
Do you know who directed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, or the scene from your favorite Disney film? If it’s a classic Disney film, you may assume Walt Disney was the director. It’s true Walt directed the silent cartoons and the Silly Symphony The Golden Touch. However, as Walt became more involved in feature-length animated films, live-action films, television shows, and Disneyland, the director’s job grew at the studio.
In a recent episode of Connecting with Walt, Michael spoke with Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studio Pete Docter and Disney historian and author Don Peri about their new book Directing at Disney and the related Directing at Disney exhibition at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco currently scheduled to run through March 2025. They divided their book into six parts to reflect the six phases of the studio.
Pete Docter and Don Peri
Part 1: 1920 – 1931 – There were no directors, just Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Ub became the first director with Walt being the storyman. During this time, Walt formed different departments based on his team’s talents and skills. This included the Proto-Director (1929-1931) when Walt gave some decisions to the storymen but he had the final say.
Walt in his director’s chair. Courtesy of the Walt Disney Archives (c)
Part 2: 1932 – 1935 – Walt delegated what he could to the director whilst maintaining creative control without getting too stuck in the weeds. Burt Gillett came to the studio in 1929 and was the first official director starting with the Mickey Mouse cartoons. Ub directed the Silly Symphonies with the exception of Flowers and Trees and Three Little Pigs which were directed by Gillett. Although Walt had the final say in all films, Gillett sometimes went against Walt’s wishes confident that he knew best. When Walt discovered Gillett did not follow his directions, Gillett simply said the animators didn’t follow his instructions.
Part 3: 1936 – 1948 – This was the era when organization came to the studio as the first feature length-animated film began production. Ben Sharpsteen replaced Burt Gillett starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and left the studio after 30 years due to stress. He quickly learned that directing for Walt was not easy. If a film did well, animators and storymen took the credit. If a film failed, the director was blamed. Dave Hand came to the studio in 1930 and was extremely organized. His nickname was “shoulders” for his well-tailored suits. Hand was very social with Walt and they played polo together. When Hand was the supervising director of Snow White and director of Bambi and Victory through Air Power, he attempted to keep Walt in the box. Director, writer, and producer James Algar called Hand, “A man trapped under Walt with the water rising.” To produce a feature-length film, sequence directors were added with one director overseeing them.
Hamilton Luske and Walt Disney looking at a filmstrip for Pinocchio (1940). Collection of the Walt Disney Family Museum (c)
Part 4: 1949 – 1961 – Due to financial problems, the studio faced cutbacks to its production teams. Frequently, budgetary constraints can lead to creativity. As an example, Hamilton Luske, who started with film before moving to television, used live-action footage to explore possibilities for a scene. Wilfred Jackson was hired directly out of art school and became a director when Ub left the studio. Jaxon (his nickname) helped design the method for synchronizing sound for Steamboat Willie. He loved working with Walt on Song of the South because he loved working on any film with a musical component. Jaxon was the director Walt’s Nine Old Men preferred to work with. Gerry Geronimi started as an animator then a director. He was called a “tyrant” and “difficult to get along with” by animators, but directed some of the most famous scenes such as the whole third act of Cinderella and the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp. He also directed many live-action reference sequences. The animators finally rose up against him and Walt moved Geronimi over to television. Geronimi left the studio in the 1960s.
Mary Blair and Wilfred Jackson collaborating during production of Cinderella (1950), 1949. Courtesy of the Walt Disney Archives (c)
Part 5: 1936 – 1957 – This was the era of the cartoon shorts. The studio had made its name on shorts from Mickey Mouse to Silly Symphonies to the stable of Disney characters like Donald Duck, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. As the feature-films took more and more of Walt’s time and attention, Walt’s visits to the teams creating the cartoon shorts become more infrequent. After the release of Snow White, Hand, Jackson, and Sharpsteen were moved to feature films, so Walt needed new directors for the cartoon shorts. The most notable directors of the cartoon shorts during this era would be Jack King, Jack Hannah, and Jack Kinney. The shorts became less and less profitable and Roy finally convinced Walt to shut down the unit when theatres stopped showing cartoon shorts in favor of double features.
Part 6: 1962 – 1973 – There was no replacement for Walt after his passing and animation was threatened to be shut down. Woolie Reitherman became the designated director overseeing the directing animators who supervised teams of animators. They worked on a picture-to-picture basis. Reitherman preferred films with simple plots and characters with strong personalities. He missed the creative leadership and showmanship of Walt.
Johnny Cannon, Walt Disney, Burt Gillett, Ub Iwerks, Wilfred Jackson, Les Clark, Jack King, and Ben Sharpsteen gathered around Carl Stalling at piano singing Minnie’s Yoo Hoo, 1930. Collection of the Walt Disney Family Museum (c)
Animation from the Walt Disney Studio has faltered and flourished through the decades after Walt. Walt and his directors and animators provided the knowledge and experience to raise animation to an art form. The process they built continues to drive directors and animators today.
To hear more stories about Walt Disney, his directors, and animators, please listen to our episode Connecting with Walt: Directing at Disney with Pete Docter and Don Peri. You’ll enjoy Pete and Don’s behind-the-scene stories and humorous anecdotes.