Here’s some trivia for you.
I am old enough to remember watching Walt Disney cartoon shorts when they were shown at movie theaters. My favorites starred Donald Duck. I can even recall some of the WWII shorts animated by Disney-albeit as reruns on TV before everything got ‘politically correct’.
Even though I was only shy of three years old I vaguely recollect watching the opening of Disneyland on ABC TV in 1955. Art Linkletter hosted the live program. It was a first and as with any live event it had its ‘awkward’ moments.
My mom and I enjoyed watching The Wonderful World of Color/Disney from Disney when it was on TV.
I was also a member of the Mickey Mouse Club. It premiered in 1955. I don’t remember the first shows but by 1958 I was old enough to remember some of them.
Believe it or not I remember most of the Mickey Mouse Club March:
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey there, hi there, ho there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse
Forever let us hold our banner high
High, high, high
Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Mickey Mouse club
We'll have fun, we'll be new faces
High, high, high, high
We'll do things and we'll go places
All around the world
We'll go marching
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E…
Come relive the magic with me of things Disney past and present with four new books from Disney Editions that are guaranteed to bring out the kid in everyone.
Walt Disney Studios is now an international corporation. Disney is everywhere from theme park, movies, TV shows, cable, streaming, books, music, toys, retail outlets, cruises-you name it, Disney does it.
Needless to say there’s a lot to know about Disney. Where to start?
Here’s a suggestion. Pick up a copy of Disney Editions’ Disney A to Z The Official Encyclopedia 5th Edition.
Dave Smith, the Chief archivist Emeritus of Walt Disney Archives, and his staff spent literally hundreds of hours compiling this impressive tome of all things Disney.
Just one look and you can tell it is quite an undertaking. If it’s about Disney, then it’s in this HUGE, thick, hardbound book.
Comprehensive and thorough hardly describe this impressive collection of facts and fun that also includes hundreds of black and white photos.
Updated with 10 more years of history this book is the ultimate Disney guide. People, places, things and events concerning Walt Disney Enterprises are chronicled. It’s 858 pages of pure Disney!
Disney Studios has had huge successes with its live action adaptations of some of its classic animated films.
Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Alice In Wonderland and the Lion King faithfully translated classic animated musicals using real actors combined with visual effects to make updated versions of the films.
But, how do you make a film about a flying elephant in live action?
Leave it director Tim Burton and the magic makers at Disney to do just that in their delightful live adaptation of Dumbo, the baby flying circus elephant.
Danny Devito is just one of the big name stars who lent their talent to this delightful film that captures the heart and soul of the original animated film. It’s pure movie magic.
How did the filmmakers at Disney Studios do it?
Author Leah Gallo and Disney Editions reveal the secrets behind the making of the film in a brand new, deluxe, hardbound book.
The cover alone is almost worth the price of the book. Dumbo flies directly at the reader amidst a red, white and blue striped background with the huge Dumbo logo overhead. Spot varnish makes the images pop.
Tim Burton provides the foreword for the book.
The Art And Making Of Disney Dumbo starts with art from the original 1941 film.
From there the creative team behind the new film breaks down the art, re-imagines images, preplans sequences and begins post production.
Readers are guided through the entire film process courtesy of the very informative and secret revealing text.
Included in the book are concept art pieces, scene visualizations, set designs, costume designs, period set dressings and setups, special effects preparation and digital imaging.
Learn about the choice of actors, the lighting, location shooting, the incredible special and visual effects, the soundtrack and much more.
It is a wondrous journey through the film making process made even more fascinating by the scope and scale of the undertaking such a massive product.
Dumbo lives and you’ll believe an elephant can really fly!
I love Pop-Up books! I have several and it always fascinates me how book designers and artists can take flat pieces of colored paper and using folds, perforations, hinges and other Pop-Up secrets can create delightful 3D sculpture from 2D images.
Disney Editions has really outdone itself in what I consider one of the best (if not the best) Pop-Up books I have ever seen.
Author Matthew Reinhart has created a plethora of Pop-Ups in PIXAR A Pop-Up Celebration and what a celebration it is!
