More comments on various subjects

Per Starback starback at Minsk.DoCS.UU.SE
Thu Sep 23 23:22:58 CEST 1993


On Disney fans who aren't interested in comics books:
Well, it's their loss, but it's perfectly possible to be interested in
Disney animation for its own sake.

Don> and I'll tell them that they don't even know who Donald Duck is
Don> if they think he's just some slapstick character who throws
Don> walnuts at Chip and Dale. "Oh, yes, aren't they just the cutest
Don> things!"

Of course they know who "their" Donald Duck is, and he is not "just
some slapstick character" on the screen either, even though slapstick
is more suitable to the cartoons than the comics, and thus is more
prevalent there.  I think Chip and Dale are pretty cute by the way,
especially when drawn by Al Hubbard. :-)

Don> Obviously, I have littel respect for most of those sort of
Don> "Disney fans". If they don't have an intellectual basis for their
Don> interests, I think they're wasting their time.

The basis for my interest in Disney (comics and animation) is
probably more emotional than intellectual.  Is that bad?  Why?

David:
>	As for Donald, the concept of him "throwing walnuts at Chip
> 'n' Dale" raises something that I would like to hear folks out about:
> After Barks left the Disney story department, Donald was absolutely
> never the same!  He lost his pretentions to grandeur (most evident in
> "Fire Chief," my favorite Duck cartoon) and became a very formulaic,
> bullying character.
>	In fact, when Jack Hannah began directing, he began to play up
> the formerly-obnoxious critters who Donald dealt with as heroes and
> sympathetic characters.  By the end of the series, Donald had become
> the *villain* of his own cartoons.

Well, there was a change in the cartoons, but I never thought that
Barks's influence was that great.  The Studio changed a lot during
WW2, and never came out the same afterwards.  Maybe Barks's influcence
was greater than I've thought, but nevertheless I think Jack Hannah
directed many fine Donald cartoons in the years that followed.

Andy:
> I have only seen the Gladstone version of Bombie.  Where can I look to
> see the original Barks' version?

You'd have to look in the original Donald Duch One Shot #238 I guess.
Of course I don't have that by the way.  According to Barrier's book
the editors substituted "done for" for "dead" on page 1 and 22 of that
story (but left "dead" unchanged on page 6).  It seems like Another
Rainbow redone those changes at least, 'cause CBL has:

Bop, Bop: "A-a man that wouldn't stay dead, Donald!" (page 1)
Scrooge: "He's just *dumb*, as who wouldn't be that's been dead a
	*thousand* years!" (page 6)
Cornelius McCobb: "Don't let him fool you!  He's not dead!" (page 26)

and finally Steve (on a recent Disneyana convention):
> In addtion Carl Barks was there, I missed him myself, but he was 
> 'featured' a "meet the authors" signing event. 

It seems like Carl Barks travels around a lot nowadays.  Any other
places where he'll be?
--       "
Per Starback, Uppsala, Sweden.  email: starback at student.docs.uu.se
 "Life is but a gamble!  Let flipism chart your ramble!"



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