The Duckburg Times was a popular Disney fanzine, a limited-print amateur magazine produced by fans. In issue No. 12 released in July 1981, I wrote an article titled Uncle Walt Says compiling some quotes supposedly said by Walt Disney that appeared in a variety of newspapers from around the United States in December 1966 in their tributes to Walt's passing.
Within a week of the fanzine being mailed out, I got a letter from the Disney Archives complimenting me on the article and asking if I could supply them with the sources for the quotes. Apparently, Disney Archivist Dave Smith already had most of the quotes, although some were in slightly different versions, but wanted to be able to tie the quotes to a specific newspaper and date.
The article proved so popular that I wrote another article filled with Walt quotes for The Duckburg Times No. 15 (August 1982).
I did not realize it at the time, but Smith was updating an internal publication for the opening of Epcot Center.
The beginning of an internal-use official Walt Disney quote book began with Imagineer Randy Bright who was developing training programs for cast members for the opening of the Magic Kingdom in 1971, and thought that it would be useful for newly hired cast members to learn more about what the company's founder thought about things.
Smith scoured publicity department files for material, researching Walt's own memos, letters and speeches as well as interviews and film and television scripts. Smith organized the quotes by subject and the result was a 48-page booklet simply titled “Walt” handed out to cast members during orientations and seminars beginning in 1974.
“It became a bible for people who were writing books about Disney and people who wanted to understand Walt Disney, the man. People often want a quote of Walt Disney saying a certain thing. They want to put words in his mouth. We found the most important and most meaningful things he really said,” Smith told me about his philosophy behind producing the booklet.
It was done in sepia tone and included many full page out-of-the-ordinary photos of Walt to supplement the quotes.
It contained Walt's quotes on a variety of topics as stated in the preface: “During Walt Disney's long career, he frequently commented on his philosophy of life, his ideals, dreams and his hope for a better world.
“This book is a collection of Walt Disney's quotations which have been drawn from speeches, interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, press conferences, film scripts and from company publications. The publication of this book has been a joint effort of the Walt Disney Archives, the Studio Publicity Department and the Disney Universities of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
“The sources for individual quotations are available upon request from the Archives.”
The publication was so popular and useful that it was reprinted several times over the years, including for the opening of Epcot Center. In fact, the publication was updated and reformatted and released as the 98-page book, Walt Disney: Famous Quotes in 1994.
It was printed exclusively for Walt Disney Theme Parks and Resorts by Disney's Kingdom Editions and available for purchase to guests visiting at the Disney theme parks. This time the photos and format were in black-and-white and was in the more traditional portrait format rather than the original landscape edition.
The following people were credited for their assistance: Randy Bright, Rebecca Cline, Jennifer Hendrickson, Rose Motzko, Bob Schneider, Paula Sigman, Ed Squair and Robert Tieman.
In 2001, it was reformatted and updated yet again and released in book form at 265 pages as The Quotable Walt Disney by Disney Editions that still remains in print today and should be in any Disney fan's personal library.
As wonderful as that book still is and it remains justifiably a popular selling title, Walt said many, many other interesting things over the decades of his life. So, in September 27, 2006, I wrote the first of several In Walt's Words columns for MousePlanet.com.
I included quotes and their sources that weren't in Smith's book. I was constantly uncovering forgotten interviews, by-lined articles and more that revealed Walt's thoughts and insights and that resulted in my writing more and more columns just so I could have all of these thoughts gathered together somewhere I could easily find them.
I feel it is important to include the date and the source of the quote. Walt was pretty consistent in his feelings and philosophy, but, over the decades, he grew not only professionally but also personally. So a quote from 1930 might not always accurately reflect what Walt felt in 1964, and vice versa, because of that growth and experience (or lack of it).
It is also important to identify if the quote came from an interview or a by-lined article. In interviews, Walt was often more inarticulate and vague than we would have liked, not finding the exact words he wanted, mixing up nomenclature (he once identified the castle at Disneyland as Snow White's Castle) or chronology. He often depended upon the force of his personality and his facial expressions to communicate in person his intentions.
In a by-lined article, while it is clear that it was based on Walt's thoughts and often actual words, it was often massaged by the studio publicity department writers to be more formal in tone.