The large hardbound book comes in a transparent slipcase to protect the amazing book. An additional single sheet insert protects the back of the book.
Get ready for a delightful visual journey as you open the first page.
Inside the author introduces readers the genesis of PIXAR films. Beginning with 1995’s Toy Story film the book provides plenty of Pop-Up surprises and delightful fun.
Pages break down PIXAR’s film by the year they were released.
The two-page spreads provide foldout Pop-Up of articles associated with PIXAR films such as its trademark desk lamp, computer, etc.
Each film (Usually three to four per two-page foldout) has a small foldout Pop-Up dedicated to it along with some film reel Pop-Ups providing extra film art.
Although only measuring 4 1/2 X 5 inches each film foldout Pop-Up is extremely elaborate in its complexity. For example, check out The Incredibles Pop-Up. WOW!
Short text snippets guide readers through the film history of PIXAR.
It’s hard to describe just how complex this book is. The sheer amount of manpower to construct each Pop-Up is mind-blowing. I can see myself spending hours with my grandchildren pouring over each and every page and Pop-Up. I can hardly wait.
There are instances where God graciously grants individuals the ability to do amazing things few of us can accomplish. Genius is a mysterious and wonderful thing.
Compared to the huge population of the earth only a small percentage of people possess genius.
One such individual is animator/ illustator/paiinter/designer Marc Davis- a longtime Disney animator and Imagineer.
Diehard Disney fans are familiar with his work. He is considered by many to be the best of the best of Disney’s animators and creative minds. I have to agree.
The sheer volume of his work is amazing, as is his incredible imagination.
As a graphic designer and illustrator I marvel at his uncanny ability to imagine and put down on paper his concepts. Even more amazing is how long he did it.
Most artists start to burn out as they grow older. Not Marc Davis-if anything his imagination and skill increased, as did his output.
In Marc Davis In His Own Words Imagineering The Disney Theme Parks authors Pete Docter and Christopher Merritt lead readers though two huge volumes containing Marc’s work.
Both volumes are contained in an oversize hardbound slipcase festooned it Marc’s art.
Volume 1 starts out with Marc’s early work on some of Disneyland’s rides.
Concept art finished illustrations, set pieces, ride mechanics, fully realized animatronic robots, interactive elements and more are discussed, analyzed and broken down.
What’s remarkable is that anything like this had never been done before.
Amusement parks may have had a few moving set pieces but nothing compared to the scale and complexity of what Marc Davis and his creative collaborators had in mind.
Imagine creating such classic rides like The Haunted Mansion, Pirates Of The Caribbean and dozens more.
Pages are packed with concept art and sketches, color studies, set designs, costume concepts, facial and body sculptures and inner mechanical workings.
New computer technology was incorporated as were lighting designs requiring precisions timing and sequencing.
The second volume follows the first concentrating on later designs for not only Disneyland but also Disneyworld and Walt Disney theme attractions.
My mind is absolutely boggled by the sheer volume of work accomplished!
Behind-the-scenes photos of staff and production people and facilities are also included as are concepts and art for projects that never got off the ground.
Readers will see the creative process and concept art and sculpts for entire themed lands.
Imagineers were responsible for conceptualizing how a ride is laid out and timed so that each individual rider experiences sequences without being distracted by what has gone before or what is about to come.
It’s an impressive feat of engineering and time management.
There’s signage, storyboards, completed art and set setups, live action sequences, personnel costumes and the consistent feel and atmosphere for each ride such as The Haunted Mansion.
What massive undertakings!
I have to admit I’m a bit jealous of the talent of Mr. Davis. I can imagine what it must have been like working with and for him. Talk about a learning opportunity!
Everything he touched was first-class from his sketches to his final ride designs. Every facet of each project was fine-tuned to the last note. Colors, lighting, visual and atmospheric effects, set deigns and dressings-the list goes on and one.
For an amazing journey into the mind and creativity of a man with a vision like no other this is the book that provides it all.
Sadly Mr. Davis is no longer with us but his legacy and genius live on.
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