fbpx
Wikipedia

Fifinella

January 01, 1970

For the Thoroughbred horse, see Fifinella (horse).

Fifinella was a female gremlin designed by Walt Disney for a proposed film from Roald Dahl's book The Gremlins. During World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) asked permission to use the image as their official mascot, and the Disney Company granted them the rights.[1][2]

Fifinella, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) mascot, created by The Walt Disney Company.
WASP Dorothy Olsen wears an A-2 jacket with a Fifinella patch

Origins edit

The story of Fifinella began in 1942 when Roald Dahl, who had been removed from flying with the RAF due to injury, wrote The Gremlins, a fairy tale about the hazards of combat flying; in this incarnation, the word "fifinella" only refers to female gremlins as opposed to any specific one. Dahl took the name from the great "flying" filly, Fifinella, who won The Derby and Epsom Oaks in 1916, the year Dahl was born. As an RAF-trained pilot, he was familiar with prewar RAF folklore about the Gremlin, the mischievous source of any unknown problem. Although gremlins predated Murphy's Law that "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong," they were obviously motivated by the same principles. Finella was used as the WASP badge

The Gremlins edit

The Gremlins is a children's book, written by Roald Dahl. It was published in 1943 by Random House for Walt Disney and serialized in Cosmopolitan.[3] It was Dahl's first children's book, and was written for Walt Disney Productions, as a promotional device for a feature-length animated film that was never made.[N 1] With Dahl's assistance, a series of gremlin characters was developed, and although pre-production began, the film project was eventually abandoned, in part because the studio could not establish the precise rights of the "gremlin" story, and in part because the British Air Ministry, which was heavily involved in the production because Dahl was on leave from his wartime Washington posting, insisted on final approval of script and production.[4][N 2]

The publication of The Gremlins by Random House consisted of a 50,000 run for the U.S. market[N 3] with Dahl ordering 50 copies for himself as promotional material, handing them out to everyone he knew, including Lord Halifax and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who read the book to her grandchildren.[4] The book was considered an international success with 30,000 more sold in Australia but initial efforts to reprint the book were precluded by a wartime paper shortage.[6] Reviewed in major publications, Dahl was considered a writer-of-note and his appearances in Hollywood to follow up with the film project were met with notices in Hedda Hopper's columns.[7][N 4]

Facing copyright problems and realizing that the Air Ministry's "Clause 12" in the original film contract would restrict the studio, Walt Disney, who had a personal interest in The Gremlins, reluctantly began to "wind down" the project. By August 1943, Disney had even reconsidered an animated "short" based on The Gremlins and indicated to Dahl by correspondence that further work would not continue. After a year of story conferences and related research, Dahl realized that his book would be the only tangible product emanating from the aborted film.[4]

Design edit

The original design had the small winged figure coming in for a landing with a red circle in the background; she is portrayed with horns, a yellow flight cap, a red top, yellow slacks, long black gloves, red high-top boots, and goggles. The WASPs, however, rather than having the figure in a landing pose, added a large bomb astride which the figure sat. They dressed her in a red coat and purple trousers and added a dark blue circle for extra impact. Still, there were many custom patches made, so form and color varied from patch to patch.

Use edit

 
B-17G Flying Fortress, 91st Bomb Group has nose art of a Fifinella on it.

Dahl's gremlins were subsequently used by Warner Bros. in several World War II cartoons, some involving Bugs Bunny and another called Russian Rhapsody, which featured scores of Russian-accented "Gremlins from the Kremlin" attacking an aircraft piloted by Adolf Hitler.

