Directing The New Spirit was a unique experience, in that for once meeting our deadline took precedence over all other considerations—even including making sure we got exactly what Walt wanted into the picture—or making sure Walt knew how his picture was going to look in time for him to do anything about it if he did not like something in it. This was, perhaps, the only time I was in complete control of a large part of one of the cartoons I directed for Walt. (The ending, with scenes of battleships, etc., was Ben Sharpsteen’s. Only the part with Donald Duck was mine.) But this wasn’t quite as good as it may sound, because there was not enough time allowed to do a good job of it. […]
