First man to draw Mickey celebrated in book, film

First man to draw Mickey celebrated in book, film

IWERKS HELPED DISNEY CREATE THE LEGENDARY CARTOON CHARACTER

BY GARY GENTILE
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- As a third-grader, Leslie Iwerks wrote a class report on the grandfather she barely knew but had heard of all her life, the man who gave shape to Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse.

``When everybody was so amazed, I thought, `Wow, I have a famous grandfather, but no one knows it,' '' Iwerks said.

The reaction would launch the child from Burbank on a lifelong quest to introduce the rest of the world to Ub Iwerks.

This year, which marks the centennial of the birth of both Disney and Iwerks, also sees her efforts coming to fruition with the release of both a biography and a documentary on her grandfather's contributions to animation and film technology.


`Ub was his hands'

For many who already know about the legendary animator, it's about time.

``Walt was the producer, director, the idea guy,'' said John Lasseter, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and the force behind such computer-animated films as ``Toy Story'' and ``Monsters Inc.''

``But Ub was his hands. He's the guy who actually drew Mickey Mouse. It just is remarkable to me to think about his talent.''

The birth of Mickey Mouse is clouded by legends, many spun by Walt himself, who liked to say he created the mouse on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles.

In 1929, the Disney Brothers' Studio, as it was then called, was producing short cartoons featuring ``Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit.''

When the studio's contract with New York film distributor Charles Mintz came up for renewal, Mintz decided to keep the character for himself. He also hired away all of Disney's animators, except for Iwerks, who remained loyal.

Disney got the devastating news when he arrived in New York to negotiate a new deal.

As Walt told it, on the way back to Los Angeles he decided his next character would be a mouse named Mortimer. His wife, Lillian, suggested he change the name to Mickey and the rest, as they say, was history.

``As far as I know, that's all publicity hype,'' said David Smith, director of the archives at the Walt Disney Co.

What most likely happened is that on his return to Los Angeles, Walt and Ub huddled, paged through magazines, considered various options, then settled on a mouse, whose name Lillian Disney indeed suggested.

What is undisputed, however, is that Iwerks designed Mickey and was the sole animator of his first film, ``Plane Crazy.''

Iwerks went on to animate the second Mickey film, ``Gallopin' Gaucho,'' as well as the third, ``Steamboat Willie,'' which also was the first to feature sound.

``You really do look closely at `Plane Crazy' and `Steamboat Willie' and you think, `This is a corporate logo walking around and doing this stuff,' '' Lasseter says in the documentary ``The Hand Behind the Mouse.''


Documentary made

The film was written and directed by Leslie Iwerks, who also co-wrote the Disney Editions book of the same title with John Kenworthy.

The projects were a way for her to connect with the grandfather who died when she was a year old, as well a chance to tell the story of two remarkable men.

``They really fed each other and created great things together,'' she said.

Iwerks became a partner in the Disney Brothers' Studio in 1923 along with Walt and his brother, Roy.

Iwerks left in 1930 to form his own studio, but rejoined Disney as an employee in 1940.

This time he headed the studio's special effects department where he made landmark contributions to film technology and won two Academy Awards, one for perfecting a special effects technique used in many films, most notably the 1964 film ``Mary Poppins.''

Hooray! [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img]

Public recognition of Ub Iwerks is long overdue. Most people don't know that Walt did not draw Mickey Mouse - Ub Iwerks did. Iwerks is not even mentioned in the "One Man's Dream" presentation at MGM. He does, however, have a prominent window on Main Street at MK.

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Hooray for Ub Iwerks!!

The documentary on the Disney Channel inspired me to buy the book. Very interesting, and kudos to Disney for acknowledging the true creator of Mickey. As you say, [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] Hooray for Ub!!!

I've read the book (I have a signed copy by the way!!!) Not a bad read, very interesting insight on the Disney Co. from a completely different angle. Little techy, but otherwise very cool stuff.