After the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, other animation studios like Warner Brothers, Universal, and Terrytoons wanted to make animated feature films of their own, with Fleischer releasing Gulliver's Travels and Mr. Bug Goes to Town. However, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Mr. Bug, and Bambi didn't do very well thanks to the war, causing the other studios to cancel those plans. Disney themselves didn't do real movies again until Cinderella, only doing package films throughout most of the forties, and it would be a long time until other animation studios were able to make feature films that could compete with Disney.
So, let's imagine a timeline where somehow, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Mr. Bug, and Bambi are more successful than they are IOTL. Maybe this is the result of a lesser WW2, though that would probably have effects on other stuff besides just popular culture that I'm not interested in focusing on. If no one can come up with a plausible reason for these films being more successful, then maybe we can move this to Alien Space Bats.
Other animation studios end up releasing their own feature films ITTL, and some of them are successful enough to compete with Disney. And I don't wanna hear any crap about how only Disney could create convincing character animation. If that were true, the Warner Brothers cartoons wouldn't be as beloved as they are today.
Here's what I think each individual studio would do.
Disney
If Fantasia is more successful, then Walt would definitely go with his original plan of adding a new segment every year. And Dumbo was made IOTL primarily to make up for the losses of Pinocchio and Fantasia, so if those films are successful, does that mean Dumbo would be butterflied?
Films I think Disney would make in this timeline include earlier and different versions of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, a sequel to Bambi titled Bambi's Children, Don Quixote, and the film ideas that were turned into segments in Fun and Fancy Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. (Bongo, Mickey and the Beanstalk, The Wind and the Willows, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Though Bongo was originally intended as a followup to Dumbo, complete with the titular character escaping from the same circus, so if Dumbo is butterflied away, does that mean Bongo would as well?) If Disney is less involved in the war ITTL, would Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros still be made?
Most importantly, if Disney has more competition, would the Disney theme parks even get made? That would have a HUGE effect on TTL, as the reason theme parks are as popular as they are today is mainly due to Disney.
Warner Brothers
I don't know what kind of feature films WB was planning at the time, but I heard Bob Clampett wanted to do a film adaptation of John Carter during the thirties, so maybe that would be their first movie? I imagine, like their shorts, Warner Brother's films would be comedic parodies of what Disney is doing, a formula that becomes so successful that even Disney starts to copy it. (Basically making WB sort of a proto-Dreamworks.)
Interestingly enough, Dr. Seuss actually had a connection to Warner Brothers at the time, like Bob Clampett's adaptation of Horton Hatches the Egg, and Seuss writing for the Private Snafu shorts. Maybe ITTL, he stays at WB as a writer and artist there. And maybe some of his popular children's books like Horton Hears a Who and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are turned into feature films. Maybe The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., a live-action film IOTL, is an animated film ITTL.
MGM
Not entirely sure what they would do. Would Tex Avery move from Warner Brothers to there like IIOTL? Would Will Hanna and Joseph Barbera leave during the fifties like IOTL, or would they stay and continue to produce Tom and Jerry, among other things?
Would Bill and Joe do a Charlotte's Web adaptation, like IOTL, or would Gene Deitch do it instead, like the original plan?
Fleischer
If Mr. Bug Goes to Town is more successful, than Fleischer would probably not shut down and turn into Famous Studios like IOTL. I imagine Fleischer's next film after Mr. Bug would be a Superman film, given that one of their final projects IOTL was those Superman shorts. And maybe after that, they would do an adaptation of another DC property, like Batman.
Even if Famous Studios doesn't exist, would the characters still be created? Would Casper, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey be Fleischer characters instead?
Interestingly enough, in 1948, Max Fleischer was commissioned by Montgomery Ward to make a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer short film IOTL. This was based more on the short story by Robert L. May, as the song was released a year after the short and later added to it in 1951.
Maybe Rudolph could be a feature film ITTL? Maybe the song was written specifically for this film, and the plot is a mixture of Dumbo (if it was butterflied) and the 1964 Rudolph special from OTL.
Universal
Walter Lantz wanted to do an animated film adaptation of Aladdin starring Abbott and Costello. I suspect they were going to play the two genies, because if you remember the original folktale, there was a Genie of the Ring and a Genie of the Lamp. Not sure what they would do afterwards.
Columbia Pictures
Screen Gems weren't as well-known and popular in this time, so I don't know if they would do features or not.
I'm not even sure if UPA would exist, since UPA was made partially because of the Disney Animator's Strike, and the Disney Animator's Strike was caused mainly because of Pinocchio and Fantasia flopping. So if UPA doesn't exist, then someone has to invent the flat and stylized cartoon style in their place. Maybe Disney? John Hubley, the founder of UPA, started out at Disney, and Ward Kimball, one of the Nine Old Men, clearly enjoyed animating in that style.
