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The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms and Beyond: Disney 100 Celebration Edition
B004PGKCDK The art of Walt from Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms. cloth Publication 1975 in cloth
504 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
62 people are currently reading
2571 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Finch
69 books37 followersChristopher Finch was born in Guernsey in the British Channel Islands, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is an artist and a photographer who has had one person shows in New York and California, and he is the author of almost thirty non-fiction books including the best sellers Rainbow: the Stormy Life of Judy Garland, The Art of Walt Disney, Jim Henson: the Works, and Norman Rockwell's America. Recently he has embarked on a series of noir-inflected mystery novels set in New York in the late 1960s and featuring the private investigator Alex Novalis. The first of these, Good Girl, Bad Girl, is to be published by Thomas & Mercer in 2013. These books draw on his own experiences in the New York art world at a time when today's SoHo was an urban wilderness with rats frolicking in the gutters and artists eking out a living in barren loft spaces. He is married to Linda Rosenkrantz, an author and a co-founder of the website Nameberry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
January 12, 2024
Walt Disney created some iconic cartoon characters from Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to Uncle Scrooge and all those princesses.
This book chooses to focus on the art rather than the business that spawned Disneyland and Disneyworld.
” Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and took a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (now The Walt Disney Company) with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, he became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Mary Poppins (1964), the last of which received five Academy Awards.”
The book is excellent in conveying how the “Disney art” developed and we get to see how the cartoon shorts and full-length features were created. The large format and excellent printing allows the reader to enjoy all the details.
4.5
This book chooses to focus on the art rather than the business that spawned Disneyland and Disneyworld.
” Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and took a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (now The Walt Disney Company) with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, he became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Mary Poppins (1964), the last of which received five Academy Awards.”
The book is excellent in conveying how the “Disney art” developed and we get to see how the cartoon shorts and full-length features were created. The large format and excellent printing allows the reader to enjoy all the details.
4.5
November 3, 2014
One of the most beautiful and educative books I ever read. Shows you how f.i. "Snow White" came to be not simply an astounding movie, but one of the 20th century's major works of art. (I lent this wonderful (and very expensive) book, a birthday gift from a cherished ex-loved one, to my then girlfriend's brother more than twenty years ago, under the explicit condition that I wanted it back within three months ... I'm still waiting ... the bastard!)
April 5, 2012
This, apparently the most recent edition of The Art of Walt Disney, dates from 2004. For context, that was the year Home on the Range and Incredibles was released. California Adventure and DisneySea were still new, and Hong Kong Disneyland was on the verge of opening.
This book tries to cover a lot. Way too much, probably. Why bother covering The Disney Afternoon if you can only give it a few paragraphs, and most of the shows only get one sentence? The individual parks get more, better, and more detailed coverage in other books.
But we're all really here to read about Disney shorts and animated features. And the older the work, the more information given about it. As time goes by, the sections about each work gets shorter and shorter. So if you're interested in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, you're in luck. Sleeping Beauty? Not so much.
Any book with "art" in the title needs to have great illustrations, and there's some really good stuff in here. Backgrounds, model sheets, concept art, storyboards... It's all very cool. And this is, of course, the real attraction of the book, and why I enjoyed it.
This book tries to cover a lot. Way too much, probably. Why bother covering The Disney Afternoon if you can only give it a few paragraphs, and most of the shows only get one sentence? The individual parks get more, better, and more detailed coverage in other books.
But we're all really here to read about Disney shorts and animated features. And the older the work, the more information given about it. As time goes by, the sections about each work gets shorter and shorter. So if you're interested in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, you're in luck. Sleeping Beauty? Not so much.
Any book with "art" in the title needs to have great illustrations, and there's some really good stuff in here. Backgrounds, model sheets, concept art, storyboards... It's all very cool. And this is, of course, the real attraction of the book, and why I enjoyed it.
November 28, 2022
This book is wonderful! A must have for any Disney fan interested in the history!
May 28, 2017
[The version I read was the 2011 edition, where the most recent film releases were Tangled for Disney and Toy Story 3 for Pixar (just before the release of Cars 2)]
The Art of Walt Disney is a part-art-book part-biography of Walt Disney himself and the growth of his eponymous company. It's a huge volume, a coffee table style book, with full pages of lavish artwork and concept designs, brought into a framework with a narrative about Disney's beginnings and the creation of each of their works.
