Originally Posted By FriendOfOswald Walt once told a new artist at the studio that if he could understand that the name on the company was "Walt Disney", then the artist was his man. But if the artist was there to make a name for himself, then he'd best go elsewhere. Walt once explained that the reason he put his name foremost on the studio's creations was because he wanted the audience to know what they were getting when they went to a Walt Disney movie. They would know that they would be getting a quality family experiece; plus, if the movie failed, the blame would fall primarily on Walt, since it was his name on the picture. Walt commissioned the book The Art of Animation from Bob Thomas solely to give credit to the artists who helped build the Walt Disney studio. He told Bob that it was about time the animators got the credit they deserved. He was not a glory hog IMO. He wanted to give his pictures an identity the audience could trust and rely on. I won't argue that he could be difficult to work with; he was aiming for perfection, after all. But we wouldn't have masterpieces like Pinocchio and Fantasia without his quest for the best his artists could give.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones The only credits people really remember are the first few. After those, it really doesn't matter if your name is in the credits or not. Put it on your resume and examples of your work in your portfolio.
Originally Posted By Socrates Let's do a thought experiment: The Disney brothers did business under the name "Walt Disney". What mental image does that name evoke? The Warner brothers did business under the name "Warner Brothers". What mental image does that name evoke? Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Originally Posted By Socrates BTW, the "Walt's People" series is another good info source, and I think it's available here on LP. Socrates "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."
Originally Posted By danyoung >Walt once explained that the reason he put his name foremost on the studio's creations was because he wanted the audience to know what they were getting when they went to a Walt Disney movie.< I understand all about brand and image. But it's still possible to have all of that and still give some credit to the hard workers that make it all happen. Those animators who struck back in the 40's definitely had a point, and it was too bad that Walt was so hurt by it that he didn't see that a lot of the problem was in the way he treated his employees.
