What do you think?
How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever
224 pages, Hardcover
Published January 10, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2026
There have been numerous books written about Walt Disney over the years. Is there a need for another? Andrew Stanley Kiste said yes and wrote this book, which is more about the animation process and the innovations he made in the early days of animation technology. Coming at this book as a child who grew up with Disney movies at the local theater in the summer, I was surprised to learn that a number of films that are now considered to be classics didn’t do so well with critics or audiences when they were first released.
Kiste dives into Walt’s background, but it’s not a biography. This is provided to show where his innovations and inspiration came from. Walt was a dreamer, and his dreams fit perfectly into the time he lived. Walt also learned from his mistakes, such as losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was after this that he and his brother Roy built their own studio and innovated over and over again in the field of animation.
There’s a lot of technical information in How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever. Some of it was lost on me, but the many challenges that Disney put out there during the creative process allowed for the innovations as the movie industry evolved in the first half of the 10th century. It was astounding to realize, before computers, that everything was hand-drawn. It wasn’t one artist who crafted a film or a character, but hundreds. Often, they didn’t receive credit in the film itself. Walt prided himself on running a studio more like a family, but some of the artists there didn’t feel that way.
All this and more is what makes up How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever. It makes for a good overview of animation history in general, and how Walt changed the entire industry with his ideas and vision. There are personal anecdotes in here as well, but the focus is mostly on the studio and the animation it produced.
To read my complete review, please go to How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever by Andrew Stanley Kiste – How Walt Disney Revolutionized Animation Techniques
Kiste dives into Walt’s background, but it’s not a biography. This is provided to show where his innovations and inspiration came from. Walt was a dreamer, and his dreams fit perfectly into the time he lived. Walt also learned from his mistakes, such as losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It was after this that he and his brother Roy built their own studio and innovated over and over again in the field of animation.
There’s a lot of technical information in How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever. Some of it was lost on me, but the many challenges that Disney put out there during the creative process allowed for the innovations as the movie industry evolved in the first half of the 10th century. It was astounding to realize, before computers, that everything was hand-drawn. It wasn’t one artist who crafted a film or a character, but hundreds. Often, they didn’t receive credit in the film itself. Walt prided himself on running a studio more like a family, but some of the artists there didn’t feel that way.
All this and more is what makes up How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever. It makes for a good overview of animation history in general, and how Walt changed the entire industry with his ideas and vision. There are personal anecdotes in here as well, but the focus is mostly on the studio and the animation it produced.
To read my complete review, please go to How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever by Andrew Stanley Kiste – How Walt Disney Revolutionized Animation Techniques
October 18, 2025
Pen and Sword provided an early galley for review.
Regulars know I grew up on Disney and have read a number of books about the man, the studio, the films and the parks. Time to check out another.
Right out of the gate, Kiste makes it known that everything he included came from factual information. I do appreciate a well-researched nonfiction book. I enjoyed the indepth discussion of the creative process and the business dealings that took place to get the first cartoons seen by the public. These behind the scenes details will appeal to anyone who is interested in the early decades of film and Hollywood.
Of course, there is lots of discussion on the making of the earliest (and now classic) full-length animated features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and so many more. It was interesting to learn that several films had rpugh roads to release and that not all were well-received on their first theater runs.
The appendix at the end, summarizing awards nominations and wins, and the many pages of supporting pictures were a welcome bonus to tie the package together.
Regulars know I grew up on Disney and have read a number of books about the man, the studio, the films and the parks. Time to check out another.
Right out of the gate, Kiste makes it known that everything he included came from factual information. I do appreciate a well-researched nonfiction book. I enjoyed the indepth discussion of the creative process and the business dealings that took place to get the first cartoons seen by the public. These behind the scenes details will appeal to anyone who is interested in the early decades of film and Hollywood.
Of course, there is lots of discussion on the making of the earliest (and now classic) full-length animated features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and so many more. It was interesting to learn that several films had rpugh roads to release and that not all were well-received on their first theater runs.