It runs mostly chronologically, about how Disney got into animation originally, through the creation of Mickey Mouse, production of shorts, and eventual move to feature length films. The stories are told in great detail, with nods to significant personel and explanations of work and technology. The narrative up through the first five feature films (Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi) is excellent, and you get a real sense of the development of the studio and the productions.
Aaaaaand then it went from a five-star review to a three-star review from there. It continues with a sense of "well, we've explained the basics, now lets rattle on through the rest". The other films are all talked about individually, in order, but in nowhere near as much detail. The death of Walt Disney, and the Dark Period and the Renaissance are all explained but it always felt like it kept coming up short and moving on to the next topic too quickly. A lot of the time for films, descriptions were kept to a handful of short paragraphs, the majority of which were just synopses of the film plot. In places these descriptions border on film reviews, with the author stating whether the result was good or bad as if it was fact. I took the short and blunt medicore review of 'The Emporer's New Groove' quite personally (it's my favourite).
After the run through the film progression, up to Tangled, the book goes into the development of the Pixar studios, how they became successful and were eventually brought into the Disney fold. After this is a short piece on live-action productions, and the book ends with chapters on the Disney theme parks.
It's a good, broad overview of the history of Disney. It's difficult to review because the first third/half is SO fantastic, I wish it had continued like that for the whole volume. The first half is a definite must-read for Disney fans, but the rest doesn't go into enough detail to be satisfying.
The Art of Walt Disney is a part-art-book part-biography of Walt Disney himself and the growth of his eponymous company. It's a huge volume, a coffee table style book, with full pages of lavish artwork and concept designs, brought into a framework with a narrative about Disney's beginnings and the creation of each of their works.
It runs mostly chronologically, about how Disney got into animation originally, through the creation of Mickey Mouse, production of shorts, and eventual move to feature length films. The stories are told in great detail, with nods to significant personel and explanations of work and technology. The narrative up through the first five feature films (Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi) is excellent, and you get a real sense of the development of the studio and the productions.
Aaaaaand then it went from a five-star review to a three-star review from there. It continues with a sense of "well, we've explained the basics, now lets rattle on through the rest". The other films are all talked about individually, in order, but in nowhere near as much detail. The death of Walt Disney, and the Dark Period and the Renaissance are all explained but it always felt like it kept coming up short and moving on to the next topic too quickly. A lot of the time for films, descriptions were kept to a handful of short paragraphs, the majority of which were just synopses of the film plot. In places these descriptions border on film reviews, with the author stating whether the result was good or bad as if it was fact. I took the short and blunt medicore review of 'The Emporer's New Groove' quite personally (it's my favourite).
After the run through the film progression, up to Tangled, the book goes into the development of the Pixar studios, how they became successful and were eventually brought into the Disney fold. After this is a short piece on live-action productions, and the book ends with chapters on the Disney theme parks.
It's a good, broad overview of the history of Disney. It's difficult to review because the first third/half is SO fantastic, I wish it had continued like that for the whole volume. The first half is a definite must-read for Disney fans, but the rest doesn't go into enough detail to be satisfying.
January 11, 2023
Mooi inzicht in het ontstaan van het huidige Disney. Gaat diep in op de kunst en ontwikkeling van de animatie van de eerste mickey cartoons tot de lange films die we nu kennen. Het begint heel diep maar zodra je bij de onderwerpen speelfilms en het ontstaan van Disneyland vliegt het boek er vogel vlug overheen. Dit vind ik zelf wel zonde want het boek is niet heel dik en had zeker kunnen profiteren van wat diepte aan het eind.
Deze afraffeling is ook te merken aan het einde waar het boek plots voorbij is zonder een echte conclusie. Wel vullen de foto's en tekeningen het verhaal mooi aan
Deze afraffeling is ook te merken aan het einde waar het boek plots voorbij is zonder een echte conclusie. Wel vullen de foto's en tekeningen het verhaal mooi aan
February 8, 2025
Wonderful book. I loved reading all the historical facts.
