>>111427302It's kind of hard to put into context how huge betty boop and felix the cat were in the 1920s and 30s.
What's little known is that for decades, Walt Disney did a decades long PR campaign designed to subplant history by portraying himself as the main animation studio of the silent era through the depression. This is why Steam Boat Willie is portrayed as such an iconic thing, when it wasn't that special.
Because most studios were tiny indie operations, with only a few being tied to major film studios, animation was a niche thing. Disney movies were the only full length animated features, they had a unique position and public reach that other studios just couldn't compete with. Most of this high output came from the fact that Disney ran the studio like a sweatshop, kept all the money, and those who questioned anything were fired on the spot. The Hay's Code, Disney, and the fragility of anyone's job in a very niche industry meant that not only did Fleicher Studios get fucked out of it's position, Disney's PR spider web and public reach made sure they were forgotten in the public eye.
Animators didn't want to rock the boat and risk their livelihoods, but eventually, during the making of Dumbo, the animators formed a union to counter Walt's authoritarian treatment of workers, and Walt called in gangsters to beat up the union leaders. The gangsters either chickened out or where arrested for a different criime before the date of the strike break began. So Walt did the next worst thing - he ruined their lives by calling them communists before the McCarthy lead House Commiteee on Un-American Activities.
Fuck Uncle Walt.