Fifinella put in appearances on WASP flight jackets and in many variations on the noses of bombers. One B-17G Flying Fortress, Fifinella (Serial #42-107030) of the 91st Bomb Group, was named after her. Fifinella was lost on August 13, 1944, on a bombing raid at Le Manoir, France. During the Korean War there was also a B-29 Superfortress (Serial #42-6569) of the 19th Bomb Group named Fifinella.[8][9]

See also edit

References edit

Notes
  1. ^ Dahl claimed that the gremlins were exclusively a Royal Air Force icon, but the elf-like figures had a very convoluted origin that predated his original writings.
  2. ^ Dahl was given permission by the Air Ministry to work in Hollywood and an arrangement had been made that all proceeds from the film would be split between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl.[5]
  3. ^ Both paperback and hardcover versions were printed in 1943.
  4. ^ In 1950, Collins Publishing (New York) published a limited reprint of The Gremlins.
Citations
  1. ^ Landdeck, Katherine (2020). The Women With Silver Wings. New York: Crown. pp. 119, 374. ISBN 9781524762810.
  2. ^ Stires, Hally (20 May 1945). "To the members of the order". WASP Newsletter. 2 (3): 3.
  3. ^ Conant 2008, pp. 42–43.
  4. ^ a b c Conant 2008, p. 173.
  5. ^ Conant 2008, p. 43.
  6. ^ Sturrock 2010, p. 188.
  7. ^ Conant 2008, pp. 43–46.
  8. ^ "B-29s in the Korean War." 2007-12-18 at the Wayback Machine mywebpages.comcast.net. Retrieved: October 12, 2010.
  9. ^ "Noseart: Fifinella." 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine comcast.net. Retrieved: October 12, 2010.
Bibliography
  • Conant, Jennet. The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7432-9458-4.
  • Dahl, Flight Lieutenant Roald. The Gremlins: The Lost Walt Disney Production. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Books, 2006 (reprint and updated copy of 1943 original publication). ISBN 978-1-59307-496-8.
  • De La Rue, Keith. "Gremlins." delarue.net, updated August 23, 2004. Retrieved: October 11, 2010.
  • "Gremlins." Fantastic Fiction, a British online book site/biography source. Retrieved: October 11, 2010.
  • Sturrock, Donald. Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4165-5082-2.

External links edit

  • The Gremlins: A Royal Air Force Story Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the U.S. Air Force, the Army Air Force Exchange Service distributed a limited edition of the 1943 children's book
  • All about Fifinella at Wings Across America
  • Crew photos at 91st Bomb Group
  • Women's Pilot Training Patch at National Museum of American History
  • Letter from Walt Disney with a design for the WASP insignia

