Il était une fois Walt Disney: Aux sources de l'art des Studios Disney DVD Review

Format: DVD. Country and Year of Release: France, 2006.

UK/US Import Friendly?
Disc Region: Yes.The disc is Region Free.
DVD Video Format: NTSC. (UK viewers should ensure compatibility before ordering.)
Language: Yes. There are separate English and French versions of the main feature. The special feature is in English with optional French subtitles.

Il était une fois Walt Disney: Aux sources de l'art des Studios Disney (Once Upon a Time Walt Disney: The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios, 2006) is a documentary designed to complement a museum exhibition of the same name held in Paris in 2007. The 47-minute film explores the artistic influences on the Golden Age of Disney production, from popular live-action movies to classic European art and folklore.

The filmmaker, Samuel Doux, appears to have been given extensive access to the Disney archives. The documentary features many rare production drawings, as well as lengthy clips from the studio’s cartoons and television shows. This allows Doux to explicitly juxtapose sequences from Disney movies with the sources that inspired them. For instance, one sequence intercuts between the ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ section of Fantasia (1940) and comparable images in F. W. Murnau’s live-action silent movie Faust (1926).



Another segment details a tradition of monstrous, anthromorphised trees in nineteenth Century European painting – displaying images of works by Gustav Doré, amongst others – before showing the horrific forest scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The clear visual links between the sources makes the documentary a very rewarding watch.

An unseen narrator conveys the majority of information, although there are also on-screen interviews with several prominent French film and art historians (Bruno Girveau, Serge Bromberg, and Pierre Lambert). Apart from a few brief moments of cod psychology about the importance of Disney’s early childhood on a farm, these contributors offer some valuable insights into the development of the studio's artistic style.

Il était une fois Walt Disney is not without its problems, however. There are a few minor errors – for example, the voiceover notes that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was 'the first full-length animated feature in movie history', when there are actually several precedents (including Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed [1926]). The structure is also a little loose – the film deals extensively with Pinocchio (1940) and Sleeping Beauty (1959) before jumping back to Snow White. Finally, I would have liked more discussion about the problems that some artists faced while working at Disney during this period. For instance, the German filmmaker Oskar Fischinger reportedly became extremely frustrated that his avant-garde concepts for Fantasia were quickly transformed into more figurative designs as they moved along the chain of command. The documentary does not really address any of these issues, beyond a few generic asides about the difficulties of adapting 'traditional' art while also meeting the expectations surrounding mainstream animation. The film also mentions that the Russian director Sergei Eisenstein was 'enamoured by Disney', but fails to acknowledge Eisenstein's concerns about some of the studio's artistic choices in the 1940s and beyond. While this does not feel like whitewashed studio propaganda by any means, it is a shame that some of the subsequent criticisms of Disney’s approach are not given more consideration.

Destino Production Art

Ultimately, Il était une fois Walt Disney attempts to cram a lot into its short running time. At times, it feels that we are getting just a small sample of everything that was available in the museum. For those wanting a meatier discussion of the subject, it may be worth investing in the extensive book-length programme that was published to accompany the exhibition, or Robin Allan's study Walt Disney and Europe (which covers a lot of the same ground). The film also spends several minutes discussing Destino, the aborted collaboration between Disney and Salvador Dalí – although this is very interesting, the story has subsequently been told much more extensively in the 82-minute documentary 'Dali & Disney: A Date with Destino', included with the 2010 DVD and Blu-ray releases of Fantasia 2000 (1999). As an introduction to the subject, however, there is a lot to recommend in this DVD. The juxtaposition of the film clips and the original art sources is done very effectively, making it a worthy companion to the more academic texts outlined above.

The film was initially produced in French, but a full-length English version is also available on the disc. This is an entirely separate video file, meaning that the credits and on-screen text are also presented in English, as well as the audio. (The only exception is a couple of clips from The Jungle Book [1967] which are left in French for some unknown reason. This is not a huge problem – it was quite charming to hear 'The Bare Necessities' sung in French!). The audio is clear throughout. There are no subtitles for either version.

One major disappointment is the aspect ratio of the documentary. Both the English and French versions of the film are presented in widescreen, but (as some of the screenshots above indicate) the excerpts from Disney movies have been crudely stretched to fill the frame, rather than being windowboxed in their original ratio. This can be fixed by placing the TV in 4:3 mode, but then the newly-filmed sections of the documentary end up looking squashed. Either way, the documentary is still perfectly watchable, but it is a curious and frustrating decision on behalf of the producers.

The DVD has one substantial extra: the live-action silent feature Snow White (1916). Walt Disney reportedly saw the movie as a teenager, and cited it as a significant influence on his own animated adaptation. Based on a play by Winthrop Ames (itself an adaptation of several earlier stage versions), the film offers precedents for a number of the alterations and omissions from the Grimm’s story found in the Disney version. The sole surviving copy of the film – discovered in the Netherlands and preserved by George Eastman House – is missing a handful of scenes, but remains coherent and enjoyable even in its incomplete state. The intertitles are presented in English, with optional digital French subtitles available.

Il était une fois Walt Disney

Treasures from American Film Archives

It should be noted that Snow White has already been made available on home video, as part of the first volume of the National Film Preservation Foundation's Treasures from American Film Archives DVD series. Both copies of the film are derived from the same restored print – the version on the Il était une fois Walt Disney disc runs slightly longer, but this appears to be a result of it being transferred at a slightly slower rate, rather than it containing any extra footage. The picture on the Il était une fois Walt Disney DVD seems a little sharper than the Treasures disc, but the latter is windowboxed to present slightly more of the image. The Treasures version also has the benefit of a newly composed musical score by Martin Marks. The version of Snow White on Il était une fois Walt Disney is presented in complete silence, which is not an ideal way to watch the film. (Few 'silent' movies were shown in cinemas without some form of live musical accompaniment.) Nonetheless, the inclusion of Snow White is a welcome bonus on this DVD, especially if you do not already own the (rather more expensive) Treasures set.

Despite the issues with the video, this documentary set is worth considering for fans of Walt Disney. It is a good introduction to the studio's sources of inspiration, and uses its visuals very insightfully.

Il était une fois Walt Disney is available to purchase from: Amazon France and Heeza.fr.