The same was true of his introductions to his weekly television series. However, Walt approved every word that went out under his name and never hesitated to change the wording so that it sounded like he would talk and say what he wanted to say.
Disney Legend Marty Sklar authored many things for Walt from the script for the famous Epcot film to the introductions in stockholder reports and much more.
Sklar said, “I didn't do any of this writing without first talking with Walt. They were always his ideas, and after a while I got to understand what he wanted to say and how he wanted to communicate. He trusted me enough to let me write the first draft of many things. Then he would red pencil his notes to me. That's probably why I still use a red pen today on work I review.”
Jack Speirs wrote Walt's introductions for the early weekly Disney television show.
“He seldom used fancy or uncommon words but he would not talk down to his viewers either,” Speirs said. “For one of his nature shows featuring ants, he refused to change 'mandibles' to the more familiar word 'jaws'. 'They're properly called mandibles', Walt said. 'Let's stick to that'. The secret in writing for him was to keep the dialogue simple and in character.”
So, even though some quotes credited to Walt were worked over by others, it is clear that Walt approved of the final result, or else he would not have allowed it to be released. Even the President of the United States has speechwriters who help focus his intentions.
When Walt talked, he was keenly aware of the impact what he said and how he said it might have on others.
Walt Disney wrote an article titled Frontierland for True West magazine, about how much he loves that part of the park and its history.
One afternoon, in 1965, when Disney Legend Marty Sklar brought him a proposal for the corporate annual report, Walt told him, “Walt Disney is a thing. An image that people have in their minds. And I spent my whole life building it. Walt Disney the person isn't the image, necessarily. I drink and I smoke and there's a whole lot of other things that I do that I don't want to be part of that image. I'm not Walt Disney anymore.”
Here are some quotes from Walt that I have gathered in recent years and thought you might enjoy seeing them, since they are not the same old familiar ones we always find on websites.
I have also been convinced to compile all the quotes that have appeared in my many different columns over the decades into a book that will be available this fall titled Walt's Words, so make sure to ask Santa for that stocking stuffer in a few months.
- “For most of us, there would be little meaning in life without children.” — Letter to the parents of Walt Disney Elementary School in Anaheim February 1965
- “If a woman can do the work as well, she is worth as much as a man. The girl artists have the right to expect the same chances for advancement as men, and I honestly believe they may eventually contribute something to this business that men never would or could.” — Speech to employees at Disney Studios February 10, 1941
- “Maybe I do so much is because I don't know enough to realize what's impossible. I've found that guys who know too much don't do things.” — Baltimore News Post May 1959
- “I could have got most of my costs back (on building Disneyland) with beer concessions alone. A lot of adults will come here, but Disneyland is primarily for children and I don't think kids and liquor mix.” — Interview with reporter Florabel Muir for an article in the July 10, 1955, edition of the Daily News.
- “In Disneyland, clocks and watches will lose all meaning, for there is no present. There are only yesterday, tomorrow and the timeless land of fantasy. Disneyland is based on the dreams and hard facts that have created America. When they visit here, the older generation can recapture the fun and nostalgia of yesterday, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future.” — Look magazine, November 2, 1954.
- “We don't aim at children specifically. When does any person stop being part child?” — Newsweek, December 31. 1962.
- “Color adds a fascinating new dimension to our home television programs. Color can stress the tension and suspense of an adventure story. Color adds so much to the enjoyment of famous classics, as for example, our Hans Brinker production. And color is, of course, a 'must' in stories where the songs and dances of people from other lands take a prominent role.” — NBC/RCA advertisement in a fall 1961 issue of Reader's Digest. Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates aired January 7, 1962 on Walt's weekly television program.
- “My big beef with television is the stupid commercials. They're in bad taste. And there are too many of 'em. Why, I've watched shows that have been interrupted six times in 30 minutes to plug a product. This is bad showmanship. It's hurting television.” — December 18, 1952 interview for the United Press with reporter Virginia MacPherson.
