Soon after the birth of Mickey Mouse, one animator raised the Disney Studio far beyond Walt's expectations. That animator also led a union war that almost destroyed it. Art Babbitt animated for the Disney studio throughout the 1930s and through 1941, years in which he and Walt were jointly driven to elevate animation as an art form, up through Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia.
But as America prepared for World War II, labor unions spread across Hollywood. Disney fought the unions while Babbitt embraced them. Soon, angry Disney cartoon characters graced picket signs as hundreds of animation artists went out on strike. Adding fuel to the fire was Willie Bioff, one of Al Capone's wiseguys who was seizing control of Hollywood workers and vied for the animators' union.
Using never-before-seen research from previously lost records, including conversation transcriptions from within the studio walls, author and historian Jake S. Friedman reveals the details behind the labor dispute that changed animation and Hollywood forever.
The Disney Revolt is an American story of industry and of the underdog, the golden age of animated cartoons at the world's most famous studio.
"A fascinating look at how the Disney magic happened, and how close it came to tumbling down." -- Library Journal
"[The Disney Revolt] is a fascinating account of the virulent labor tussle at Disney Studios that pitted the unbending company founder against one of his most valuable and innovative artists" -- The Wall Street Journal
"[The Disney Revolt] was written for a broader audience with the hope that anyone, even those without a background or interest in animation and history, could draw inspiration from it. The book is a call to action." -- The Jewish Exponent
"An easy read with its business aspect and its trip down Memory Lane. If you're interested in labor relations or if you've always been a fan of The Mouse, this book'll have you trapped." -- The Nashville Ledger
"...The Disney Revolt works not only as a fascinating story, meticulously researched, and engagingly written. It also holds up as a still-relevant tale in organizing and recognizing that all work, even producing cartoons, is still a job, and that allies, and enemies, in the class struggle are not always drawn in black and white." -- New York Labor History Association