After the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in December of 1937, Walt Disney began hiring more and more screenwriters to write the scripts for the movies that followed: Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), et al. The screenwriters he hired were male, a trend that continued long after his death in December 1966. However, when the Disney Renaissance began in 90’s after the studio had wrapped The Little Mermaid in 1989, Disney hired novelist Linda Woolverton to write the screenplay for the film to follow, Beauty and the Beast (1991). Walt Disney himself had unsuccessfully attempted to adapt it for the screen twice, and Linda Woolverton was the very first female writer every to write a Disney animated screenplay. In today’s blog I’d like to tell you about how she found her career path, the other things she’s done for Disney, and why her work is inspiring.
Linda Woolverton was born on December 19th, 1952 in Long Beach, California. She started acting in a local children’s theater to escape what she described as a “traumatic childhood.” She graduated High School in 1969 with Honors from the school’s theatre program and attended California State University, Long Beach, where she graduated with a BFA in Theater Arts in 1973. She completed a Master’s Degree in Theater for Children from California State Fullerton in 1976 and ultimately started her own children’s theater company, where she wrote, directed and performed in plays that toured all throughout California.
In 1980, she landed a job as a secretary for the CBS Network. On her lunch breaks, she wrote her first novel for young adults, Star Wind. She left her secretary job after four years, taking a job as a substitute teacher in ’84 and also writing her second young adult novel Running Before the Wind. From ’86-’89, she was hired to write scripts for children’s television shows such as Dennis the Menace (1986-1988) and The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991). She later got bored writing for children’s television shows and told her agent that she would like to try writing for Disney Animated Movies, but her agent told her she wasn’t ready. Woolverton disagreed, and dropped off a copy of Running Before the Wind to a Disney secretary and asked her to “give it to somebody to read.” Two days after that, she received a phone call from former Disney chairman, Jeffrey Katzenberg for an interview which led to her being hired to write the screenplay for “Beauty and the Beast.”
While one might remember “Beauty and the Beast,” for it’s beautiful visuals, or for Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s songs, but the movie also has very quotable lines, with powerful banter between Belle and the Beast and clever comebacks by Belle toward Gaston. Woolverton worked closely with the film’s directors and story artists in establishing a relationship between Belle and the Beast built on stubbornness and arrogance when they first meet, but later connection when the Beast risks his life to save Belle and Belle inspires the Beast to open up to the beauty of treating all of those around him with tenderness. Woolverton herself, is credited, with the idea of making Bella a bookworm, and yet establishing her as a strongest character in the film.
“Beauty,” became an incredibly huge success thanks to Woolverton’s efforts when it was released in November 22nd, 1991. It was the very first animated feature—along with being the first Disney animated movie—to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. Sadly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked Woolverton’s efforts for the Screenplay Award Categories, though later on Disney Theatrical Productions asked her to readapt her movie screenplay for Disney’s Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast, which opened at the Palace Theater on April 18th, 1994 and received Nine Tony Nominations, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.
Prior to “Beauty,” on Broadway though, Woolverton was also hired by the Disney studios to write the screenplay for Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), upon which she collaborated with Caroline Thompson. Together they created the characters of Chance the Bulldog, Shadow the Golden Retriever and Sassy the Himalayan Cat. Woolverton and Thompson established another beautiful relationship between the three animals in which Shadow and Chance both have their own way of wanting to find their way home, but Sassy bosses them around and make sure that they always stay together no matter what.
The same year as “Beauty” on Broadway, Woolverton also co-wrote the screenplay for The Lion King (1994). She is credited in that film for the idea for the dramatic scene where Mufasa is murdered halfway through the movie. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Woolverton was asked about writing that scene and said “Basically, I said we have to make Mufasa the greatest father who ever lived, and then we have to kill him,” which was said with a laugh. She explained “That was the mandate…So that, during the process, got built upon.” Throughout the rest of the Disney Renaissance, Woolverton also helped with early story development for Aladdin (1992) and she is credited with writing additional story development for Mulan (1998). She co-wrote the book for Sir Elton John’s and Sir Tim Rice’s Aida, which opened at the Palace Theater, on March 23rd, 2000 and was also critically acclaimed. (“Aida,” replaced “Beauty,” who then transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where it continued its Broadway run.) In 2007, Linda Woolverton wrote narration for the documentary film Arctic Tale, which was performed by Queen Latifah, and she also wrote the screenplay for an original idea that she had had in her head for a very long time.
The idea was a reinvention of the classic Lewis Carroll novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which Alice is a young adult who is being forced into marriage but who actually wants to build a career path for herself instead. She is suddenly summoned into Wonderland to defeat the creature known as the Jabberwocky along with the Evil Red Queen and that journey inspires her to not be afraid, to think for herself, have her own voice, and do precisely what she wants with her life, despite hints of romance between herself and the Mad Hatter. She shared this idea with producers Suzanne and Jennifer Todd, and Joe Roth who brought the project to Disney. Disney instantly agreed to finance and distribute the new Alice in Wonderland (2010) and also hired Tim Burton to direct. When it was released, the movie grossed over $1 billion dollars, making Linda Woolverton the first and so far only female screenwriter ever to having a solo writing credit on a film that made over $1 billion dollars. The movie won the Oscars for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction and also spawned a sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) for which Woolverton also wrote the screenplay.
The success of “Alice in Wonderland,” also led to Disney hiring Woolverton to write the screenplay for Maleficent (2014). It was also groundbreaking because it not only reinvented a classic fairy tale, but it told the story from the perspective of the villain. The film acknowledged that the villain, Maleficent, wasn’t born evil, but turned to evil when she was betrayed, but she finds compassion in her heart to save the leading lady’s life. According to Disney, the script for the movie was in “development hell,” which means an idea that takes an unnecessarily long to time to fully develop, until Woolverton came on board to write it. This film grossed total of $758.5 million, received a Best Costume Design Oscar Nomination, and just like “Alice,” spawned a sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).
To say that Linda Woolverton is an exceptional screenwriter is understatement. For nearly 30 years, she has written screenplays for Disney about strong women such as Belle, Alice, Maleficent, and others. They are courageous, and vigorous and never afraid to use their own voice. She is currently writing the screenplay for a new animated feature, Spellbound, to be released in 2022 under the labels of Paramount Pictures and Skydance Animation. It will also feature songs by Disney songwriting legend, Alan Menken.
Woolverton’s legacy at Disney is extraordinary and it will continue to be remembered simply for the quality and achievements of the work. But the fact that she was also a ground-breaking woman creating creating groundbreaking movies with strong female characters makes her someone to admire.
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