Chapter 101: Hollywood
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"Sir, if you go to the restaurant, you can mention my name... Same for the girl, you can get a discount using my name..."
When the taxi arrived in Hollywood, Colin pressed his hat down with his left hand and stepped out of the car, carrying his suitcase with his right.
The driver leaned his head out from his seat, still not quite ready to give up as he offered one last reminder.
"If I have time."
Colin nodded to the 'enthusiastic' taxi driver.
He quickened his pace, entering Hollywood along San Pedro Bay.
Gazing into the distance, he could faintly see a line of large white letters on a faraway hillside: "HOLLYWOODLAND".
In fact, it was a billboard set up by a development company to promote a new residential community. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, the company went bankrupt. The sign was left unattended and gradually fell into disrepair. It wasn't until much later that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took an interest in it, removed the last four letters, and restored the rest.
Only then did it become the "HOLLYWOOD" sign known to the public, eventually receiving trademark protection.
In other words, the "HOLLYWOODLAND" sign during this period was completely unattended.
*I wonder what would happen if I bought this sign?*
Colin withdrew his gaze from the white letters on the hillside, the thought flashing through his mind.
Pushing the idea aside, he continued walking.
Soon, he reached his destination: the entrance to Walt Disney Studios.
"Welcome, Mr. Collin Roper."
Roy Disney, who had been waiting for him in front of the studio, welcomed him and introduced his younger brother—the famous Walt Disney—and his family.
"Mr. Roper, your *Superman* left a deep impression on me."
Walt Disney stepped forward to shake Colin's hand, smiling as he explained how struck he was by the creativity of Superman.
"Your *Steamboat Willie* had the same effect on me, Mr. Disney."
Although, for Colin, who traveled between the Dual Worlds, the Disney animation of this era was far from the polished works of later generations.
But as a pioneer of Sound Animation, *Steamboat Willie* had a milestone impact on Disney's creative direction.
After a few brief pleasantries, Colin was led into the studio by the two Disney brothers.
During this period, Disney was just starting out. Although they had earned some income through Merchandise Licensing, the vast majority of their revenue was being poured into the production of their latest animated film. The theme park was not even a distant thought. Therefore, Disney placed extraordinary importance on this collaboration with Colin.
Inside the studio, Colin saw some clips from *Flowers and Trees*, Disney's first Color Animation, created by Walt using the latest film technology invented by the Technicolor company.
To be honest, from Colin's perspective, the color animation technique was still quite crude. To mask the technical shortcomings in the animation's presentation, Walt had used a symphony orchestra to distract the audience as much as possible, preventing them from noticing the lack of detail.
However, during this era of the Great Depression, to be able to see a splash of color among the multitude of black-and-white films still stirred a special feeling deep within Colin. This was especially true when, in the studio's cramped screening room, he watched the two Walt Disney brothers scrambling to end the showing.
A feeling of witnessing history welled up inside him.
"A brilliant animation. I can already imagine the cheers and gasps of the audience when the film is released."
Raising his hands, Colin clapped lightly, offering his unreserved praise to Walt Disney for creating the animation.
"You are changing the history of animation, Mr. Walt Disney."
"I'm just doing what I ought to do," Walt Disney replied with a somewhat shy smile at Colin's praise.
...
After watching Disney's latest Color Animation, Colin, Walt, and the others got down to the main topic of their meeting.
"...No, Mickey can't do that..."
In the studio's workshop, Colin and Walt engaged in a heated discussion about Mickey Mouse's appearance in the *Superman* Comic.
"That's a good thought. Great idea, Colin..."
"Pluto... he's a pet dog for Mickey..."
"Honestly, Mickey's prototype is a mouse, but Pluto is a dog. Don't you think that's a bit strange?"
"No, I don't think it's strange at all. While Mickey's appearance is based on a mouse, in my world, he represents a human. That's a world of fairy tales. Why should we judge it with common sense? Common sense is the last thing a fairy tale needs, because it only destroys children's dreams."
"Speaking of dreams, what do you think of the idea of a Black Snow White?"
"Black? Snow White!"
"Are you joking with me, Colin? If this is a joke, I can only tell you it's not funny at all. Black people may have their own princesses, but it will definitely not be Snow White. *Snow White*—skin as white as snow—that's how the fairy tale describes her."
Disney had long been planning to produce an animated film of the *Snow White* story, which was why he reacted with such astonishment to Colin's strange idea.
*If you knew how Disney's princesses change in the future, you might think differently.*
Colin grumbled silently to himself but didn't debate the issue of Snow White's skin color for long. Their conversation shifted from Mickey's appearance in *Superman* to the production of an animation.
That's right, Disney had agreed to produce a *Superman* Crossover Animation Short Film for Colin. In fact, this was the very reason he had come to Los Angeles.
"I think we can move the story's setting to Metropolis. That way, Superman's appearance won't seem too abrupt..."
"As for the scene where Superman transforms, I have a good idea."
After *Flowers and Trees*, Walt intended to steer Disney's animations from black-and-white toward color.
And *Mickey and Superman* would be Disney's second color production after *Flowers and Trees*, and a Crossover Animation to boot.
*Click!*
Just as Colin and Walt were deep in discussion about the content of the animated Short Film, the sound of a camera shutter suddenly rang out.
Hearing the sound, the two men in the workshop instinctively froze and looked up.
"Sorry..."
It was Lillian Disney, Walt's wife and a studio employee, holding a camera with a smile.
"I just felt that this moment was very memorable."
(end of chapter)