美国国家公共电台 NPR--'The Disney Revolt' details animators' 1941 strike against Disney

'The Disney Revolt' details animators' 1941 strike against Disney

Transcript¹

A new book by Jake Friedman documents a bitter strike in 1941 by Disney animators who wanted to unionize. The book is titled, The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor² War of Animation³'s Golden Age.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In the 1940s, one of Hollywood's most popular leading men had big ears, red shorts and oversized yellow shoes. Mickey Mouse was a star. But the people who drew him for Walt Disney did not enjoy everything about their jobs. And in 1941, artists went on strike. NPR's Barry Gordemer reports on the fight to unionize the Disney studios.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEIGH HO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (Singing, as characters) Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go.

BARRY GORDEMER, BYLINE⁴: In the early days of animation, Disney artists are among Hollywood's happiest workers. They are prolific⁵, cranking out short animated⁶ films that wowed audiences and won Oscars.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME")

ADRIANA CASELOTTI: (As Snow White, singing) Someday my prince will come.

GORDEMER: Then, in 1937, Disney hits the stratosphere. "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs⁷" becomes Hollywood's highest-grossing movie to that point in history. It transforms Disney and company from upstart animators to major motion picture studio. But the celebration doesn't last long.

JAKE FRIEDMAN: After "Snow White," the artists feel like Walt has distanced himself from them now that he's a big Hollywood big shot.

GORDEMER: Jake Friedman is an animator and author of the book "The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War Of Animation's Golden Age."

FRIEDMAN: The bonus that he promised the artists and the profit sharing of "Snow White" did not go into their pockets so much as into the new studio in Burbank that he built. So he's saying, I built this new studio for you. And they're saying, I can't feed my family on this new studio, Walt.

GORDEMER: The animators decide to unionize.

(SOUNDBITE OF CARL STALLING AND WARNER BROS STUDIO ORCHESTRA'S "THE GOOD EGG")

GORDEMER: By 1941, all the other animation studios, including Warner Brothers and MGM, have already unionized. Disney is the last holdout.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHORT, "FOUL⁸ HUNTING")

PINTO COLVIG: (As Goofy, singing) I'm a-going to hunt some ducks, hunt some ducks, hunt some ducks.

GORDEMER: Leading the fight for the union at Disney is Art Babbitt. He's best known as the creator of Goofy the dog. Babbitt is Disney's most trusted animator.

FRIEDMAN: Walt's sense of loyalty⁹ had kind of been shattered when Art Babbitt wants to bring in an independent union into the studio. And Walt Disney does not want to, in his mind, relinquish¹⁰ control.

GORDEMER: Disney doesn't tell Babbitt and the other artists that the company is going broke.

FRIEDMAN: World War II hits Europe, and their European market is cut off. That's about half of their total revenue.

GORDEMER: And the follow-up movies to "Snow White" - "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" - they're box office bombs.

FRIEDMAN: If he had leveled with them, I have no doubt that he would have won more over. I think he was probably afraid to show weakness.

GORDEMER: The wedge between the artist and Disney grows.

FRIEDMAN: And Disney fires Art Babbitt on May 27, 1941, and the next day is the strike.

GORDEMER: Animators picket¹¹ outside the Disney studios. And because they're artists, they have the coolest picket signs.

FRIEDMAN: There's Pluto¹² saying, I've got a bone to pick with Walt. There's Goofy saying, even I can see that something's wrong here, and Jiminy Cricket saying, it ain't cricket to pass a picket.

GORDEMER: The strike drags on. It's so contentious¹³, it gets the attention of the White House. President Franklin Roosevelt appoints a federal mediator¹⁴, but Walt Disney still has to drive past the protesters every day to get to work.

FRIEDMAN: Friday the 13 of July, Art Babbitt yells at Walt Disney, Walt Disney, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. And Walt Disney gets out of his car, and he starts moving towards Babbitt. And Babbitt starts moving towards Walt. People are booing. People are hissing¹⁵. And the space between them is closing. And you'll have to read the book to find out what happens. See what I did there?

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHEN I SEE AN ELEPHANT FLY")

CLIFF EDWARDS: (As Dandy Crow, singing) But I be done seen about everything when I see an elephant fly.

GORDEMER: The strike ends after five weeks. The artists win. They unionize and join the Screen Cartoonist's Guild¹⁶. But in the movie "Dumbo," you can still see a little piece of the bitterness between the two sides.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CLOWN SONG")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Oh, we're going to hit the big boss for a raise.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Yes, we're going to hit the big boss for a raise.

GORDEMER: "Dumbo" was in production around the time of the strike, and there's a short scene where a bunch of circus clowns march off to confront management.

FRIEDMAN: Everyone who has been a member of an animation union has at least some degree of credit owed to these Disney strikers. Hollywood's a union town because of the Disney strike. And the fact that they got everything that they were fighting for says a lot for these strikers and a lot for what they sacrificed.

GORDEMER: In other words, you don't have to be an artist to draw a line between the past and the present.

Barry Gordemer, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEIGH HO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) Heigh ho, heigh ho.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

6 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

7 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

8 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

11 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

12 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

13 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

14 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

15 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

16 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。