October 14, 2008
[NOTE: I am reading the 1973 version, so the last movie referenced is The Aristocats
A massive coffee-table format book that delves into history of the Walt Disney Studios through the artwork of its cartoon shorts, movies, live-action films and the theme parks. While the author is a bit of a Disney apologist, I found the text fairly engaging, and the artwork astounding - I especially enjoyed the two-page foldouts.
The final chapters dealing with the theme parks - Disneyland and the newly-opened Walt Disney World (with only the Magic Kingdom, and 2 hotels - the Contemporary & the Polynesian in operation) were quite interesting; as was the article from an architectural magazine - the author's name escapes me at the moment.
Definitely worth our purchase price (a steal at $7 used) - recommended to anyone interested in the design and art behind the Walt Disney Productions empire.
A massive coffee-table format book that delves into history of the Walt Disney Studios through the artwork of its cartoon shorts, movies, live-action films and the theme parks. While the author is a bit of a Disney apologist, I found the text fairly engaging, and the artwork astounding - I especially enjoyed the two-page foldouts.
The final chapters dealing with the theme parks - Disneyland and the newly-opened Walt Disney World (with only the Magic Kingdom, and 2 hotels - the Contemporary & the Polynesian in operation) were quite interesting; as was the article from an architectural magazine - the author's name escapes me at the moment.
Definitely worth our purchase price (a steal at $7 used) - recommended to anyone interested in the design and art behind the Walt Disney Productions empire.
May 5, 2020
Over the quarantine, I've decided to watch all the Disney animated classics in order, and I figured there could be no better companion for this than The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch. The version I have was originally released in the 1970s and republished in the 80s, so it's far from current. By the end of this book, Robin Hood was currently in production and EPCOT was still being planned as the city of the future.
But The Art of Walt Disney works great as a solid introduction to the story of Walt Disney, Disney as a company and the products that made them the behemoth company they are today. Finch gives only the essential details to Disney's life in how they relate to Disney's life as an artist and producer. I greatly appreciate the detail that Finch goes into those early features, most notably as he digs into those first five masterpieces. But the further into Disney's history the book goes, the less detail he gives to the latter films. Even films that are considered classics get little more than a few screenshots and a quick synopsis. But frankly, I'll give that a slide, since I did enjoy that Finch tends to agree with my more controversial opinions on certain Disney films (Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty: you're beautiful to look at, but you're empty!)
Coming near the end of the book, I also wish Finch had given a bit more coverage to Disney's live-action films, the nature documentaries and especially, the art of the parks. Finch marvels at the brilliance of both Disney World and Disneyland, but then allows most of the chapter to be taken up by an essay from an architecture magazine. It's still interesting to learn about the infrastructure of the parks, but it still ends the book on a dry note.
My only real complaint is that this massive 450-page coffee table book isn't bigger. I wish there was more detail to much of the later Disney products, and that they were given as much care as the early shorts and films. Very curious to see what later versions of this book are like and to see if Finch does spread out the information a bit more, because all I want is more of it.
But The Art of Walt Disney works great as a solid introduction to the story of Walt Disney, Disney as a company and the products that made them the behemoth company they are today. Finch gives only the essential details to Disney's life in how they relate to Disney's life as an artist and producer. I greatly appreciate the detail that Finch goes into those early features, most notably as he digs into those first five masterpieces. But the further into Disney's history the book goes, the less detail he gives to the latter films. Even films that are considered classics get little more than a few screenshots and a quick synopsis. But frankly, I'll give that a slide, since I did enjoy that Finch tends to agree with my more controversial opinions on certain Disney films (Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty: you're beautiful to look at, but you're empty!)
Coming near the end of the book, I also wish Finch had given a bit more coverage to Disney's live-action films, the nature documentaries and especially, the art of the parks. Finch marvels at the brilliance of both Disney World and Disneyland, but then allows most of the chapter to be taken up by an essay from an architecture magazine. It's still interesting to learn about the infrastructure of the parks, but it still ends the book on a dry note.
My only real complaint is that this massive 450-page coffee table book isn't bigger. I wish there was more detail to much of the later Disney products, and that they were given as much care as the early shorts and films. Very curious to see what later versions of this book are like and to see if Finch does spread out the information a bit more, because all I want is more of it.
