Tetsuo Arima's "Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America" Summary and Comments - Mickey was not created from nothing.
The book introduced here is "Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America" by Tetsuo Arima, published by Filmart in 2004.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
A look back at the history of American animation, discussing how Disney and its rivals have competed with and influenced each other. The evolution of the offensive and defensive battles between animation studios is presented with anecdotes and episodes.
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This book is a study of Walt Disney's creation Mickey Mouse and his relationship to the American animation industry.
Mickey Mouse was introduced to the world in 1928 with "Steamboat Willie," and the film was highly acclaimed as the first "talkie film" that fully integrated music and animation.
The character created by Walt Disney would go on to take the world by storm, and Disney would reign supreme in the animation world.
But the book begins with these provocative words about this Mickey's debut.
Did *...... really "start with a single mouse"?
In presenting the history of the studio he started, Walt often said, "It all started with one mouse." This statement, like many of his others, is not accurate in light of the facts.
Before Mickey Mouse, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and before that, Alice the Girl and Julius the Cat. For non-films, there was a commercial film he made at the request of a dentist, in which a character named Tommy Tucker appeared. Walt's big step as an animator came not with the Mickey Mouse series, as we will see later, but with the Alice Comedies series, which predated Oswald the Luckey Rabbit. It was by the series.
Film Art, Tetsuo Arima, Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America, p. 20.
Disneyland may have begun with the birth of Mickey Mouse, but Mickey himself did not come from nothing. Walt himself had created many characters before Mickey was born.
Moreover, these characters were not created by Walt out of thin air, but rather inspired (or, to put it bluntly, imitated) by the film and animation industry of the time.
Yes, it is true. Mickey Mouse is also the result of the interaction of the world. He is not a one-of-a-kind entity that suddenly appeared one day in the brain of the genius Walt. This book takes a closer look at the inner workings of the animation industry and the preceding characters that led to the creation of Mickey Mouse.
One of the most powerful of these was "Felix the Cat," shown here. This character, which was inspired by Chaplin's movements, was a huge hit as a silent cartoon and swept across the United States.
Walt was clearly strongly influenced by this character as well.
But why did Mickey Mouse gain such overwhelming popularity when such powerful rivals already existed?
The author states the following about this
This film marked a major turning point in the history of American animation. However, the significance of this work does not lie in the fact that it was the first or that it was ahead of others, but in the fact that it maximized the appeal of the soundtrack by perfectly matching sound and picture, and achieved a new expressiveness that had never before been seen in the cartoon medium. (omitted)
Disney has claimed to be the "first to use" or "invent" various technologies, novelties, and devices, but the fact is that most of them were "utilized fully for the first time. In Japan, not only have Disney's claims been taken for granted, but the magazine media have also added further exaggerations, resulting in the spread of false perceptions.
Nevertheless, as mentioned before, "making full use of it for the first time" means that a new expression was achieved by it, which is more important than "using it for the first time" or "inventing it". It means that it gave new power to the cartoon medium and allowed a completely different soundtrack animation to emerge.
Film Art, Tetsuo Arima, Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America, p. 32.
It is often said that "Steamboat Willie" was a historic event because it was the world's first talkie film, and Mickey became very popular," but in fact, the fusion of music and animation was something that was introduced by all the animation studios of the time. It was neither Walt's invention nor his monopoly.
But Walt was the first to "take full advantage" of this system. And he did it with unparalleled quality. Herein lies Walt's greatness.
But then the following question comes to mind: "Why was Walt the only one who could do that, and why didn't others imitate him? Why was Walt the only one who could do that, and why didn't others imitate him?
This is exactly what this book will also talk about.
Still, why had no animator other than Walt produced a work with such a perfect match of picture and sound until then?
Studios other than Disney thought that all they needed was to put in the sound, and did not care much if the sound and movement were disparate. For them, animation was a business. The "curtain raiser" (curtain) animation was an adjunct to the live-action feature film that was shown at the end of the day, and it was not something that could draw an audience on its own. Therefore, box-office revenues were limited. Because of the limited revenue, it was decided that even if the quality was high, it would not be worth it, and the direction was toward making poor quality films at low prices. Because of this, many animators were not as concerned with perfection as Walt was. Under the circumstances of the time, it was rather strange to be so particular.
Film Art, Tetsuo Arima, Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America, p. 33.
Then again, why hadn't any animator other than Walt produced a piece with such a perfect match of picture and sound before?"
This question is very important. It is not often addressed in Walt biographies or Disney commentaries because the focus is so often on Walt's achievements and Mickey's popularity. They focus so much on Walt's achievements and Mickey's popularity that they don't talk about how the other vendors were doing. This book, however, is exactly what I wanted to know about Walt's life and the state of the industry.
It was Walt's unparalleled commitment to perfection that made Steamboat Willie such a smash hit, and the subsequent success of the Mickey Mouse series.Under the circumstances of the time, it would have been rather odd to stick to it."Walt's work became popular because of the background of the times.
But of course, these practices were unprofitable, and Walt's studio was always in financial trouble. Walt's brother Roy, who supported Walt, was always trying to make money. But Walt was always in pursuit of quality, regardless of the cost. No other company could have done this. This is also where Walt's uniqueness lies.
Walt, like other creators, imitated Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Felix the Cat and incorporated them into his own characters. Up to this point, he was no different from countless other animators. But from there, he developed a style that was completely different from the others. He has developed a style that is completely different from the others: a perfect fusion of animation and music of the absolute highest quality.
In other words, Walt was great not because he created the powerful character Mickey Mouse from nothing, but because he learned from the works of others and used existing technology to the utmost limit to create an overwhelmingly high quality product. Walt and Mickey Mouse were great not because they created characters from nothing, but because they learned from the works of others and used existing technology to the utmost of their ability to create a character of overwhelming quality.
The accumulation of such previous studies, the battle against rivals of the same period, and the push by the historical background are reminiscent of that very Marx.
The Communist Manifesto., ,Capitalism.Karl Marx, the German philosopher famous for his works such as "The Great War," was also a man who studied the preceding literature like a demon and further refined his own ideas by debating with his contemporaries and revolutionaries. The swell of history was also on his side.
Although Marx is praised by his admirers as a great man who created the holy book "Capitalism," Marx himself did not create his theory from nothing. Rather, most of his theories are based on previous studies and the theories of his contemporaries.
The same can be said for all ideas and cultures.
Jesus Christ was also born out of the Jewish culture of his time. Muhammad was also born in the context of the Arab world. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, cannot be considered without the Brahmanical world of India.
It may be inappropriate to put Walt Disney in the same category as the founders of these religions, but even these great founders could not be free from the background of the times and the teachings of their predecessors. If this is so, then Walt, Marx, and each of us cannot be free from this background. That is why I think it is important to learn about the historical background.
This book provides a detailed look at the background of the times and the industry surrounding Walt. It is only by comparing Walt with others that his uniqueness becomes more apparent.
In this book, you will also learn about characters familiar to us, such as Tom and Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny, who appear as rivals to Mickey Mouse. This book is also a very interesting look at the history of American animation.
This book is just a lot of fun. I recommend this book because it is different from the usual Disney commentary books and full of charm. It is interesting to know the background of the times! I highly recommend this book.
The above is "Tetsuo Arima, "Disney and Its Rivals: A History of Cartoon Media in America" - Mickey was not created from nothing.
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