Gloria Batten
Born 1942
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Interviewed on 2/08/2025
by Jack Vaughn

JACK: What’s the first movie you remember seeing?

GLORIA: The first movie I saw was Dumbo, probably in 1946. I would have been about four years old. I got so upset when Dumbo’s mother was put in jail I had to be taken home. Of course, that was a Disney cartoon, but it was beautifully done. The magnificence of a huge theater screen for a four-year-old was quite something, especially since there was no television back then. It all felt surreal; I had been a fan of drawing as a kid, and seeing the animated pictures move as they always had in my mind entrenched me—maybe a little too much [chuckles]. I still can’t watch Dumbo to this day.

JACK: What about that scene specifically affected you so deeply?

GLORIA: Well, the idea of a baby elephant being separated from his mother was just heartbreaking. When you’re that young, being away from your mother is probably the scariest thing you can imagine. And my mother always had a lot to do; we had a big family, and she was not only a homemaker but a brilliant woman… so I didn’t always get to see her every second of the day. Nonetheless, I was still very close to her and I dreaded not being around her. And the way they animated it—you could really feel Dumbo’s pain and confusion. Disney had a way of making those emotions so real, even in a cartoon.

JACK: Wow that is such a profound connection to make so young. Do you remember who you went with?

GLORIA: I went with my parents, my brother Joe, and a wonderful lady who helped take care of Joe and me. I think I sat on her lap—it was big and cushy—that was until I had to leave, of course, because I was so upset.

JACK: Do you remember anything about the theater?

GLORIA: The theater was in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

JACK: Did you get anything from the concession stand?

GLORIA: Oh, why yes! The concessions stand was like the candy store for me; I can’t quite remember if it was when I went to see Dumbo or not, but one of my favorite candies to this day is the Almond Joy. I know it was released that year, but I may have had it on a different viewing.

JACK: How did you typically get to the theater?

GLORIA: We would have driven there. Shaker Heights was a pretty well-to-do suburb, and most families had cars by then. It was always an event when we went to the movies—you’d get dressed up, make a whole afternoon of it.

JACK: Did you watch other Disney films growing up?

GLORIA: Oh yes, but don’t ask about Snow White—the witch still freaks me out! Actually, all of the classic fairy tales that Disney made into films are creepy scary when you think about it. Take Hansel and Gretel where a witch wants to roast the kids and eat them, or Cinderella where her stepmother locks her in a tower, or Snow White’s stepmother who wants her heart cut out. Nice stories for children, right? [Laughs]

JACK: [Sarcastically] Wow you seem to have a remarkable memory of Disney movies! What other memorable films do you recall from that era?

GLORIA: Gone With The Wind. I think that might have been filmed in the late thirties? That was beautifully done as well. But Dumbo remains my most vivid early movie memory.

JACK: How do you think movies have changed since those early experiences?

GLORIA: Well, the technology has certainly changed – everything’s so sophisticated now with computer graphics and special effects. But I sometimes think we’ve lost something too. Those early Disney films, for example, were all hand-drawn. Every frame was a work of art. And the theaters themselves were different—going to the movies was an event. You didn’t just pull up something on your gadget phones or computer. You got dressed up; you made an afternoon or evening of it. There was a real sense of occasion about it all.

JACK: Do you think those early movie experiences influenced you in any lasting way?

GLORIA: Oh, absolutely. I think seeing Dumbo at such a young age really affected how I cherished my parents. And those Disney films, even with their scary moments, taught us about good and evil, about courage and kindness. They weren’t just entertainment—they were teaching us life lessons, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. I’ve seen it in my own kids and now my grandkids; those old movies still shape their understanding of the world, at least while they are young.

JACK: Absolutely! Well, thank you so much for meeting with me and sharing your memories. Maybe now the movies you saw won’t be the only things that last forever.
GLORIA: Now I’ll have nightmares! Just kidding. This was fun!

*Relationship to Interviewee: my best friend’s grandmother*