[…] [Hugh] Harman and [Rudolph] Ising had been at Disney's side in his earliest years, working for him at the Laugh-O-gram studio in Kansas City and then at his first Los Angeles studios. It was Harman who led the famous 1928 exodus from the Disney staff that resulted in Disney's loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his creation of Mickey Mouse. Although Harman's departure from the staff has been painted by Disney loyalists as a sort of betrayal, Harman said he was motivated by his disappointment with Disney's abrasive behavior as a boss. Harman and Ising had, besides, been trying to establish their own studio for years, an ambition they finally realized in 1930. […]
