Book Review: Walt's Time by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman

Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. 1998, 252 pages.

The Sherman Brothers need little introduction to Disney fans. Prolific composers of music for films and theme park attractions, they have written some of the most memorable songs in Disney history.

This book, which looks at their long career, finally saw the light of day after the Sherman Brothers met Bruce Gordon and Dave Mumford. Just like The Nickel Tour, publishers felt that there was no commercial appeal in this book. Bruce and David had self-published The Nickel Tour and thought that they could do the same with Walt's Time. The Sherman Brothers, after shopping the book around since 1981, had worked with Jeff Kurtti to have a majority of it written. Bruce and Dave met with Jeff and they agreed to self-publish. The Sherman Brothers were thrilled to work with Bruce, David and Jeff.

The book was created to resemble a scrapbook of their career. It starts with their first day on the Disney lot where they land the title song for the Parent Trap while auditioning a song for the Horsemasters. It then launches through the highlights of a majority of their Disney work. The middle section is dedicated to their father, Al and looks at everything that he published and his successes. During the section on their father, they look at their family history and how Al Sherman influenced his children. It is obvious from Walt's Time that the Sherman Brothers were profoundly influenced by their father and Walt Disney. When the brothers speak of either man, the text is filled with love, gratitude and wonder.

The third section details more of their work with the Disney Company, before and after Walt's passing. It also looks at the body of work they have done since leaving the company. Stage productions, theatrical work and animated films make up the bulk of their work in the '70's, 80's and 90's.

The Brothers spend a lot of time discussing their interactions with Walt Disney and how Walt was an amazing and optimistic person. The song There's a Great, Big Beautiful Tomorrow was inspired by Walt Disney. Their proudest moments include It's a Small World and Mary Poppins. They wrote the songs for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after receiving Walt's blessings to work on the outside project. Albert Broccoli (producer of the Bond movies) also owned the rights to Fleming's children's novel about the car. Broccoli brought the idea to Walt, who declined saying he had too much on his plate and wanted more creative control. After the success of Mary Poppins, Broccoli gathered most of the creative team that had worked on Mary Poppins. The Brothers were also involved with two of the biggest animated films of the 60's as well: The Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

Obviously, the Sherman Brothers' influence has been felt greatly in the theme parks. The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, Magic Highways, Magic Journeys, Makin' Memories, Astuter Computer Review, the Best Time of Your Life and Miracles From Molecules.

Looking at everything the Sherman Brothers have done is a tad bit overwhelming!

Bottom Line: I enjoyed this book and was completely astounded by how prolific the Sherman Brothers actually are. The book is designed beautifully and features awards, personal recollections and photos from every period of their career (just like a scrapbook!). This is book is clearly for music fans, fans of the Sherman Brothers and fans of Disney films from the 1960's.

Book Review: Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness at Disneyland Park by Van Arsdale France

Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness at Disneyland Park by Van Arsdale France. 1991, 129 Pages.

Van Arsdale France, Disney Legend and member of the pre-opening cast at Disneyland, has a window on Main Street at Disneyland (hence the book title). The window was originally installed above the former Tobacco Shop. Currently, the window is above an empty spot between the Magic Shop and Great American Pastimes. Van was at the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. He was responsible for the overall development of the training programs and is considered the Founder and Professor Emeritus of Disney University. As recounted in the book, Van hired Dick Nunis as a gofer back in 1955. Years later, Dick would be the president of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Van returned to the company as Dick's staff assistant (professional term of gofer). Lesson learned? Always be nice to your staff--you never know when they might be your boss! Van passed away in 1999 in California.

Published in 1991, Van recounts his long and storied career with Disney. The work is full of anecdotes that are told chronologically. From meeting Walt the first time to the introduction of Eisner and Wells. The book is presented as a biography but is really more of a collection of anecdotes. As Van states, he had tried to publish this book in the 1970's, only to find himself heavily involved in the opening of Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.He revisited the idea in 1985. With Dick Nunis' approval and Disneyland's 35th Anniversary approaching, Van dusted off and "...reworked that old, dust-covered book." (p. 6)

Van looks mainly at his story at Disneyland. In the beginning, he was hired to create Disneyland's first employee training session--the very first session was attended by Roy Disney, the Vice President of Bank of America and major executives of Disneyland sponsors. Talk about a tough crowd! Roy approved and thus launched the beginnings of Disney training.

