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TLS signed “Roy,” two pages, 8.5 x 11, Walt Disney Productions (Inter-Office Communication) letterhead, August 4, 1949. Lengthy letter to veteran Disney animator Jack Cutting, the head of Disney's Foreign Department, then stationed in Paris, France, in full: “While I am sending you this other letter I will drop a line about things in general. I am leaving for New York tomorrow, arriving there Monday, the 8th. I will be in New York for two or three weeks. The immediate job is to refine and crystallize the campaign on Cinderella. We have had a couple of showings of Cinderella in its present form, the last on the 28th of July for Bob Mochrie, Walter Branson and Harry Michalson. Everybody is very enthusiastic about the picture and has great hopes for it. I join them heartily. I think we ought to have a lot of fun—and results—selling it.
Which reminds me to say that you should give Cinderella priority in every way possible to bring about finished French, Spanish and German tracks, so that we can put it in ahead of some of the package pictures. This would be good selling tactics and would help our results and standing in every way; rather than follow in succession too many of our package or combination pictures. I have talked of this with you and I am sure you are thinking this way, but I thought I would mention it anyway.
We had Edmundo, Leo Samuels and Ray Keller together while Leo was at the studio, for a couple of discussions with respect to Edmundo's field activities in Mexico. Nothing specific came of it, but I am sure a good feeling of acceptance and cooperation toward Edmundo will be forthcoming from the sales office.
You will be interested to know that the problem child, Seal Island, is meeting with a very good reception, not only from the public but also from exhibitors. And in many quarters it is very welcome. Its distribution is proceeding, if not fast, at least very well indeed, and far beyond the expectations of the RKO sales department, who now admit they were wrong. So in foreign countries we should not let this picture be sold away from our product. Complementary footage is always needed there and we should by all means save Seal Island for our own product. I am sure Wally will always have this in mind.
Things are going nicely around the studio. The boys still play ball and fly model airplanes at noon, and everything looks very campus-like, as usual. The weather has been pretty hot.
You might tell your lovely wife that I received her nice letter and thank her for it. I took it home to let Edna read it. She asked to be remembered to both of you and said that in due time she would sit down and write Camille a letter. It is good to know that your family affairs are all shaping up satisfactorily. Yes, I remember well the district you speak of and it is most beautiful. I am sure it makes a nice drive in to town to work in the morning. That's about all for now, Jack. We think of you often and really miss you around here.” In fine condition.
Cinderella was released to theatres on February 15, 1950, where it received critical acclaim and was a box office success, making it Disney's biggest hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and helping reverse the studio's fortunes. It also received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Sound Recording, and Best Original Song for ‘Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.’
Released on December 21, 1948, Seal Island is a Disney-produced documentary film that served as the first installment of the True-Life Adventures series of nature documentaries. It won an Oscar in 1949 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).
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