May 6, 2018
Having read the biography of Disney this was a nice follow-up. It deals mainly (as the title implies) with the artistic side of the business: how Disney started as a company, what innovations they brought to movie making, especially animated movies, the artistic process of the early movies and some of the later movies, the big breakthroughs, and finally the conception of the idea of Walt Disney world and how it was realized. Very interesting read, nicely complemented with pictures from Disney's life, early sketches, movies, etc.
December 1, 2018
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
November 4, 2020
642 - 2020
January 19, 2018
Do you ever wonder what made Walt Disney want to make his company? Then you should read the nonfiction book The Art of Walt Disney- From Mickey Mouse to The Magic Kingdoms by Christopher Finch. In the book Finch explains Walt Disney’s childhood and what made him want to make something out of his drawings that he always loved to do as a child. Then it goes on to tell about his first jobs and things he created including short films and his most popular characters Oswald the Rabbit and Mickey The Mouse. After Finch showed how Disney’s mind worked to create his short films and movies. He wrote history on the Disney Parks. Overall, I think this book gave me a good understanding of Walt Disney and made me want to know more about him.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it had a good deal of information about Walt Disney and his thought process and got me thinking my MGRP topic. The book was interesting and fun to read because it was interesting to be able to learn about the man who created the movies and characters that we learned to love. Some interesting things that I learned from reading this book are the first animated film that he created was stories on Alice in Wonderland. Also, I learned that Song of The South was the first live action film created by Disney. Finally, the one thing that I learned was that “Walt Disney World opened by Roy Disney (Walt Disney’s Brother) in October 1871.”(p. 152) and that Disney was a collector of mechanical toys and wanted to make an art of screen animation and “the first audio-animatronic models made were some exotic birds which eventually formed the basis of Disneyland’s Tiki Room.” (p. 152)
The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to The Magic Kingdoms influenced me to do my MGRP on Walt Disney because the book showed me how interesting Walt Disney is and what made him want to make his company the way that he did. Finch showed that Walt Disney started off with short films and went to make larger movies and soon the Disney Parks. I want to learn more in my research about his movies and what made him create them, his childhood/ family life, and the Walt Disney Parks and what he did to make the Disney company so successful.
Finally, I really liked this book so much because gave me a good understanding of Walt Disney made me want to learn more about him and his company. I definitely would recommend this book to people that enjoy Walt Disney/ his company and would like to learn more about him. However, I think that the author could organize the book a little better so it’s easier to find certain information throughout the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it had a good deal of information about Walt Disney and his thought process and got me thinking my MGRP topic. The book was interesting and fun to read because it was interesting to be able to learn about the man who created the movies and characters that we learned to love. Some interesting things that I learned from reading this book are the first animated film that he created was stories on Alice in Wonderland. Also, I learned that Song of The South was the first live action film created by Disney. Finally, the one thing that I learned was that “Walt Disney World opened by Roy Disney (Walt Disney’s Brother) in October 1871.”(p. 152) and that Disney was a collector of mechanical toys and wanted to make an art of screen animation and “the first audio-animatronic models made were some exotic birds which eventually formed the basis of Disneyland’s Tiki Room.” (p. 152)
The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to The Magic Kingdoms influenced me to do my MGRP on Walt Disney because the book showed me how interesting Walt Disney is and what made him want to make his company the way that he did. Finch showed that Walt Disney started off with short films and went to make larger movies and soon the Disney Parks. I want to learn more in my research about his movies and what made him create them, his childhood/ family life, and the Walt Disney Parks and what he did to make the Disney company so successful.
Finally, I really liked this book so much because gave me a good understanding of Walt Disney made me want to learn more about him and his company. I definitely would recommend this book to people that enjoy Walt Disney/ his company and would like to learn more about him. However, I think that the author could organize the book a little better so it’s easier to find certain information throughout the book.
January 25, 2013
This was an absolutely fascinating read. The background information on the films, animated and live-action, as well as the parks all around the world, are exactly what any Disney fan would want to read.