The appendix at the end, summarizing awards nominations and wins, and the many pages of supporting pictures were a welcome bonus to tie the package together.
October 31, 2025
🧚♀️ Wishes do come true! 🧚♀️
How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever by Andrew Stanley Kiste was a lovely book and a great book for disney fans out there. This was a book that will tell you everything you need to know about the greatest man "Walter Elias Disney,"
of all times, a man who made children smile when they watch his Disney Movies, and make memories watching them over and over again and talk about them when they become old and grey!!!!
This book had lots of discussion on the making of the earliest and now classic's full-length animated features:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Fantasia, Jungle book and so many more.
It was interesting to learn that several films did not make it and was not popular they were not well received when they first came out at the cinema/movies etc but became classic's later, then loved.
The appendix at the end, summarizing awards nominations and wins, and the many pages of supporting pictures were a welcome bonus to tie the package together.
The only gripe I have with this book, there should have been more pictures and these should have been throughout the book in the chapters of the subject the author was telling. Not at the end!
This would have made this book more enjoyable especially if you are reading and sharing memories with your children, grand children or even parents and grandparents etc.
How Walt Disney Changed Animation Forever by Andrew Stanley Kiste was a lovely book and a great book for disney fans out there. This was a book that will tell you everything you need to know about the greatest man "Walter Elias Disney,"
of all times, a man who made children smile when they watch his Disney Movies, and make memories watching them over and over again and talk about them when they become old and grey!!!!
This book had lots of discussion on the making of the earliest and now classic's full-length animated features:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Fantasia, Jungle book and so many more.
It was interesting to learn that several films did not make it and was not popular they were not well received when they first came out at the cinema/movies etc but became classic's later, then loved.
The appendix at the end, summarizing awards nominations and wins, and the many pages of supporting pictures were a welcome bonus to tie the package together.
The only gripe I have with this book, there should have been more pictures and these should have been throughout the book in the chapters of the subject the author was telling. Not at the end!
This would have made this book more enjoyable especially if you are reading and sharing memories with your children, grand children or even parents and grandparents etc.
November 5, 2025
A very well researched and written biography behind the man who made most of our dreams come true by his stunningly animated feature films. Walt Disney changed most of our lives and the way we view fairy tales and life as a whole.
Learning about his humble beings as a Missouri boy that moved to Los Angeles to created one of the most iconic cartoon characters known today. We take a look at how he developed his animation studio to the way he created the Disney Parks and learning about his relationship with his wife and children.
This book is a great way to learn about Walt and is a fantastic read for any Disney fan! I couldn't recommend this autobiography enough.
I received this ARC book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
#HowWaltDisneyChangedAnimationForever #NetGalley
Learning about his humble beings as a Missouri boy that moved to Los Angeles to created one of the most iconic cartoon characters known today. We take a look at how he developed his animation studio to the way he created the Disney Parks and learning about his relationship with his wife and children.
This book is a great way to learn about Walt and is a fantastic read for any Disney fan! I couldn't recommend this autobiography enough.
I received this ARC book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
#HowWaltDisneyChangedAnimationForever #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the ARC!
A really thorough and well researched biography about the man that forever changed animation. From the people that were casted to voice characters, to the animators behind the projects to marketers. Its very detailed and has most if not every single person and what they have done included. Learning about Walt was so interesting and fascinating to see just how many people are actually involved in the production of Disney's big boom. I wish the pictures could have been interwoven between the pages like others have mentioned, but I still believe this was a well done recount of Walt's life and the manpower behind Disney's success.
A really thorough and well researched biography about the man that forever changed animation. From the people that were casted to voice characters, to the animators behind the projects to marketers. Its very detailed and has most if not every single person and what they have done included. Learning about Walt was so interesting and fascinating to see just how many people are actually involved in the production of Disney's big boom. I wish the pictures could have been interwoven between the pages like others have mentioned, but I still believe this was a well done recount of Walt's life and the manpower behind Disney's success.
January 28, 2026
DNF'd halfway through. While some of the information was new and interesting, it wasn't presented in an interesting way.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews