Thursday, November 11, 2004
Winsor McCay Award Recipients
When young Water Disney, bankrupt and down to his last $50, climbed onto that first class train from Kansas City to Hollywood, he took a roll of film with him.
I don`t think that there is anyone who has looked, even casually, at the life of Walt Disney that could doubt that Walt was going to succeed, no matter what. When times were worst he was at his best.
But it didn`t start with a mouse, damn it, it started with a little curly headed girl named Virginia Davis.
When Margaret Winkler agreed to distribute the Walt Disney Alice in Cartoonland Comedies, she insisted on the same quality and the same actress. The quality meant talking Ub Iwerks into moving to Hollywood, the same actress meant talking the parents of the young star into relocating to tinsel town.
The Disney studio may have hired other little girls to play the part of Alice in later years but there is only one true Alice from Cartoonland. She is still with us, thank god, a bridge back to the very first days of the Disney Brothers Studio.
She is one of this year`s Winsor McCay Award recipients. I am deeply proud to have been on the committee that chose to bestow this richly disserved award on the lady who launched a 1,000 toons.
The other McCay recipients are famed actor and cartoon voice Arnold Stang and animator Don Bluth. I will be talking about these two worthy Award Winners in a later blog after I re-watch Hercules in New York and the Secret of NIMH and play a few rounds of Dragon`s Lair.
For now, here is a link to a short clip of Virgina Davis as Alice:
GO ASK ALICE
When young Water Disney, bankrupt and down to his last $50, climbed onto that first class train from Kansas City to Hollywood, he took a roll of film with him.
I don`t think that there is anyone who has looked, even casually, at the life of Walt Disney that could doubt that Walt was going to succeed, no matter what. When times were worst he was at his best.
But it didn`t start with a mouse, damn it, it started with a little curly headed girl named Virginia Davis.
When Margaret Winkler agreed to distribute the Walt Disney Alice in Cartoonland Comedies, she insisted on the same quality and the same actress. The quality meant talking Ub Iwerks into moving to Hollywood, the same actress meant talking the parents of the young star into relocating to tinsel town.
The Disney studio may have hired other little girls to play the part of Alice in later years but there is only one true Alice from Cartoonland. She is still with us, thank god, a bridge back to the very first days of the Disney Brothers Studio.
She is one of this year`s Winsor McCay Award recipients. I am deeply proud to have been on the committee that chose to bestow this richly disserved award on the lady who launched a 1,000 toons.
The other McCay recipients are famed actor and cartoon voice Arnold Stang and animator Don Bluth. I will be talking about these two worthy Award Winners in a later blog after I re-watch Hercules in New York and the Secret of NIMH and play a few rounds of Dragon`s Lair.
For now, here is a link to a short clip of Virgina Davis as Alice:
GO ASK ALICE
