Along with the family, the company was at a remarkable low. At least the Disneys had something to blame for their crisis: World War II. No one could escape the economic devastation that arose during that time period. "The forties brought the war and our frozen markets," Roy remembered. "It was a bad decade for us...we were a young organization, and our fellows were subject to the draft. We lost many, many of them" (150). On top of losing many employees, Walt's new animated features did not bring in nearly enough profit to pay for production costs. First, Pinocchio created many problems in its early stages, essentially a "nightmare" (130). Then came Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi, and all were box office failures. With these frustrations, "the company was so broke that not even one feature was in production" (158). Everyone in business inevitably has some rough patches to get over, but they eventually disappear. The Disney brothers will definitely come out of their hole, and will have plenty of opportunities to rise to the top once more.
~ Outside Reading #4
Thomas, Bob. Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire.
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5 comments:
It is amusing to read about Disney movies like Fantasia being failures when they were originally released. It just goes to show that persevering is important in success. Also, you can tell that the Disney brothers were very resilient people from this post. Most people would probably have given up the business if their parents had died suddenly and their productions were not popular, but the Disney brothers continued to work at their business.
I find it facinating that Disney classics we now cherish were once such flops! To read about the struggle and effort behind Disney, how much it took to get where they are today, and the losses they endured is amazing. Who knew that such a giant in animation today could have spawned from such humble beginings? it really makes you think.
The Disney classics we know and love were are failures to begin with?! That is so weird to think of! I always picture Disney as this multi- million-dollar company from the start, but I guess when you really look at the facts it hit its rough patches just like another!
It's amazing to see how such a successful pair can start out with such travesties and trials facing them head on. When working with large groups of people and in large businesses and seems many times that people lose their morals. However, it seems that the Disney brothers were very sympathetic to how their jobs affected their family and coworkers.
It seems like the worst kind of irony that the brothers' success led to their mother's death. After so many bad things happening to them, and even having the "classic" Disney films be flops, it seems so impossible to see where the company they made come to where it is now.
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