Disney Standards

John Crocker John.Crocker at student.oc.edu
Fri Jan 25 00:32:59 CET 2002


Christopher Burton:

<<This touches on something I've been meaning to ask for some time now.
Given all of the international inconsistencies not to mention the
differences in views among various creators, how would you as a Disney
comics fan or creator feel if the Walt Disney Company, in an attempt to
create a more cohesive and "logical" universe (or as logical as a
universe can be when it's peopled with talking ducks, dogs, geese,
etc.), came up with guidelines that standardized some (or all!) of the
very <<things that have been discussed and required the licensees to
follow them?

Though not really an answer to the question and a fairly obvious
statement, I would just like to comment that I don't see Disney ever
doing this.  Not only is Disney probably not that concerned with their
comics, they are probably not worried about getting involved with
European artists' styles.

I'm an American Disney comics fan, but am also quite the Disney fan on
the whole, as well.  I think if one simply looks at the original Mickey,
Donald, Goofy, etc... films that came out during the 1930's - 50's, one
can see that Disney has not been too concerned with a sense of
continuity.  Sheesh....one would have a field day just trying to piece
together twists and turns of the Mickey-Minnie relationship as well as
the Donald-Daisy relationship in these old films.  Another good example
of this is to look at Beauty & the Beast.  At the end of the movie, the
Beast obviously turns back into a man, but there have been several
direct-to-video Beauty & the Beast "sequels" which have not continued
the story of Belle and the Prince, but have been set in a time when the
Prince is still the Beast.  Now, one could possibly assume that we are
simply getting a closer look into the time period before the
transformation in which Belle was at the castle, but to do so throws off
any and all sort of rhythm that there is in the original movie.

My point is that Disney seems to focus on producing enjoyable stories
rather than always following a sense of order.  Thus, I think the
current state of affairs of Disney comics in the United States (well,
U.S. artists that is) Europe, Brazil, etc... is perfectly sychronized
with Disney's ideas as a whole, with a focus being on the stories.

European artists, who I unfortunately am not very familiar with, may be
able to tell good stories by focusing on good plots, character
relationships, and jokes instead of continuity.  Furthermore, Don Rosa,
because of his particular abilities can give us at times,
duck-historically-based stories that are just as pleasing.  Artists who
are not worried about continuity will probably have a tougher time
making good stories if forced to follow strict constraints.
Furthermore, I believe we would lose much if Rosa was forced to let go
of his own style and conform to randomness (besides the fact that Don
would probably revolt.)  ;-)                       

That said, I've got a quick question myself:  what is everyone's
favorite story in which Donald is exceedingly good at a particular
profession?  and why?

Not necessarily my favorite one, but I enjoy the story with Donald as an
expert cleaner (not sure of the title)....his ego comes into full play
in this fun story.

That's all!

-john crocker (got married on Donald's birthday)




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