MICKY THE MOUSE

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3468, 19 May 1934, Page 5

MICKY THE MOUSE

NOT HIGHLY PAID STAR GOOD RETURN FROM ROYALTIES Walt Disney denies that his beloved animated beasts are making millions as such —but their side lines are proving profitable. Mickey Mouse, in so far as his money-making ability as an actor is concerned, is a “dud.” So, too, are the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, Horace Horsecollar, Minnie Mouse and the rest of them. They are worth a hundred times more off the screen than on. That from no less an authority than the 32-year-old creator of the animated cartoon characters —Mr Walt Disney.

“I’ve heaird estimates,”' says Mr Disney in his quiet manner, “from outsiders, of course, placing the gross from the Three Little Pigs as high as 3,000,000 dollars to date. Every time I produce another Mickey Mouse or Silly Symphony, I’m accused of making another million dollars. I only wish it w'ere true.”

Here are the actual figures, quoted from the records of Disney’s studio.

Three Little Pigs, probably the most successful short subject ever produced from any studio, from the standpoint of numbers of theatres booking it, cost Mr Disney 60,000 dollars to make. To date it has grossed about 64,000 dollars —a net profit to Mr Disney of 4000 dollars.

One of the original Mickey Mouse shorts—and the famous animated character is now nearing his sixth birthday—only recently began to transform its financial record from red to black ink. Mr Disney said theatres pay U nominal rental of only slightly more than 6 dollars per booking for a Mickey Mouse or Silly Symphony. The creator of these pen-and-ink characters admitted he could easily trim his ovei’head considerably. But that isn’t his idea of the way to make a better picture next time.

' Mr Disney, for instance, maintains a school for animators. He is constantly on the lookout for artists. When he finds one with promise, he hires him, puts him in -the school to learn to draw Mickey, Minnie and 'the rest as Mr Disney thinks they should be drawn, meanwhile paying him a salary. Studio officials assert it costs Mr Disney 2000 dollars to train an animator before the artist ever draws a line on an actual production.

Mr Disney isn’t worrying much concerning his motion picture profits, however. In fact, he doesn’t worry much about any profits, leaving that to his brother, Roy, while he handles the production end of the business. But be has found many, and lucrative, ways of putting Mickey and his cohorts to work during their idle moments off the

silver screen.

Mr Disney’s associates declare Mickey, Minnie and the rest probably have their likenesses on more articles than all the rest of Hollywood’s notables placed end to end. The animated cartoon characters have been painted, sewn, stamped and impressed on everything imaginable—from a bar of soap to underwear and babies’ silver mugs. Fifty-one manufacturers are marketing articles bearing the likeness of Mickey and his family, while 52 are making items carrying paintings. drawings and impressions of the Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf. All told, more than 500 items hearing reproductions of the animal characters are sent into trade channels. From each sale, “Walt,” as he is called by even the lowliest of his 180 employees, collects a royalty.