The Disneyland Memorial Orgy
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The Disneyland Memorial Orgy is a cartoon illustration created by Wally Wood for satirist Paul Krassner's radical humor publication The Realist. Published shortly after the death of Walt Disney, the artwork was commissioned by Krassner to portray the liberated behavior of the cartoon characters featured in many of Disney's animated films.
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[edit] Background
The drawing first appeared in The Realist #74 (May, 1967), and Krassner also published a larger version as a poster, initially selling several thousand copies. The original art was stolen from the printer. Krassner got the idea from Disney's December 15, 1966 death (and the God is dead meme):
- This was a few years after Time's famous "God Is Dead" cover, and it occurred to me that Disney was indeed God to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy -- the whole crowd -- he had been their creator and had repressed their baser instincts, but now they could shed all their inhibitions and participate in a magnificent mass binge.
Krassner was not sued by Disney, but Disney did force Sam Ridge, a publisher of psychedelic posters who produced a colorized, bootleg version, into an out-of-court settlement. The drawing is often used to illustrate certain parts of copyright laws in the United States, namely those that permit original works to be partially copied for satirical or critical goals but which outlaw reproductions made purely for commercial purposes.
[edit] Description
Only about a third of the 64 Disney characters depicted are actively involved in sexual intercourse or are on the point of undertaking it. Most are just observing the others. A few of the characters are occupied with other activities. A dazed Mickey Mouse, to the left in the bottom area, is plunging a syringe in his arm, while the paraphernalia of drug addicts lies at his feet. Next to him, an evil looking and grinning Pluto is urinating on a large painting of the eager face of Mickey. One of the small rabbits from Bambi is probably engaged in the sin of gluttony, featured licking an ice cream cone. In the upper left, Dumbo the flying elephant has just defecated on Donald Duck while in flight.
The wide activity of the scene and the panoramic view resembles the satires of William Hogarth or medieval depictions from such masters such as Hieronymus Bosch. The upper left portion is decorated with a few allusions to the lucrative nature of Walt Disney enterprises.
The poster was originally in black-and-white, but Paul Krassner recently made a new digitally colored version available.
[edit] List of featured characters
- Alice from Alice in Wonderland
- Big Bad Wolf
- Cinderella
- Jiminy Cricket.
- Daisy Duck
- Donald Duck
- Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck
- Dumbo
- Fantasia characters:
- Fairies from the "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" segment
- Female centaurs and cupids, male cupids, fauns and winged equines from the "Pastoral Symphony" segment
- Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse. Actually there are three nephews of Mickey Mouse depicted instead of two.
- Goofy
- Captain James Hook
- Lady and the Tramp.
- Mickey Mouse
- Minnie Mouse
- Peter Pan and his Lost Boys.
- Pinocchio.
- Pluto
- Prince Charming
- Rabbits from Bambi, possibly including Thumper and his siblings.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Three Little Pigs.
- Tinkerbell
- The White rabbit
- Two green turtles
[edit] References
- Krassner, Paul. "A Case History of the Disneyland Memorial Orgy Poster." Against the Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood, edited by Bhob Stewart. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003. Trade paperback ISBN 1-893905-23-3, hardcover ISBN 1-893905-28-4
