The Introverted Detective: Fleischer vs Disney

Disney was not the first to make a cartoon with sound, but Disney wanted you to think that. Bette Boop is the remains of a studio that lost to the marketing prowess of Walt Disney and his brother. Some theorists even think Bendy and the Ink Machine references that studio. More on that later.

Courtesy of Animationresources.org

First of all, let's start by explaining the style differences between Fleischer Studios and Disney. Fleischer is grittier, more adult even, than Disney. Disney had a family-friendly animation style that had brighter colors. When you see the differences between these cartoons it isn't hard to see why family-friendly won out, yet there were also other reasons Disney beat out Fleischer. One of those reasons was marketing talent and the other was underhandedly claiming that Disney had the first sound cartoon (while also burying the evidence that they lied).

Fleischer studios had the first sound cartoon four years before Disney did. Both were competing against each other in the movie theatres. Disney told the press not to put Fleischer in the articles they wrote. Disney won out and we only really remember Bette Boop and Popeye, which are both Fleischer.

Fleischer Studios Brief History

Since I'm assuming you know next to nothing about Fleischer, we'll dive into the history of Fleischer Studios before we talk about the feud. They are famous for Bette Boop cartoons and Popeye, mostly, but Bette Boop seems to never die. She is a side character that is the counterpart to Bimbo the dog. Don't remember him? That's okay because Bette outshined her boyfriend (and yes, she was supposed to be a french bulldog). They had to tone her down when TV laid down the law on sexualizing characters (though I'd bet the almost original design is what you see on merchandise now).

This studio was born out of a New York apartment, had one employee, and was called "out of the inkwell" studios, which later became Fleischer Studios. Max Fleischer had also invented the rotoscope. This device made cartoons look more lifelike. Their first character was a clown named Koko. After some time and lots of struggle, they moved the studio to Miami, Florida and hired 700 people. It was a lot better than a basement apartment below a brothel (yes, they worked on their animation just below a brothel). They eventually, after money problems that could have ended them, were absorbed into Paramount, where the name became Fleischer Studios. They also employed the first female animator and she animated thirteen films for them, including some Bette Boop films.

The characters this studio brought to life were Koko, Bette Boop, Bimbo the Dog, Popeye, Superman, and several others. He has quite a lot of success and quite a lot of struggle. Let me show you an example of the grittier, even adult, style of these cartoons. Superman may not have been so much of this style, but I wouldn't like this style I put below if I were a kid. Bette Boop is not scarring (even tame compared to some movies today). "Swing You Sinner" is a bit weird, so strap in and hang on for the ride.

Disney Vs Fleischer

Here is where we may just put in another Fleischer cartoon to make you question the sanity of the animators and writers. If you look at the beginning street scene you will find Mickey locking Bimbo into the cultists' underground area. This was likely made while things were a little heated between Disney and Fleischer.

Max and Dave Fleischer didn't get along all the time, despite running a studio together. By WWII they were out of business. Around WWI they actually did cartoons and live-action together. They were ahead of their time. Despite all this, money was an issue. This led to coming into Paramount. When "Steamboat Willie" came out Mickey made waves. Bette Boop and Popeye were a way to try to keep up with Disney. One of Bette Boop's creators was eventually going to draw Snow White for Disney, stolen away to another animation company. After Snow White things got bad.

To quote the Sun Sentinel:

In his book about Hollywood, Just Tell Me When To Cry," Max's son, movie director Dick Fleischer, wrote: "At my parent's house, 'Disney' was a dirty word. If you said it at dinner you were sent away from the table. My father, let alone being a full-fledged, authentic genius, was the nicest, sweetest, kindest, funniest, most tolerant man who ever lived. But mention 'Disney' in his presence and his whole personality changed. An internal, seething anger would seize him."

Fleischer, after moving to Miami, Florida with his studio, got to work on Gulliver's Travels. It was completed despite the fact the two brothers were barely on speaking terms. It didn't beat Snow White. Superman gave them the boost they wanted, even though they didn't like the project. The loan was not yet paid and Paramount demanded they pay it, tired of the squabbling brothers. They couldn't, so it was renamed Famous Studios and they were evicted from it.

The squabbling brothers had so many issues, but that may not have been all it was. Let me quote the Sun Sentinel again.

Courtesy of Pinterest

In his book on the Fleischers, Cabarga claims there were other factors that contributed to the brothers' breakup with Paramount. For example, Joe was angry at Max for blocking his efforts to become a partner. And Paramount and Max were disturbed that Dave was carrying on an extramarital affair with his secretary, whom he later married. Dave, on the other hand, claimed he had learned that Max and Paramount were siphoning off profits to another corporation.

"Dave told a story about a man from Paramount taking him and Max to a ratty shack in the Florida Keys with three girls," Leslie Cabarga writes in The Fleischer Story. "Dave says he slept on the porch that night to avoid the risk of being personally compromised in any way."

Max's son, Dick, on the other hand, believes that Paramount executives wanted the Fleischers out of the way so they could control the future sales of films to television, which was just coming into the picture.

After The Studio Was Lost

The two brothers and everyone else stayed busy. Max continued in animation for different studios. He died in 1972, aged to 89. When his daughter Ruth showed him Life magazine with Walt Disney on the cover (despite barely being able to speak at that point) she heard the faint words "son of a b*tch". His brother Dave worked for Colombia and Universal and died in 1979.

Some staff stayed on at the newly named studio, others left, and one invented the pop-top that stays attached to the can after cutting his foot on a can tab somewhere.

What may surprise you is that Max Fleischer's son, Richard, got the opportunity and offer from Walt Disney to direct "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". He told Disney he needed to talk to his father first, and Disney said sure.

To quote Collider.com, this was the response:

For all the animosity he had harbored for Walt Disney over the years, Max’s answer was immediate. “You must do that picture,” he told Richard. “You didn’t have to call me to ask me…it’s absolutely vital for you…but I have a message I’d like you to give to Walt Disney.”

“What is that?” asked Richard.

“You tell Walt,” said Max, “he’s got great taste in directors.”

Soon after, Walt invited Richard's family on a personal tour. Max got to see a lot of past employees during this tour. Apparently they had lunch together often since that point.

Oh, and in case you wanted the reference to Bendy, here it is. Enjoy!