The Fabuleous Fifties

Peet What You Sow

Saturday Leftover Day.

If you stick around long enough in any profession, you get to know people. I don't know if I can call Wilbert Plijnaar a friend, but he certainly has a special place among my aquaintances. He once told me a story about Disney lay-out man Bill Peet, which I hope he won't mind my repeating here. While he was working on a new Goofy short (How To Hook Up A Big Screen Television), he was asked to have a look in the Disney Archives to see if there was any old usable Goofy material there. Sniffing around in the boxes of stuff, he came across what must have been the contents of Bill Peet's desk when he left the studio in the early sixties. Peet had left the studio quite quickly, after a disagreement with Walt Dsney over the direction f The Jungle Book and apparently had not tidied up his desk. So everything there was shoved into a box and put in storage. Wilbert told me everything was still there, bits of paper, any old junk and of course lots and lots of sketches. But no one had made any effort to sort it out. It was just labeled Bill's Stuff or something like that. Makes you wonder what else is still out there.

Bill Peet was one of the best story board artists isney ever had. It has been said that most of wht you see on the screen of the 101 Dalmtions, was his work. I have to side with Walt Disney on The Jungle Book, if only because it is my favorite film (and in fact the first film I ever saw in a movie theatre)m, bt I agree that it is always a pleasure to see Peet's work.

So it was a big surprise to me when I came across some of Peet's illustrations in online copies of two Mickey Mouse Club magazine. as you can see from the numbering, there must be more of this sort of stuff out there. Dsney artists such as Peet (and Kinney, who also has a feature in one of the issues) must have been alowed to make an extra buck by working for the magazine.

So this is for Wilbert. May all your sketches be saved.