There were a few moments when I thought there could have been less synopsis of a movie and more background information. In fact, some movies seemed to get *just* a synopsis and the author's opinion, no background information at all. That brings me to the other thing that kind of grated on my nerves in this book: the author. I suppose I should understand his critical way of looking at the animated films. He analyzes the technical aspects, the character design, story, artistic vision, overall product, musical score, etc. I totally appreciate that. What bothered me was when he would not hesitate to call movies I found very enjoyable to be "utter failures" and therefore, not bother to offer much more information beyond why he thought they were bad. Dinosaur, Treasure Planet, Tarzan, Hercules and worst of all, Alice in Wonderland, were all some of the animated films he labeled as failures. Disney itself has a way of doing this same thing, ignoring the movies that didn't bring in the money and pushing the ones that did. Sure, that makes sound business sense but giving a bit of attention to them won't kill you. There are people out there that *loved* Hercules. Alice is a cult phenomenon. While I love The Lion King, Aladdin, B&B and the Little Mermaid, there is only so many park rides/attractions and merchandise one can stand from those films before they become old news. Just like Disney, he decided that these "lesser movies" didn't deserve anything but his derision and he quickly moved on. No concept art, no background, nothing. For a book as big as this one, you could have included *one* piece of concept art from *any* of these...jerk.
All in all, lots of great information. Heavy book though. I think I hurt my wrist holding it up to read in bed. Can you get carpal tunnel from holding up a book?
There were a few moments when I thought there could have been less synopsis of a movie and more background information. In fact, some movies seemed to get *just* a synopsis and the author's opinion, no background information at all. That brings me to the other thing that kind of grated on my nerves in this book: the author. I suppose I should understand his critical way of looking at the animated films. He analyzes the technical aspects, the character design, story, artistic vision, overall product, musical score, etc. I totally appreciate that. What bothered me was when he would not hesitate to call movies I found very enjoyable to be "utter failures" and therefore, not bother to offer much more information beyond why he thought they were bad. Dinosaur, Treasure Planet, Tarzan, Hercules and worst of all, Alice in Wonderland, were all some of the animated films he labeled as failures. Disney itself has a way of doing this same thing, ignoring the movies that didn't bring in the money and pushing the ones that did. Sure, that makes sound business sense but giving a bit of attention to them won't kill you. There are people out there that *loved* Hercules. Alice is a cult phenomenon. While I love The Lion King, Aladdin, B&B and the Little Mermaid, there is only so many park rides/attractions and merchandise one can stand from those films before they become old news. Just like Disney, he decided that these "lesser movies" didn't deserve anything but his derision and he quickly moved on. No concept art, no background, nothing. For a book as big as this one, you could have included *one* piece of concept art from *any* of these...jerk.
All in all, lots of great information. Heavy book though. I think I hurt my wrist holding it up to read in bed. Can you get carpal tunnel from holding up a book?
July 1, 2014
There have been several updated versions over the years. The one that I have is the original 1973 version, which is what I'll be describing. There are several production sketches and drawings which I haven't seen published in any other book. In the section on the features, more attention is given to Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia than any other feature which shouldn't be too surprising since those were the first 3 films which were made when the quality if Disney animation was at its pinnacle. The other films only get a couple of screen grabs or are not mentioned at all. The 1973 edition has a section on the making of the then new release Robin Hood, which has had little coverage in any Disney book.
I highly recommend getting the 1973 or 1995 edition.
I highly recommend getting the 1973 or 1995 edition.
March 24, 2020
The art, both from completed works and sketches from the early stages of concept and character are stunning. Its an older book so it is missing everything made in my lifetime but it held some interesting detail and history. I did feel the author gave their opinion of finished works a little too much as the final take on things rather than only their opinion and feelings. That annoyed me a bit, but otherwise it was a fun read with my daughter to fulfill a biography requirement in her reading for 3rd grade. And since libraries are closed at the moment we had to use the one I had on hand passed down from my parents years ago.
January 11, 2020
Walt Disney was born in 1901, into a world that was just beginning to test the bounds of photography and stop-action photos that were the beginnings of animation. He began his craft at the Kansas City Film Ad where he basically produced commercials. He began to create short animations called "Laugh-o-Grams" which became popular enough for Disney to hire staff and expand his enterprise. Eventually Walt moved to California and started his business that would become more lucrative than his wildest imaginings.
