Mickey Mouse Gas Mask— Used in Name and Design During WWII
During World War II, the British government designed a gas mask specifically for children which quickly became known as a “Mickey Mouse” gas mask. Here are the details of this.
Disney and The National Film Board of Canada: Five for Four
By 1940, with financial pressures mounting at the studio, Walt Disney looked to Canada for new business to replace what was lost in Europe.
Kem Weber and his Disney Legacy
Walt Disney granted Kem Weber permission to shoot photos of his designs on the lot, often while in use by the artists and other employees.
Kem Weber and the Streamline Moderne influence at the Disney Studios in 1939
To understand why the Disney animation furniture is so revered, one has to look at Kem Weber’s earlier career and the design movements that influenced him.
