William Cottrell
Writing
Biography
“Born 1906 South Bend, Ind., of English parents. Learned to speak English in 1910. Went abroad in 1920. Sentenced to salt mines in Siberia for soaping royal wind shield of Czar Nicholas’ carriage. Escaped to California in 1923. Attended Occidental College in 1920. Awarded consistent freshman medal 1926, ‘27, ‘28, which included a paid vacation at Lincoln Heights, the third year. Two years behind the crank at Disney’s camera and has never been in focus yet.” -published in the June 20, 1931 edition of The Motion Picture Daily Bill Cottrell, nicknamed “Uncle Bill” by his colleagues, was the first president of what is today known as Walt Disney Imagineering, the design and development arm of the Company. During the planning and construction phases of Disneyland, Walt relied heavily on Bill’s creativity, wisdom, and foresight to make his dream come true. Fellow Disney Legend Marvin Davis once said, “It was Walt who said, ‘Let there be Disneyland,’ like the good Lord said, ‘Let there be a world.’ But it was Uncle Bill who was Walt’s counselor and right-hand man.” Born in 1906 to English parents in South Bend, Indiana, Bill graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, where he studied English and journalism. After working for a time on George Herriman’s Krazy Kat comic strip, he was offered a job working cameras at The Walt Disney Studios in 1929. He soon moved into the Story department and contributed ideas for shorts, including Who Killed Cock Robin? Fellow Legend Joe Grant recalled, “Bill was a great fan of Gilbert and Sullivan and you will see elements of that, such as the jury box chorus, in Who Killed Cock Robin?” Bill went on to direct the Wicked Witch and Evil Queen sequences in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and contributed to story on Pinocchio. In 1938, he married Lillian Disney’s sister, Hazel Sewell. In 1941, Bill and Hazel joined Walt Disney and a small group of artists on a goodwill tour of South America on behalf of the United States Government. The trip inspired The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos, for which Bill also helped develop story. Bill later contributed to Victory Through Air Power, Melody Time, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. During the 1950s, he carried his interest in story over to WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), where he helped develop storylines and dialog for such Disneyland attractions as Snow White’s Adventures. Bill was also keen on nomenclature. As former senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering John Hench recalled, “He was a talented writer and helped shape how we referred to events and attractions at Disneyland. For instance, he encouraged us to quit using the term ‘ride’ and to refer to attractions as an ‘experience,’ which is exactly what they are—‘an experience.” Among his many contributions to Disney, Bill helped develop the popular Zorro television series and, in 1964, was named president of Retlaw Enterprises, the Walt Disney family corporation. He held that position until 1982, when he retired after 53 years of service. A lifelong fan of Sherlock Holmes, Bill’s idea for a movie about an animal detective inspired the 1986 animated feature The Great Mouse Detective. Bill Cottrell passed away on December 22, 1995, in Burbank, California.
Known For
A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as "the fairest in the land," and Snow White's beauty surpasses her own.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
On a golden afternoon, wildly curious young Alice tumbles into the burrow and enters the merry, madcap world of Wonderland full of whimsical escapades.
Alice in Wonderland
When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto builds a marionette to be his substitute son, a benevolent fairy brings the toy to life. The puppet, named Pinocchio, is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right to be real by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish.
Pinocchio
Leaving the safety of their nursery behind, Wendy, Michael and John follow Peter Pan to a magical world where childhood lasts forever. But while in Neverland, the kids must face Captain Hook and foil his attempts to get rid of Peter for good.
Peter Pan
For Donald's birthday he receives a box with three gifts inside. The gifts, a movie projector, a pop-up book, and a pinata, each take Donald on wild adventures through Mexico and South America.
The Three Caballeros
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
The Naked City
A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina's pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and "El Gaucho" Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life....South American-style.
Saludos Amigos
Humorist Robert Benchley attempts to find Walt Disney to ask him to adapt a short story about a gentle dragon who would rather recite poetry than be ferocious. Along the way, he is given a tour of Walt Disney Studios, and learns about the animation process.
The Reluctant Dragon
Mickey has been reading Alice in Wonderland, and falls asleep. He finds himself on the other side of the mirror, where the furniture is alive.
Thru the Mirror
The gang is sitting around their campsite when a mosquito spoils their fun. And then he gets hundreds of his friends and they really cause trouble. Horace squirts some with molasses, which helps a bit. Everyone retreats to the tent, where they still get stung but can fight back a bit, eventually trapping all the mosquitoes in a pair of bloomers and sending them on their way.
Camping Out
Two little pigs cry wolf on their brother and then an actual wolf comes.
Three Little Wolves
As in the classic fable, the grasshopper plays his fiddle and lives for the moment, while the industrious ants squirrel away massive amounts of food for the winter. With his song, he's able to convince at least one small ant until the queen arrives and scares him back to work. The queen warns the grasshopper of the trouble he'll be in, come winter. Winter comes, and the grasshopper, near starvation, stumbles across the ants, who are having a full-on feast in their snug little tree. They take him in and warm him up. The queen tells him only those who work can eat so he must play for them. Written by Jon Reeves
The Grasshopper and the Ants
The Tortoise and the Hare is an animated short film released on January 5, 1935 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Wilfred Jackson. Based on an Aesop's fable of the same name, The Tortoise and the Hare won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. This cartoon is also believed to be one of the influences for Bugs Bunny.
The Tortoise and the Hare
Walt Disney animation animated cartoon musical compilation ("The BIG Parade of MIRTH and MELODY"; "Offering hits re-released from 'Make Mine Music' and 'Melody Time'"; featuring cartoons from the 1946 musical, "Make Mine Music," and the 1948 musical "Melody Time") featuring Donald Duck, Joe Carioca, and other Disney cartoon characters, and also songs by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Frances Langford, Roy Rogers and Trigger, The Andrews Sisters (Laverne, Maxene, and Patty Andrews), Freddy Martin and his orchestra, Sons of the Pioneers, Jerry Colonna, and Ethel Smith
Music Land
A robin is shot so the woodland community holds a trial to investigate.
Who Killed Cock Robin?
Toby Tortoise is back, and this time he and Max Hare box instead of racing.
Toby Tortoise Returns
The goddess is greeted by dancing flowers and fairies. The devil comes and takes her away to be his queen. She's despondent, as winter settles in above ground. But the devil isn't happy either, and offers anything to make her happy. They reach an agreement: she'll spend six months above ground and six below. Thus we have seasons.
The Goddess of Spring
A group of moths invades a costume shop through a badly plugged hole in a window and makes quick work of the contents. A male moth ignores his lady to chow down on a hat and she's soon seduced by a candle flame, which rapidly spreads. He notices her trapped in a spider web with the fire attacking and makes some attempts to save her, but pours benzene on the fire by mistake. The rest of the moths are summoned, and they fight the fire with water-filled bagpipes, an air drop with a water-filled funnel, etc., while our hero works to free his lady from the spider web.
Moth and the Flame
Three sleepy babies in a clog-boat sailing through the night sky attempt to fish with candy canes for very smart fish.
Wynken, Blynken & Nod
Three orphan kittens are entering a society house in winter and ruin the furniture. But when they're caught by the maid, the young daughter of the house "rescues" them from the cold outside.