- “It is our theory that artistic ability develops naturally while the execution and technique of the arts comes only after much hard work and practice. Every artist should be able to thoroughly analyze emotions, sensations and reactions. In my estimation, the same requirements apply to any line of art, whether it be drawing, painting, caricature, music, photography or even cooking!” — October 1934, personal letter to Rose T. Marucci, an art student residing on Lloyd Street in New Haven
Here is a lengthy excerpt from a magazine I never knew existed but just added to my collection: True West (from Western Publications of Austin, Texas) Volume 5, No. 5, Whole No. 27, dated May-June 1958. The article is simply titled Frontierland and is by-lined by Walt Disney:
“One of the biggest joys of my life is sitting on the levee in the Frontierland section of Disneyland, our park in Anaheim, California. As I gaze to the north, I can see the smokestacks of the steamer, Mark Twain belching smoke and skirting along toward the tip of Tom Sawyer Island.
“Then the boat hoves into view; the crowds line against the white railings. It moves majestically along, the stern paddle churning up the river foam. The captain lets the whistle blast, signaling his intention to land, and the Dixieland band on the shore swings into a ragtime tune.
“I thrill all over every time that happens. Other people have told me they too get a big kick out of the Mark Twain swinging in to shore, but I doubt if anybody could enjoy it as much as I do.
“You see, I go back a long way with stern-wheelers, back to the Missouri River in the 1910s. When I was growing up in Kansas City, there were still two stern-wheelers plying out of that town.
“They were called the Chester and the Majestic, and they were handsome boats to see. They ran down the river to St. Louis, but, on Sundays, one would be in port and would take customers on river excursions for $1 a head. I was on hand for a cruise whenever I could scrape together $1 from selling newspapers.
“The Missouri riverboats had to be stern-wheelers because there were so many sand bars. When they ran aground, they could reverse the wheel and pull off, something a side-wheeler couldn't do.
“One of the thrills of my young life was when one of the excursion boats I was riding struck a bar. It remained there for an hour while the deck hands pushed long poles into the sand and the wheel churned mightily. Finally, with a great whoosh, and swirl of foam, the boat pulled itself free.
“As you can expect from a Missouri-bred boy, I wanted the Mark Twain to be authentic. Our staff did extensive research on river boats of the past before it came up with a design. Like most of Disneyland, the boat is under-scale to give a fantasy-like appearance. That meant the engines had to be specially built to fit into a smaller craft.
“The super structure was designed and built at the studio. The hull was built at the Todd Shipyards in Long Beach, California. The dimensions: overall length 108 feet; height, keel to pilothouse 28 feet, beam 27 1/2 feet, displacement 125 tons.
“The Mark Twain will accommodate 350 passengers on its three decks, provided the Disneyland Band doesn't decide to go along to entertain the travelers. The boat draws a little over two feet of water. The Rivers of America are five feet deep, about 200 feet wide and a half mile long. The bottom is clay and liquid cement to keep it leak-proof.
“These boyhood memories are the reason for my fondness for Frontierland. Of course, all the realms of Disneyland intrigue me but Frontierland evokes a special response because it reminds me of my youthful days on the Missouri.
“The elements of the frontier were still visible in rural Missouri. Marceline was not far from the railroad that used to take the riverboat passengers to the stagecoach line at St. Louis.
“In the family library were books concerned with the Civil War and tales of the frontier, both true and fictional. That was when I became acquainted with heroes like Daniel Boone, Thomas Hart Benton, Davy Crockett and Mike Fink. The fact that many such heroes covered the same ground I knew in Missouri made them all the more real to me.
“So you can see why Frontierland occupied a great deal of my thought when we were planning Disneyland.
“The entrance is the log stockade. Those logs are the real thing. They were felled in the mountain region near Lake Arrowhead, California and hand-hewn by carpenters who were specially chosen for their experience in log cabin or ship building.
“Inside, you'll see some gnarled pine posts. Those were my own discovery. When I was on a trip to the Jackson Hole country in Wyoming, I came across some logs with unusual burls on them. I figured they were just the thing for Frontierland and had sixty of them shipped down to California.
“To the left of the freight station of the Disneyland and Santa Fe Railroad, I'm planning a Louisiana Purchase section where we'll reproduce the New Orleans French Quarter, together with a fantastic Haunted House filled with all manner of delightful ghosts.
“This isn't the end of the story. As with all of the park, I want to keep adding new features to Frontierland, new exhibits that will show today's youth the America of our great-grandparents' day and before.
“In this era, when space travel is talked of as almost here, we shouldn't lose sight of our glorious past.”
