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Walt's Thoughts
Making films in Britain

 

 

Here are Walt's Thoughts on the theme of this month's edition, the Disney pictures shot in England after World War II. Simply click on a question, then read the answer or click on the Audio link to hear Walt's own words.


Just ask Walt a question:

... then click on the audio button to hear Walt's voice!

Why did you decide, after World War II, to make films in England?

After the war we still had the frozen, er, funds situation in Europe, so in order to get the funds out of England, they wanted me to go to England and do something. My first thought was that I start a cartoon studio there.

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Why didn’t a cartoon studio work out?

I didn’t think I could because you have to train artists for it, or else import them. And if I have to import them, it’s not helping me with the fund situation.  So I had this story called "Treasure Island" that I wanted to do. So I suggested that we go over and do "Treasure Island."

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Was that a big change for you, working in England?

No... no, I just took a few people from the studio, and then I did everything else with English people. I brought in a writer, one of the first writers I ever had. He didn’t have too much experience, he was an author. Lawrence Watkin, he had written an original book on "Borrowed Time," that they made a play out of, you know. And he was out in Hollywood working around here, Columbia, different ones, so I brought him in on this "Treasure Island" thing. That was the first script he did for me.

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Who else did you bring along?

I took him, a boy who had grown up with me in the cartoon business, so I put him on as a producer, Perce Pierce, and an American director, Byron Haskin, and this little boy I had under contract then, Bobby Driscoll. We all went to England. Did the picture. And it was very successful.

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What prompted you to make a live-action picture?

I wanted to get into live, I wanted to diversify, as much as I could, and I thought if I can get into live there’s things in there that I could do that would be in line with what we should do. That sort of adventure thing like "Treasure Island," you know, that I thought would be right for Disney to present. So that started our production in England.

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What was the first picture after "Treasure Island"?

Following that I did "Robin Hood" with an all-English cast, including an English director. On that one I just took my production manager, my writer, and my producer.

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How many did you make over there?

I made four in England. Almost one every year. I did them in the summer, that gave me a chance to get away, and I spent three months over there on it.

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