Walt Disney Studios: Conflictions of 1929-1941

Ashlynn ONan
Junior Division
1415 Student Composed Words
Process Paper
When coming up with a topic for this year's National History Day, I had first researched
important figures in American History. I found interesting people but none that particularly
stood out from the rest. I then researched important icons in history and came across Walt
Disney. I later found Walt and his studios faced many conflictions during 1929 and 1941 which
were the years of the Great Depression and the Walt Disney cartoonists strike. I researched ways
these conflictions came to a compromise, To find a topic that fits so perfectly with the theme is a
very hard thing to accomplish, so I chose this as my topic.
My research began with the general topic of Walt Disney to get background knowledge on his
life. I then continued with research on the Great Depression and on the Disney cartoonists strike,
how they fit together, and Walt Disney Studios role in these historical events. My sources and
knowledge of this topic mainly came from the internet and photograps found online, however, I
did find a magazine article on this subject.
I created a website for this year's National History Day. I chose this category because I had
made websites using the Weebly tool in the past and had experience with making a website.
Another reason I had chosen this category was because I love to be creative and thought my
topic would be well expressed through website form. After conducting my research, I started
making a list of all the sections I would include and decided on fonts, text size, colors, and a
theme for the website layout. As my website progressed, I included things such as pictures,
quotes, text, and video content and revised sections until my project was complete.
My topic relates to the theme of Conflict and Compromise by exploring the conflictions that
Walt and his studios faced within their own studio and conflictions that they faced along with
America. One of these conflictions was the Great Depression which came to a compromise
when World War 2 started; this gave many unemployed people war jobs. Another confliction I
chose to do was the Walt Disney cartoonists strike, which ended with a compromise between
Walt Disney and his employees. (Word Count: 370)

Primary
Photographs

Animation World Network. Animation World Network, 19 July 2005,

www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/inline/public/image/attached/2586-sito01disneystrikers.jp
g?itok=POnit4ST.
I used this image on The Great Depression page to show the employees on strike and what
some of the signs said.

Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew, 29 May 2016,

www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/disneystrike_a.jpg.
I used this image on The Great Depression page to show the employees on strike and what
some of the signs said.

Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew, 29 May 2016,

www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/disneystrike_m.jpg.
I used this image on The Great Depression page to show the employees on strike and what
some of the signs said.

Cartoon Brew. Cartoon Brew, 29 May 2016,

www.cartoonbrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/disneystrike_q.jpg.
I used this image on The Great Depression page to show the employees on strike and what
some of the signs said.

Getty Images. CNBC. CNBC, 9 Dec. 2016,

fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2016/12/09/104157441-GettyImage
s-3230946.600x400.jpg?v=1481296605.
I used this photograph as the background on my title page.

Missouri Over There. Missouri Over There, 1917,

missourioverthere.org/image/1/1000/0/media/uploads/articles/disney019_1.jpg.
I used this photograph in the The Man Behind the Films page.

PBS. PBS, www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media//gallery_images/12_1038M.jpg.

I used this image on my thesis page to show that even though there were many conflicts within
the studios, the studio had come together in the end.

PBS. PBS, www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media//gallery_images/01_1098M.jpg.

I used this photograph in a slideshow to show what Walt Disney looked like as a child and to
show that he had a sister, since this page was about him growing up.

PBS. PBS, 1915,

www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media//gallery_images/02_2536M.jpg.
I used this photograph in a slideshow to show Walt Disneys family.

PBS. PBS, 1928,

www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media//gallery_images/13_3880M.jpg.
I used this photograph in the The Man Behind the Films page to show the friendship between
Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.

The Official Disney Fan Club. The Official Disney Fan Club, d23.com/about-walt-disney/.
I used this photograph in a slideshow in The Man Behind the Films

Videos

A Strike at Walt Disney Studios. American Experience PBS, PBS, 2015,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSjX7S35mn0.
I used this to gather information on the cartoonists strike.

The Two Sides of Walt Disney. The Wall Street Journal, American Express PBS, 2015,
www.wsj.com/video/the-two-sides-of-walt-disney/2EC6AFAB-437D-4AA2-BDC2-4C58D68E5AC
1.html.
I used this video to gather quotes from first hand accounts of working as one of Walt Disneys
employees.
Walt Disney's Disneyland Opening Day Speech. Youtube, 7 Oct. 2008,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnlGOtV1-gA.
I used this video in my Conflict and Compromise page

Secondary
Online Magazine Articles

Walt Disney: From Mickey to the Magic Kingdom. Life, 13 May 2016,
time.com/4326360/walt-disney-world-war-ii-excerpt/.
I used this magazine excerpt to better understand the impact of the Great Depression on Walt
Disney. I also used it to learn about the Walt Disney strike.

Watts, Steven. Son of the Midwest. The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way
of Life, missourioverthere.org/explore/articles/son-of-the-midwest/.
I used this magazine to understand Walts early life and what had happened up to the years
when he was a successful businessman.