Mickey Mouse made his debut in 1928, quickly followed by Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck who became so popular he nearly eclipsed Mickey's star. The greatest success of Walt's early years was the 1933 production of the "Three Little Pigs". Experimenting with animation, Walt began dreaming of making feature length films and in 1937 "Snow White" opened at a star-studded premiere. Countless successes would follow as well as a few films not quite so warmly embraced by the public. Two of his most famous titles, "Bambi" and "Dumbo", suffered from the unfortunate timing of being produced at the beginning of WWII. Disney Studios shelved animated films for several years as they produced short instructional films for the government. Once the war was over, Disney again began feature length animated films; Peter Pan, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty were only a few of his well-received titles.
Live action films began in the 1940's with "Song of the South" and "So Dear To My Heart". In the 50's Walt began producing "True Life Adventures", a series of films dealing with nature. In 1964 the Disney Studios reached their pinnacle with their most popular movie yet: "Mary Poppins". As Walt began to feel the effects of age and ill-health he turned his talents and vivid imagination to the building of Disneyland. Walt did not live to see his dream of Disney World fulfilled but his legacy lives on in everything he touched. This book was published in 1975 and the next big Disney venture was only in the development stage: Epcot Center.
Mickey Mouse made his debut in 1928, quickly followed by Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck who became so popular he nearly eclipsed Mickey's star. The greatest success of Walt's early years was the 1933 production of the "Three Little Pigs". Experimenting with animation, Walt began dreaming of making feature length films and in 1937 "Snow White" opened at a star-studded premiere. Countless successes would follow as well as a few films not quite so warmly embraced by the public. Two of his most famous titles, "Bambi" and "Dumbo", suffered from the unfortunate timing of being produced at the beginning of WWII. Disney Studios shelved animated films for several years as they produced short instructional films for the government. Once the war was over, Disney again began feature length animated films; Peter Pan, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty were only a few of his well-received titles.
Live action films began in the 1940's with "Song of the South" and "So Dear To My Heart". In the 50's Walt began producing "True Life Adventures", a series of films dealing with nature. In 1964 the Disney Studios reached their pinnacle with their most popular movie yet: "Mary Poppins". As Walt began to feel the effects of age and ill-health he turned his talents and vivid imagination to the building of Disneyland. Walt did not live to see his dream of Disney World fulfilled but his legacy lives on in everything he touched. This book was published in 1975 and the next big Disney venture was only in the development stage: Epcot Center.
February 26, 2020
Note: this is the condensed version of Finch’s more lengthy (ca. 500 page) publication about Disney. I’ve read a couple of other books on the history and art of Walt Disney which go into a huge amount of detail about the development of the company that dominates American animation as well as the individual films that led to its success, but this book is a pretty decent light take on the subject. Finch discusses the early days of Disney and his development into a business mogul in just enough detail that we’re kept engaged, but steers far clear of attempting to be a really comprehensive history. He covers Disney’s earliest short films (spending more time on these than any of the other topics it seems) and the initial full length features before delving into brief discussions on Disney’s ventures into live action and the ideas behind Disneyland and Disneyworld. I’m generally always more interested in more in depth discussions on specific projects - give me an entire book on Fantasia, PLEASE - but this was an easy to read introduction to Disney’s history, which showcases Finch’s passion for sharing film (and specifically the art of animation) history.
November 28, 2018
A fascinating look into the processes of Walt Disney's many creative projects -- from his early animated cartoons and feature films, to the planning and beginnings of Disneyland and Walt Disney World -- which, although written in almost a dry, textbook style, nevertheless is chock-full of interesting behind-the-scenes information as well as critiques of the actual artistic factors of each.
Sprinkled with samples, sketches, and photographs, the book merely scratches the surface of what could have been explored in its pages; but what is there seemed a good snack, and a concise overview.
I love how the "nerdy" side of things is not much overlooked in this book, but is included in the treatment of each project. Not only the artwork itself and its subjects are touched upon, but also the difficulties and triumphs met by Walt and his team in technical areas regarding camera work, evolving developments in animation, audio-animatronic figures, transit systems, and more.