January 01, 1970
fifinella, thoroughbred, horse, horse, female, gremlin, designed, walt, disney, proposed, film, from, roald, dahl, book, gremlins, during, world, women, airforce, service, pilots, wasp, asked, permission, image, their, official, mascot, disney, company, grante. For the Thoroughbred horse see Fifinella horse Fifinella was a female gremlin designed by Walt Disney for a proposed film from Roald Dahl s book The Gremlins During World War II the Women Airforce Service Pilots WASP asked permission to use the image as their official mascot and the Disney Company granted them the rights 1 2 Fifinella the Women Airforce Service Pilots WASP mascot created by The Walt Disney Company WASP Dorothy Olsen wears an A 2 jacket with a Fifinella patch Contents 1 Origins 2 The Gremlins 3 Design 4 Use 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOrigins editThe story of Fifinella began in 1942 when Roald Dahl who had been removed from flying with the RAF due to injury wrote The Gremlins a fairy tale about the hazards of combat flying in this incarnation the word fifinella only refers to female gremlins as opposed to any specific one Dahl took the name from the great flying filly Fifinella who won The Derby and Epsom Oaks in 1916 the year Dahl was born As an RAF trained pilot he was familiar with prewar RAF folklore about the Gremlin the mischievous source of any unknown problem Although gremlins predated Murphy s Law that whatever can go wrong will go wrong they were obviously motivated by the same principles Finella was used as the WASP badgeThe Gremlins editThe Gremlins is a children s book written by Roald Dahl It was published in 1943 by Random House for Walt Disney and serialized in Cosmopolitan 3 It was Dahl s first children s book and was written for Walt Disney Productions as a promotional device for a feature length animated film that was never made N 1 With Dahl s assistance a series of gremlin characters was developed and although pre production began the film project was eventually abandoned in part because the studio could not establish the precise rights of the gremlin story and in part because the British Air Ministry which was heavily involved in the production because Dahl was on leave from his wartime Washington posting insisted on final approval of script and production 4 N 2 The publication of The Gremlins by Random House consisted of a 50 000 run for the U S market N 3 with Dahl ordering 50 copies for himself as promotional material handing them out to everyone he knew including Lord Halifax and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who read the book to her grandchildren 4 The book was considered an international success with 30 000 more sold in Australia but initial efforts to reprint the book were precluded by a wartime paper shortage 6 Reviewed in major publications Dahl was considered a writer of note and his appearances in Hollywood to follow up with the film project were met with notices in Hedda Hopper s columns 7 N 4 Facing copyright problems and realizing that the Air Ministry s Clause 12 in the original film contract would restrict the studio Walt Disney who had a personal interest in The Gremlins reluctantly began to wind down the project By August 1943 Disney had even reconsidered an animated short based on The Gremlins and indicated to Dahl by correspondence that further work would not continue After a year of story conferences and related research Dahl realized that his book would be the only tangible product emanating from the aborted film 4 Design editThe original design had the small winged figure coming in for a landing with a red circle in the background she is portrayed with horns a yellow flight cap a red top yellow slacks long black gloves red high top boots and goggles The WASPs however rather than having the figure in a landing pose added a large bomb astride which the figure sat They dressed her in a red coat and purple trousers and added a dark blue circle for extra impact Still there were many custom patches made so form and color varied from patch to patch Use edit nbsp B 17G Flying Fortress 91st Bomb Group has nose art of a Fifinella on it Dahl s gremlins were subsequently used by Warner Bros in several World War II cartoons some involving Bugs Bunny and another called Russian Rhapsody which featured scores of Russian accented Gremlins from the Kremlin attacking an aircraft piloted by Adolf Hitler Fifinella put in appearances on WASP flight jackets and in many variations on the noses of bombers One B 17G Flying Fortress Fifinella Serial 42 107030 of the 91st Bomb Group was named after her Fifinella was lost on August 13 1944 on a bombing raid at Le Manoir France During the Korean War there was also a B 29 Superfortress Serial 42 6569 of the 19th Bomb Group named Fifinella 8 9 See also editGremlin Women Airforce Service PilotsReferences editNotes Dahl claimed that the gremlins were exclusively a Royal Air Force icon but the elf like figures had a very convoluted origin that predated his original writings Dahl was given permission by the Air Ministry to work in Hollywood and an arrangement had been made that all proceeds from the film would be split between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl 5 Both paperback and hardcover versions were printed in 1943 In 1950 Collins Publishing New York published a limited reprint of The Gremlins Citations Landdeck Katherine 2020 The Women With Silver Wings New York Crown pp 119 374 ISBN 9781524762810 Stires Hally 20 May 1945 To the members of the order WASP Newsletter 2 3 3 Conant 2008 pp 42 43 a b c Conant 2008 p 173 Conant 2008 p 43 Sturrock 2010 p 188 Conant 2008 pp 43 46 B 29s in the Korean War Archived 2007 12 18 at the Wayback Machine mywebpages comcast net Retrieved October 12 2010 Noseart Fifinella Archived 2012 10 23 at the Wayback Machine comcast net Retrieved October 12 2010 Bibliography Conant Jennet The Irregulars Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington New York Simon amp Schuster 2008 ISBN 978 0 7432 9458 4 Dahl Flight Lieutenant Roald The Gremlins The Lost Walt Disney Production Milwaukie OR Dark Horse Books 2006 reprint and updated copy of 1943 original publication ISBN 978 1 59307 496 8 De La Rue Keith Gremlins delarue net updated August 23 2004 Retrieved October 11 2010 Gremlins Fantastic Fiction a British online book site biography source Retrieved October 11 2010 Sturrock Donald Storyteller The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl New York Simon amp Schuster 2010 ISBN 978 1 4165 5082 2 External links editThe Gremlins A Royal Air Force Story Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the U S Air Force the Army Air Force Exchange Service distributed a limited edition of the 1943 children s book Sample Disney Fifinella mascot at USAF National Museum All about Fifinella at Wings Across America Crew photos at 91st Bomb Group Women s Pilot Training Patch at National Museum of American History Letter from Walt Disney with a design for the WASP insignia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fifinella amp oldid 1225539685, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.