The Disney That Never Was: The Stories and Art of Five Decades of Unproduced Animation

by Charles Solomon

Disney artists worked on many projects, both shorts and feature-length films, and their rich and varied work - whether in the form of concept art, animation drawings, storyboards, or gags - is a testament to the quality and innovation the studio achieved, even on unfinished projects. After a brief Introduction examining how the studio operated during Walt Disney's day, Solomon surveys the many categories of uncompleted film, illustrating each with beautiful examples of work by the staff Mickey, Donald, and Goofy shorts; Fairy Tale Projects like Hans Christian Andersen tales and the ambitious feature Chanticleer and Reynard; wartime propaganda films; early versions of Fantasia, and later efforts to expand elements of the film; and projects ranging from Hiawatha to Destino, a fantastic and unlikely collaboration between Disney and Salvador Dali.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

214 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1995

Reviews

[Drew Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book at a sidewalk sale many years ago and leafed through the pages, but I've always been curious about what stories it actually has to tell. This book is a history of Walt Disney Animation with an emphasis on abandoned feature-length and short film projects, including Chanticleer, Hiawatha, a Hans Christian Andersen biography (including hilarious art for The Emperor's New Clothes, a beautiful take on The Emperor's Nightingale and a very early version of The Little Mermaid), several attempts at Don Quixote, and numerous alternate segments for Fantasia (or its intended successive films in the "Concert Feature" series, including ballets featuring bugs or babies, an epic telling of The Ride of the Valkyries and the grim The Swan of Tuonela), as well as a great deal of wartime training, patriotic and propaganda films.

Unfortunately the real appeal of this book IS the pictures, as the text is actually pretty dry and a little boring. The idea is interesting (a basic history of Walt Disney and his history, how he revolutionized and expanded the artform of animation, but focusing on a lot of the story ideas and concepts that were developed to a certain point but then abandoned for whatever reason, which in some cases feels like a real shame), but the method is a little dull. My main problems with this book were organization and expected content. The illustrations didn't match up with the text--There would be a description of a film that was at one time being developed, but the corresponding illustrations would appear several pages before or after. Sometimes the described artwork wouldn't appear at all! I understand and appreciate that the author did a great deal of research, but he would often describe intriguing concept artwork, only to never actually show some of it in the pages. You would expect the book to display the drawings the author evidently unearthed during the research and writing process. But reading this book did inspire me to look into and watch some really old animated shorts online, so it did help further my animation education. I appreciated the author's honest picture of Walt himself, and it's interesting to read about how Walt sort of lost interest in animation just when the film canon would indicate that he was at the top of his game (he felt limited by repetition and the pressure to please the public, and his attention turned more toward theme parks and television). It makes sense, since Disney was the ultimate innovator, but it's a perspective that isn't often expressed. The text is also a little dated, and it's interesting how many of these story ideas actually have by now come to the screen in some form or another, whether by Disney or another studio (i.e. Destino, Chanticleer in Don Bluth's Rock-A-Doodle, and some elements of the discarded Fantasia and Silly Symphony segments).

This wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't as amazing as it could (and should) have been. It was kind of hard to get through the text, though some of the full-page illustrations and concept artwork were really beautiful. It's too bad that some of these films were never made, I'm sure they would have been awesome.

[☮ morgan ☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We've got more in this medium than making people laugh - we can do both"

The artwork was nice, but the way this book was formatted was not for me. The pieces being discussed weren't on the same page, so you would have to search for the artwork on other pages which could be annoying. With this book being released in 1995 it was pretty entertaining hearing them talk about certain people, while having modern knowledge of their time with the company.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved seeing all the gorgeous artwork that never ended up turning into something we saw onscreen, and the stories behind them. Especially the words of Walt himself. My only request is that MAYBE we could get an updated edition on abandoned projects since 1995, when the book was published, and which includes Pixar-- that would be great.

[David Krebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations alone make this an amazing books. Also, the accompanying stories make for an interesting read.There are so many unique films that were never made that its rather depressing! I wish Disney would revisit some of these ideas and use them , as they seem to have run out of fresh ideas...just my opinion.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information! What killed the book for me was the layout. Often there would be pictures of something that isn’t talked about for three or four pages.

[Judah · Rating 4 out of 5]

after longing to read this fabled and long out of print volume, I finally thought to interlibrary loan it. Good choice, I'm just a bit disappointed on how pedestrian it is. the text is nice, but rather bland---- Disney 101 with interspersed new material. Annoyingly when the text does cover unproduced films, relating pictures are often pages before or after and reappear at random. I have a feeling just a few folders of material was given the OK, and just threaded out as very interesting padding. while I shouldn't really complain seeing how this could have never been published, there is a ton more material that could have been covered. how about Oz (which was in and out of animation for 30 years)? and the book seems to ignore the early versions of features that eventually did get made ( like the live action alices, including the Lewis Carroll bio pic from the 40s, or the dozen versions of Black Cauldron or Arthurian films that bubbled over those painfully long productions?). those that do get featured, of some they give a good juicy history of, and others are passed over quickly (like the Mary Blair projects). in all it was nice, but like a mixed basket (when you know the good stuff is still shelved away at the ARL).

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I didn't have time to fully read this book, the pictures themselves are enlightening for a Disney lover. Many ideas were dreamed up at Walt Disney Studios—characters developed, storyboards created, and meetings to discuss their possibilities, all documented by notes of the meetings. And that is what is so unusual—that all these ideas were treated like they had value and through the years all this information was safely kept for future reference. It was in these files that Roy E. Disney found the sketches and notes for The Steadfast Tin Soldier that was used in Fantasia 2000. And at that same time, where he also unearthed the work for Destino, a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. Destino was completed (you can find it on YouTube). I actually saw it on a cruise I took in 2007 and was at that time only offered through an art gallery. This book is filled with beautiful sketches and the stories behind them of uncompleted projects and ideas, from the studio that contributed to some of the richest animation ever created.

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are no surprises in this book, it's exactly what the title sounds like. It's a history of both Disney and the animated film industry at varying times, chronicling the ups and downs, how the cartoons were scripted and made, why some pieces were never produced.

It's actually a very interesting look in Disney and that could have been. There are no really big projects--nothing like another princess, but wartime films, a Fantasia sequel, lots of Mickey/Donald/Goofy shorts, and other stories.

I rated this a solid three because I was hoping for more of an emphasis on the art--and it's not all highly stylized cartoons and caricatures, there is a lot of absolutely gorgeous stuff. But I'm no a big Disney buff, and I recognize its target audience probably wasn't me.

[Vimacone · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book filled with artwork from various cartoon shorts and features that never saw the light of day. My only complaints are the organization of the material as artwork from any given production is scattered throughout the book. The text also isn't too well focused on the subject manner, but is still informative. The unproduced shorts and features mentioned in this book are only the tip of the iceberg. There are remains of several other projects that never saw the light of day in the Disney archives and in personal collections, some which can be found elsewhere on the net or in other publications.
Overall, a book on this subject would be a whole lot better if it were written by John Canemaker or JB Kaufman, but for what it's worth, I recommend looking into it.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating read for a Disney fan. I read a lot about the Disney that is, but I didn't know much about abandoned projects, which is where this book came in handy. The information was interesting, but I wish there could have been more pages of artwork, more pictures and less text.