Terrytoons
Terrytoons wanted to do a film adaptation of King Lear starring one of their characters, Farmer Alfalfa. I imagine, just like their shorts, their films would be relatively cheap and low-quality, but would be successful anyway, like an early version of Illumination.
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So, what do you think so far? Any suggestions?
So, let's imagine a timeline where somehow, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Mr. Bug, and Bambi are more successful than they are IOTL. Maybe this is the result of a lesser WW2, though that would probably have effects on other stuff besides just popular culture that I'm not interested in focusing on. If no one can come up with a plausible reason for these films being more successful, then maybe we can move this to Alien Space Bats.
Other animation studios end up releasing their own feature films ITTL, and some of them are successful enough to compete with Disney. And I don't wanna hear any crap about how only Disney could create convincing character animation. If that were true, the Warner Brothers cartoons wouldn't be as beloved as they are today.
Here's what I think each individual studio would do.
Disney
If Fantasia is more successful, then Walt would definitely go with his original plan of adding a new segment every year. And Dumbo was made IOTL primarily to make up for the losses of Pinocchio and Fantasia, so if those films are successful, does that mean Dumbo would be butterflied?
Films I think Disney would make in this timeline include earlier and different versions of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, a sequel to Bambi titled Bambi's Children, Don Quixote, and the film ideas that were turned into segments in Fun and Fancy Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. (Bongo, Mickey and the Beanstalk, The Wind and the Willows, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Though Bongo was originally intended as a followup to Dumbo, complete with the titular character escaping from the same circus, so if Dumbo is butterflied away, does that mean Bongo would as well?) If Disney is less involved in the war ITTL, would Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros still be made?
Most importantly, if Disney has more competition, would the Disney theme parks even get made? That would have a HUGE effect on TTL, as the reason theme parks are as popular as they are today is mainly due to Disney.
Warner Brothers
I don't know what kind of feature films WB was planning at the time, but I heard Bob Clampett wanted to do a film adaptation of John Carter during the thirties, so maybe that would be their first movie? I imagine, like their shorts, Warner Brother's films would be comedic parodies of what Disney is doing, a formula that becomes so successful that even Disney starts to copy it. (Basically making WB sort of a proto-Dreamworks.)
Interestingly enough, Dr. Seuss actually had a connection to Warner Brothers at the time, like Bob Clampett's adaptation of Horton Hatches the Egg, and Seuss writing for the Private Snafu shorts. Maybe ITTL, he stays at WB as a writer and artist there. And maybe some of his popular children's books like Horton Hears a Who and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are turned into feature films. Maybe The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., a live-action film IOTL, is an animated film ITTL.
MGM
Not entirely sure what they would do. Would Tex Avery move from Warner Brothers to there like IIOTL? Would Will Hanna and Joseph Barbera leave during the fifties like IOTL, or would they stay and continue to produce Tom and Jerry, among other things?
Would Bill and Joe do a Charlotte's Web adaptation, like IOTL, or would Gene Deitch do it instead, like the original plan?
Fleischer
If Mr. Bug Goes to Town is more successful, than Fleischer would probably not shut down and turn into Famous Studios like IOTL. I imagine Fleischer's next film after Mr. Bug would be a Superman film, given that one of their final projects IOTL was those Superman shorts. And maybe after that, they would do an adaptation of another DC property, like Batman.
Even if Famous Studios doesn't exist, would the characters still be created? Would Casper, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey be Fleischer characters instead?
Interestingly enough, in 1948, Max Fleischer was commissioned by Montgomery Ward to make a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer short film IOTL. This was based more on the short story by Robert L. May, as the song was released a year after the short and later added to it in 1951.
Maybe Rudolph could be a feature film ITTL? Maybe the song was written specifically for this film, and the plot is a mixture of Dumbo (if it was butterflied) and the 1964 Rudolph special from OTL.
Universal
Walter Lantz wanted to do an animated film adaptation of Aladdin starring Abbott and Costello. I suspect they were going to play the two genies, because if you remember the original folktale, there was a Genie of the Ring and a Genie of the Lamp. Not sure what they would do afterwards.
Columbia Pictures
Screen Gems weren't as well-known and popular in this time, so I don't know if they would do features or not.
I'm not even sure if UPA would exist, since UPA was made partially because of the Disney Animator's Strike, and the Disney Animator's Strike was caused mainly because of Pinocchio and Fantasia flopping. So if UPA doesn't exist, then someone has to invent the flat and stylized cartoon style in their place. Maybe Disney? John Hubley, the founder of UPA, started out at Disney, and Ward Kimball, one of the Nine Old Men, clearly enjoyed animating in that style.
Terrytoons
Terrytoons wanted to do a film adaptation of King Lear starring one of their characters, Farmer Alfalfa. I imagine, just like their shorts, their films would be relatively cheap and low-quality, but would be successful anyway, like an early version of Illumination.
----
So, what do you think so far? Any suggestions?