In short, this book could have been five times as large and it would still have kept my interest.
Sprinkled with samples, sketches, and photographs, the book merely scratches the surface of what could have been explored in its pages; but what is there seemed a good snack, and a concise overview.
I love how the "nerdy" side of things is not much overlooked in this book, but is included in the treatment of each project. Not only the artwork itself and its subjects are touched upon, but also the difficulties and triumphs met by Walt and his team in technical areas regarding camera work, evolving developments in animation, audio-animatronic figures, transit systems, and more.
In short, this book could have been five times as large and it would still have kept my interest.
February 25, 2018
What this book did it did very well. However, it was not what I was looking for. Much of the descriptions of TV shows and movie bits just seemed to be lists of reviews of movies. There's nothing wrong with this and the artwork included is marvellous. The issue is that I was hoping this would go into the ways that the movies were made more than it did. A further issue that I had with this was that it made it seem, in most cases, like there were no slip-ups in the path of the company, other than 'The Black Cauldron'. There were plenty of financial issues and issues with unions and stuff which would have been interesting to delve into - it makes it seem like Walt Disney was some kind of genius who was never wrong which is simply false as no one is like that. Regardless, it's a very pretty book and I would recommend it if you like anything Disney, no matter how dedicated you are.
June 5, 2022
I guess I was hoping for a little less “these are the plots of various Disney movies” and a little more “these are the unique and original challenges the creators faced in this relatively new storytelling medium and these were their ingenious solutions to those challenges.” The character analyses were quite interesting though, and you almost have to wonder if Finch wished he was writing a different book entirely.
But what I really took from this is that what I really need is a full-length book about the making of Disney Land and, even more so, Disney World.
But what I really took from this is that what I really need is a full-length book about the making of Disney Land and, even more so, Disney World.
January 17, 2020
I found this book incredibly enlightening into Walt Disney's life, although at times the description lacked information - telling us, for example, that one film was an innovation (having previously explained us the reasons why we can call it an innovation) but wasn't the success that the company was expecting, this time without telling us how and the possible reasons why it wasn't. Very detailed book, appart from those few instances.
July 10, 2021
Some of the best, most lavish Disney artwork I've ever seen in a book, especially one from the 70s. This book was massive.. It gave some decent background information on the animated films and shorts (though some classics, like "The Old Mill" and "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," were neglected), but nothing that isn't covered in more depth in other animation books. The sections on the live-action films and theme parks were more informative.
February 11, 2024
I was a little disappointed when I got the concise edition in the post but still it was a good read. It gave a slim-ish overview of a few things I had learnt already through Disney's biography and Fairest One Of All. Still, some new info here and there has helped enlighten me on a few things I didn't realise before.
March 6, 2024
What can I say, the kid in me loves a cool picture book with glossy pages. Obviously, I couldn't resist this snazzy Disney100 edition with the slipcase and shiny everything.
Just a fun, *dare I say* MAGICAL journey through the studio's animation history from inception to Toy Story 3 (the product of Disney's own stepchild, Pixar).
Very well written and objective: when discussing a failure, a box office flop or poor character development, the author [surprisingly] called it out without excuses.
Just a fun, *dare I say* MAGICAL journey through the studio's animation history from inception to Toy Story 3 (the product of Disney's own stepchild, Pixar).
Very well written and objective: when discussing a failure, a box office flop or poor character development, the author [surprisingly] called it out without excuses.
June 19, 2022
Amazing and very informative ! I learned about how my childhood favorites came to the big screen and set the stage for what Disney has become today! This was my grandfathers book and I can’t wait to pass it down to my own children and theirs !!
January 31, 2023
What a treasure! You can see all the original ideas behind Walt Disney’s brain child(ren)- I definitely would love to have this as a coffee table/art book! All the nostalgic feels and magic that only comes from Disney came back to me - brilliant!
September 16, 2017
More or less the same as From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast. Not as much info on the parks as I would have liked and really just a retread of what I have already read.
August 25, 2019
Great artwork collection.
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June 23, 2020I have a good feeling about this
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