Why did Tolkien dislike Disney?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by jallanite

Neither I nor anyone else here has ever suggested that Tolkien ever bought any of those books. What is your point in saying that something that no-one suggested ever happened didn’t happen? Of course Tolkien probably never bought a book illustrated in a style in loathed.

I don't know, you mentioned the books, I'm just pointing out that they must have been as rare as hens' teeth

And:

As I’ve posted before the date on the letter is 13 May 1937. The letter is to C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin. The comment is:

… as long as it is possible (I should like to add) to veto anything from or influenced by the Disney studios (for all of whose works I have a heartfelt loathing.)

The word works may cover various animated cartoons or may cover animated cartoons and books. That Disney is here connected by Tolkien with book illustration suggests to me that Tolkien had seen both cartoons and books and had loathed both. The books were published in Britain in the 30s. They existed in Britain.

Tolkien need only have spotted some of them at least once in a sale bin to have convinced him that American children’s book illustrators were sometimes influenced by Disney. In fact, so far as I know, the only American children’s books of the 30s that could be said to be “from or influenced by the Disney studios″ would be books containing material derived from the American cartoons or inspired by them. Tolkien might not know this.

Yes, he might have seen some in a bookshop. It's still more likely that his main exposure to Disney was at the cinema. Apart from Priscilla, his kids were too old by 1937 to get kids' books - granted Priscilla might have enjoyed them, but they weren't common books, and you certainly wouldn't have got a 'sale bin' in a 1930s bookshop in Britain, as people could barely afford to buy food, let alone books. Cinema tickets were as cheap as (and possibly cheaper than) chips, though.

I'm just weighing up the likelihood of where he encountered Disney is all!