1924 - Alice and Walt's Wonderland

by Craig D. Barton

“We have just discovered something new and clever in animated cartoons! The first subject of this distinctly different series is now in production, and will require a few weeks more for completion. It is a new idea that will appeal to all classes, and is bound to be a winner, because it is a clever combination of live characters and cartoons, not like Out of the Inkwell or Earl Hurd’s but of an entirely different nature, using a cast of live child actors who carry on their action on cartoon scenes with cartoon characters. These new subjects will be a full reel in length, and can be released at regular intervals of two weeks or a month..” – Walt Disney, in a letter to M.J. Winkler, dated May 14^th, 1923

One month later….

“Owing to numerous delays and backsets we have encountered in moving to our new office, we will not be able to complete the first picture of our new series by the time we expected. However, it will be finished very soon, and the writer expects to be in New York about the first of July with a print of same, and an outline for our future program…”

An animator (Walt Disney) shows Alice (Virginia Davis) some of his work in "Alice's Wonderland," the new film Walt spoke of in his exchanges with M.J. Winkler.

The writer never made it to New York. Instead, Walt Disney decided to head to California in search of a new start in the motion picture business. Yet, his work on his last Laugh-O-Gram project, the half-finished “Alice’s Wonderland,” remained in his thoughts. He persuaded his creditors to release what had been finished to Miss Margaret J. Winkler for review. Winkler, who had been encouraging in her letters to Walt, saw something in this “clever combination of live characters and cartoons” and offered him $1500 per reel of new Alice shorts, contingent on more detail and steadiness of production quality. There was one other requirement as well: that Miss Virginia Davis who had starred in the unfinished Alice reel would continue on in the new features as well.

"Little" Virginia Davis, who still lived in Kansas City with her family.

As Ms. Davis would recall in later years, “When I was… four, and a letter came from California, my mother was very excited about it. She didn’t say much to me. It’s just that we were going to go to California. There were two different things in there. The letter said that he (Walt Disney) had this Alice’s Wonderland was okayed and he had gotten a distributor. And––M.J. Winkler as a matter of fact. And he thought that would be terrific for me, and he proceeded to do a great selling job with the letter to my mother, that would be a great opportunity for Virginia and so forth and so on. But my mother was I think interested in that part of it, but at the same time, I had been very sick as a very little girl and I had double pneumonia and the doctor had always said I’d be better in a drier climate than Kansas City, Missouri, so I think that and the fact that my father was a salesman, he was a road salesman, and that he could sell any place in the United States, and my illnesses. I think that it was a combination of many factors that made it well worthwhile to move to California. And so we took a train and I loved the train. We didn’t fly in those days you know, we took trains through Chicago and the rumble of the tracks you know, they put me to sleep at night. It was great fun to be in a berth. I enjoyed that very much. And then I enjoyed when we got out here and the first picture was Alice’s Day at Sea. And I’d never seen the sea. That was a big experience for a youngster, all these waves and everything. It was wonderful and there again was Walt with his stories and his direction.” 

Walt’s stories, direction, and salesmanship had gotten him to where he was by the end of 1923: A newly founded company, a contract, a studio, and a series to begin work on. Production on “Alice’s Day at Sea” began that October, and by December, he had shipped the finished reel to Miss Winkler, receiving approval and notice of first payment shortly after Christmas.

The 1924 Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on Kingswell Avenue, as seen today. Photo taken by Craig D. Barton, 2016

In 1924, that first payment allowed Walt to hire his first animator (Rollin “Ham” Hamilton) and move into a small studio on Kingswell (which is commonly referred to as the first Disney studio) and ramp up production on more Alice Comedies. The promise of unique and entertaining animation was exactly what Winkler was looking for. As she pitched to distributors, Walt continued working on the series, directing young Miss Davis in Alice’s latest adventures, telling her the story she was relaying as the filming progressed in ways only Walt could.

Recalled Ms. Davis, “He would tell me the story and he’d stand in front of me and, he’d say, ‘Oh, somebody’s going to throw something, dodge it!’ And I’d dodge. And then he’d move, great arm motions to tell me to put your arms up, put them down. Course I didn’t know what I was doing, but he had the whole story in his mind and he was a great director and a great actor. He would have made a great actor because he acted everything out for everybody and he even did that later on his life… he would have said, ‘Pretend that you’re running.’ And of course I could pretend, because I was a great pretender. And he’d say, you know, ‘Run, move your arms, move your arms, like you’re running. Look scared, look scared. Look back, look back.’ I’d look back and that was the way it was done.”

And Virginia enjoyed every moment. “I just enjoyed going to work whenever it was time for me to go to work, “ she remembered, “Because each story was different. In one story I could play baseball. In another story I could pretend I was a real roughneck cowgirl and I loved that. I liked wearing a belt and the guns and pretending to be a little rough you know. But it was fun. It was really great fun, that’s all I can say about the whole Alice Comedies. I enjoyed them. I enjoyed making them. I don’t remember seeing any of them, but I remember enjoying making them and I loved Walt so much, I’d have done anything for Walt. He was just, just darling and so kind to me and patient, very patient. And he never criticized me. I don’t ever remember a word of criticism from him about, ‘Oh that wasn’t right, don’t do it that way,’ or so forth. No, he’d just say, ‘That was fine honey.’ And he always called me ‘Virginia’ and it was always very sweet. I just adored him.”

In March of 1924, “Alice’s Day at Sea” was released, and by May of the same year, Walt had finished his initial series of six films for Winkler. He had directed as well as done most of the animation on these films.

And he was tired.

While he was quite the pitchman and storyteller, and could figure out some of the best gags, Walt realized he needed more help, more artistic craftsmanship. He needed his old partner in Kansas City, Ub Iwerks. Iwerks joined Walt that summer, adding quality to the Alice Comedies, as orders for more films came in. However, M.J. Winkler had retired after marrying Charles Mintz, with Mintz taking over her company. Expenses stretched the budget, and Mintz would only offer half-payments at a time, pressing for more comedy and quality. Nonetheless, as Mintz was able to book various theatres for showings of these films, the Alice Comedies became more successful, and by the end of the year, a new contract for 18 more shorts was signed.
 
The Alice comedies would continue with new contracts and new actresses in the next couple years, and both Mintz and Iwerks would play (very different) key roles in the future of the Walt Disney Company later on…

1924

• “Alice’s Day at Sea” premiers in March (first released film by Disney Brothers Studio under Winkler Pictures).
• Disney Brothers Studio moves to Kingswell Avenue storefront, regarded as the first Disney Studio.
• Ub Iwerks joins Disney in California.
• M.J. Winkler marries Charles Mintz and retires; Mintz takes over distribution of Alice Comedies.

Other Alice Releases:

  Alice's Spooky Adventure - April 1, 1924

  Alice's Wild West Show - May 1, 1924

  Alice's Fishy Story - June 1, 1924

  Alice and the Dog Catcher - July 1, 1924

  Alice the Peacemaker - August 1, 1924

  Alice Gets in Dutch - November 1, 1924

  Alice Hunting in Africa - November 15, 1924

  Alice and the Three Bears - December 1, 1924

  Alice the Piper - December 15, 1924

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*"The Walt Disney Company: 100 Years in 100 Weeks" is a project conceived by Craig D. Barton and presented by Communerdy. It is in no way affiliated with The Walt Disney Company, and any opinions presented within its content are that of the author(s). For more updates, follow us on https://www.instagram.com/disney100in100/ .