Pictures

A Dumbo Movie Poster. Imdb,

images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTU0NDcxMDA1MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTg
wNzI0Njg0MTE@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

A Movie Poster of The Three Little Pigs. Imdb,

images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjM0MzYyMjktZGU0NS00MmMxLTlmNW
EtYmFmZjBjZDY4NzhmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY1NTQ0NDg@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_A
L_.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

A New Deal Picture. Crisis and Achievement,

3.bp.blogspot.com/-GZzwf67YbbE/Vu_NPgV0CUI/AAAAAAAAUK8/TI4oxM3fZ28-tnlCig7ZSz1c
LfsGqD7mA/s1600/newdeal.gif.
I used this picture on the The Great Depression page.

A Picture from the Skeleton Dance. The Movie DB,

image.tmdb.org/t/p/w780/itpzzR5YgZPKGYdHxlximUXlgDu.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.
A Walt Disney Pinocchio Poster. Wikipedia.org,
upload.wikipedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Pinocchio-1940-poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

A Short Called Flowers and Trees. The Disney Wiki,

vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/8/8d/Flowers-and-trees-350x498.jpg/revision/latest?c
b=20110128193106.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films Page.

A Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Movie Poster. NBC News, 15 Nov. 2012,
media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2012/november/121115/1c4774670-121115_travel_snow-whi
te-exhibit_4.nbcnews-ux-2880-1000.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

A Steamboat Willie Poster. The Disney Wiki,

vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/2/23/Steamboat-willie-title2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-t
o-width-down/250?cb=20090716141847.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

A Walt Disney Laugh-O-Gram Produced between 1921-1923. San Fransico Silent Film
Festivle,
silentfilm.blob.core.windows.net/assets/Standard/PAGE/1248/large/this_is_theLaughOGram_ori
ginal.jpg.
I used this image of one of Walt Disneys Laugh-O-Grams to show what the Laugh-O-Grams
looked like. I put this on the The Man Behind the Filmspage because I thought it would be
best suited there in terms of the page was about what had happened when Walt was younger.

Walt Disney Studios the Three Little Pigs. The Year of Disney Project, 21 Jan. 2014,
3.bp.blogspot.com/-4eN6NP4l0W0/Ut5LEDUlEYI/AAAAAAAABcc/lKaMHdMbth4/s1600/006-thr
ee+little+pigs.jpg.
I used this image on the The Great Depression page.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Alice_in_Wonderland_%281951_film%29_poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's Bambi. Imdb,

images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTY1NzM4NDg5MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTg
wMjI1MTkzMjE@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.
Walt Disney's Cinderella. Wikipedia.org,
upload.wikipedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Cinderella-disney-poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films Page.

Walt Disney's 'Fantasia'. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikipedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/Fantasia-poster-1940.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Lady-and-tramp-1955-poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's Peter Pan. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/46/PeterpanRKO.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Imdb,

images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTJmZjA3MjMtMWNmZS00YTliLWFhMW
UtZDU2NGJhNTlmY2ZkL2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_UX182
_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's Treasure Island. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikipedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Treasure_Island_%281950_film%29_poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Walt Disney's 101 Dalmations. Wikipedia.org,

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/One_Hundred_and_One_Dalmatians_movie_poster.jpg.
I used this in a slideshow on the The Man Behind the Films page.

Websites

Acuna, Kirsten. Photos from the 1941 Disney Artist Strike That Changed the Studio Forever.
Business Insider, Business Insider, 24 Oct. 2012,
www.businessinsider.com/1941-disney-strike-photos-and-fliers-2012-10.
I used this website to gather facts on the Walt Disney artist strike.

Amidi, Amid. On This Day 75 Years Ago, Disney Animation Changed Forever: The Disney
Artists' Strike of 1941. Cartoon Brew, 29 May 2016,
www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/day-75-years-ago-disney-animation-changed-forever-14010
3.html.
I used this website to learn more about the Great Depression and the role Walt Disney Studios
played in it.
Doyle, Jack. Disney Dollars. The Pop History Dig, 31 July 2008,
www.pophistorydig.com/topics/disney-dollars1930s/.
I used this website to learn more about Walt Disney Studios relation with the Great Depression.
Included in the website were titles of cartoons produced by Walt Disney with some of their
years, which I used.

Fullerton, Alyssa, etal. Comedic Relief of the Great Depression- Dites Spring 2011. Comedic
Relief of the Great Depression,
sites.google.com/site/englishllhschs/home/grapes-of-wrath/great-depression/cartoons.

Merritt, Russell, and J.B. Kaufman. Walt Disney's Laugh-O-Grams, 1921-1923. Walt Disney's
Laugh-O-Grams, 1921-1923 | Silent Film Festival, silentfilm.org/archive/laugh-o-grams.
I used this website to learn more about the Laugh-O-Grams.

Sito, Tom. The Disney Strike of 1941: How It Changed Animation & Comics . People,
www.awn.com/animationworld/disney-strike-1941-how-it-changed-animation-comics.
I used this website to learn more about the disney strike and how it went on to become
resolved.
Walt Disney, Up Close. PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,
www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/walt-disney-close/?utm_source=FBPAGE&ut
m_medium=social&utm_term=20170511&utm_content=894146358&linkId=37439851.
I used this website as a source of pictures to include in my website. These pictures included
descriptions and all included years, which helped me place these accordingly.