The traditionalists among us, myself included, tend to lament the corporate morphing of the name Walt Disney into just plain "Disney"...or "Disney's" - demonstrating, perhaps, the omnipresent possessiveness of the ever-gobbling media giant over even its founder.
But, we find an unusual example of the converse in the pages of DELL FOUR COLOR #805 SCAMP (Dell Comics, Cover Date: June, 1957) in the ad copy for Dell's CHIP 'N' DALE comic...
Take a gander at the possessive proper noun, and blink with wonder!
Yes, the two chatterbox chipmunks could certainly be referred-to as "WALT'S CHIP 'N' DALE", as it's not too difficult to figure out who "WALT" is!
It's not THIS GUY...
Or THIS GUY!
But, ya gotta wonder where the "Disney" went, and how its absence passed through a presumed series of editorial reviews.
...Maybe this is an example of REAL "Disney Magic"!
8 comments:
Ah, but it's a POEM, Joe! With meter as well as rhyme!
MISchief, adVENture, and TWO bushy TAILS
go INto each ISSue of WALT'S Chip'n'DALE!
Very good, Elaine!
I had considered that… but, since this IS a Dell Comics ad, why not make the line…
”go INto each ISSue of DELL'S Chip'n'DALE!”
They are advertising the *Dell comic book* after all, not the animated shorts, and WALT'S Chip'n'DALE! just looks off and awkward.
Guess that’s why I’m a writer and not an editor…
Chip 'n' Dale are chipmunks, not squirrels. They don't have bushy tails! And rhyming "tails" with "Dale" doesn't quite work, either. So this whole rhyme is off to begin with!
Better might be "Here's Chip! Here's Dale! They're just a couple of crazy rascals out to have some fun!
When Chip and Dale start cooking up adventure you can bet it gets well done!"
...or did somebody use that already?
Personally, I like "Available now at your favorite dealer--if mom can't drive you, tell her you'll wheel her!"
Maybe it's the time change.
Scarecrow:
That one little hour – back or forth – affects us all in almost too many ways to count. Though if you were a writer on my theoretical staff, and could be “time-changed” into producing something as wonderfully wacky as “Available now at your favorite dealer--if mom can't drive you, tell her you'll wheel her!”, I’d assign another member of my theoretical staff to randomly adjust your clocks each and every day!
…If I haven’t already become “the next Vic Lockman”, maybe YOU’LL ascend to that position of honor – and make me proud!
But, before I step aside for good, let’s try this little ditty of mine on for size…
Two fast-chattering ‘munks are they…
Sit back and enjoy, as they show you the way…
…To mischief and hijinks, never to pale…
…by reading Dell Comics’ next Chip ‘n’ Dale!
I won’t even attempt to complete with “Available now at your favorite dealer--if mom can't drive you, tell her you'll wheel her!” Congratulations on your triumph!
Surprising faux-pas. It seems to me like the text was merely spot-checked. Maybe the editor just quickly looked at the arrangement of the text, it looked visually appealing and balanced, and he/she (most likely he in those days) just "kept things moving" without closely examining the text. Perhaps this was necessitated by time/budget constraints.
If that's the case, it may also explain how Bugs Bunny once appeared in an ad for Dell Disney comics, or the error re: Franklin Roosevelt's death that we discussed in your last blog post.
Why "Walt" instead of "Dell"? I would imagine it was a legal requirement that the names of Disney properties be preceded by "Walt Disney's." Disney was a master of branding, so much so that, to this day, all casual viewers of animation (as opposed to true fans of the medium, like those who read this blog) know who Walt Disney was, but are unlikely to know the names of other master animators, such as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Bill Hanna, or Joe Barbera, let alone lesser-known talents like Gene Deitch, Jay Ward, or Bill Scott.
I've actually mellowed somewhat on the "Walt Disney" vs. "Disney" thing. I now support a compromise of sorts. Properties that were created by Walt Disney, or at least during his lifetime, should be preceded by "Walt Disney." Properties created after his passing should be preceded by "Disney." Without getting too political, I suspect Uncle Walt would not approve of many things his company makes nowadays. So why should his name be associated with these things?
That's my stance, but in reality, of course, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to whether "Walt Disney" or "Disney" is used. I've seen Mickey Mouse preceded by solely "Disney."
While I'm on this subject, one thing I've never understood is how it is that the penmanship of Walt Disney's signature is identical to that of Will Eisner's signature. Did one signature inspire the other? Was there a professional connection or affiliation between the two men? Was Will Eisner the alter ego of Walt Disney? (Okay, I'm kidding about that last one :)).
Sergio:
Just today, Esther was telling me about the very-detailed and well-expressed comments that appear at this humble Blog, vs. the often “dumb ‘n’ angry” comments that proliferate on other sites of all kinds. She’s quite right, you know, and comments like this – from ALL of you – are one perfect example after another!
My overall belief on the matter is more-or-less exactly as you outline in your first paragraph. Many things do tend to be “rushed into needless error or omission” in comics. Why, it even happens today at the-publisher-I-work-for, though I’ll not point those things out because they do SO MUCH SO WELL! Such has been the case in comics since the beginning, and remains so to the present day. Though I would say that the Dell and Gold Key comics, at least through the mid-1960s, had fewer instances of this than most other publishers… especially Charlton! …But, as we all know, that was part of “Charlton’s Charm”!
I don’t recall where “Bugs Bunny once appeared in an ad for Dell Disney comics”, unless your referring to THIS!
“I've actually mellowed somewhat on the "Walt Disney" vs. "Disney" thing. I now support a compromise of sorts. Properties that were created by Walt Disney, or at least during his lifetime, should be preceded by "Walt Disney." Properties created after his passing should be preceded by "Disney." Without getting too political, I suspect Uncle Walt would not approve of many things his company makes nowadays. So why should his name be associated with these things?”
I think that’s a fine and fair way to negotiate the "Walt Disney" vs. "Disney" thing, but I just don’t see that happening. That’s why I posted this Chip ‘n’ Dale ad, to show a rare (albeit inadvertent) example of “WALT” standing alone without “Disney”! …And, yeah, if WALT Disney were alive today, I seriously doubt he’d personally approve of a good deal of current Disney product!
AWK! I’d never even noticed “that the penmanship of Walt Disney's signature is identical to that of Will Eisner's signature.” Being a fan of both men’s work, I’m actually ashamed for not seeing something that obvious! I am aware of no connection between Mr. Disney and Mr. Eisner… but, then again, I was also unaware of the striking similarity of their signatures – so anything’s possible!
"I don’t recall where “Bugs Bunny once appeared in an ad for Dell Disney comics”, unless your referring to THIS!"
You're right, Joe. That's what I was thinking of. How did I conflate Dell and Gold Key? Big mistake! I should have either looked up the post before referencing it, or just said "Western." I guess that's what I get for commenting past my "bedtime." Oh, well. It's fitting that I should make a typo like that, in a comment to a blog post about a typo!
Sergio:
Aside from “The Walt Disney Comics Digest Affair”, there actually WAS a case of Bugs Bunny finding his way into a DELL comic where he didn’t belong! I just never wrote about it… yet!
Look deeply into the GCD Index for NEW FUNNIES #65 (June-July, 1942) HERE and you’ll find Bugs there among several Walter Lantz characters, Raggedy Ann, and Peter Rabbit! “…Eeh, what’s one more rabbit… give or take a few carrots, Doc”!
And, YES… Bugs is really in there, and I was as surprised as anyone to see that! Just goes to show how much more there is to learn when it comes to Western Publishing/Dell/Gold Key/Whitman!
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