In that first session, Van and Dick created the training, the manual and all visual aids on a shoestring budget. The theme was We'll Create Happiness. The rest of the manual includes the following areas:

• It All Started With a Mouse
• The Magic Mirror of Your Smile
• It's Been My Pleasure
• We Don't Have "Customers", We Serve "Guests"
• We are "Hosts" and "Hostesses"
• There's No Such Thing as a "Dumb Question"
• Everyone's a V.I.P.
• The Disneyland Look
• Disneyland Taboos
• We Work While Others Play
• Team Work is Essential

From there, Van recounts the major points in Disneyland's history and his opinion and thoughts on those events. For a two-year period, Van left Disney and worked with C.V. Wood on the Pleasure Island Park in Massachusetts and the Freedomland Park in New York. After the hiatus, Van was rehired by Dick at Disneyland. From there, the Disneyland University was officially begun. It would see many changes throughout the years, but the basic philosophy would remain the same. My favorite parts of the book were the stories about Roy; you get the feeling that Roy truly loved Walt and did everything in his power to make all of Walt's dreams successful. Van never saw himself on the creative side and always felt an affinity for Roy and Dick Nunis. It is obvious that these two men were thought highly by Van.

The book is divided into major chronological sections with small stories presented back-to-back. It is a quick and easy read. At various points, you will find yourself laughing out loud. For me, I found myself wishing to be a part of the early years of Disneyland. Van finishes with a look at the changes and excitement brought by Eisner and Wells.

I would like to thank Van--posthumously. If he hadn't decided to keep his "diary," there would be a lot of lost stories. And this book is a great collection of stories.

Bottom Line: This book is a fun and a great look back at one man's long career with Disney but it isn't for everyone. I would recommend this work for the Disney enthusiast that wants to learn more about what it was like working in the organization and seeing how it grew. The anecdotes are charming and you do get a good sense of how Disney grew and evolved over the years.

Book Review: Queens In the Kingdom

Jennifer, from the entertaining, insightful and often irreverent site Broke Hoedown, agreed to do our latest Be Our Guest Post. Instead of a regular article or post, I asked Jennifer to review Queens in the Kingdom,a gay and lesbian travel guide to Disney. Jennifer describes her blog:

She’s also noticed that most Disney fan sites require participants to keep everything PG at all times. Jennifer herself is rated NC-17, and while she can keep it in check when she needs to, why bother in her own personal blog? She hopes that a few people here and there might enjoy her blog, but doesn’t promise that it’ll always be appropriate reading for children. She’s also not the type to keep her political opinions to herself, so they’ll show up here too.

I have been a fan of Broke Hoedown since we started Imaginerding. Jennifer has been blogging for a long time! She is also one half of Those Darn Cats, a semi-weekly podcast that, in their own words, rambles. But it is always a lot of fun!

Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks by Jeffrey Epstein and Eddie Shapiro (2006, 403 pages)

I saw this book when it first came out, but didn’t pick up a copy until after I’d heard the authors on one of my favorite podcasts, WDW Today. I figured, hey, I don’t need a queer guide to the Disney Parks. I know how to tour the parks, Disney’s a fairly gay-welcoming destination, what do these guys have to tell me?

Well, as it turns out, they’ve got plenty to tell me, and you might just be interested in a bit of this yourself, regardless of your personal sexual orientation. Queens in the Kingdom should really be required reading for any irreverent Disney fan, for those of us with a slightly offbeat aesthetic. Obsessive Disney trip planners won’t find it a likely replacement for books such as The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (my personal fave basic text for WDW trip planning), but should instead consider it a companion piece, for when you just need a bit more fabulous, a slightly less mainstream look at our beloved parks.

Queens in the Kingdom is an overview of Disney Parks worldwide, plus the Disney Cruise Line. Predictably, the Orlando and Anaheim locations comprise the vast majority of the content, with brief teasers about Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. There are also brief reviews of other nearby attractions in Southern California and Orlando. Most Walt Disney World and Disneyland attractions are reviewed, as are many resorts and restaurants, with “Fairy Facts” dispersed liberally throughout the guide. Were it not for this guide, I might never have known that the Indiana Jones figure in the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction has nipples, and perhaps the world is a richer place because they have shared this information with us all.

On a sadder note, this guide is also where I learned that a group of (presumably gay) men were harassed by other Guests at my default Disney resort, Pop Century. I of course am hoping that this was an isolated incident. It does though provide a reminder that there are special travel considerations for same-sex couples (and individuals who are perceived as queer, regardless of their actual orientation), and this guide does provide those tips. Scattered throughout the book are tips about quiet places where one might have the privacy to hold hands or even share a quick smooch with one’s sweetie. While these tips may be appreciated even by the heterosexually-inclined, they’re more important for those for whom any publicly-displayed affection might trigger harassing or even violent reactions from other Guests.

The back pages of the book include a “Compare and Contrast” of the attractions located at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. It’s a brief section, and Lord knows plenty of us have mentally constructed such lists ourselves, but the authors’ aesthetic provides welcome humor. The difference between Disneyland’s Astro Orbitor and Walt Disney World’s Astro Orbiter? One vowel, they tell us, and leave the rest open to debate.

Bottom Line: Important resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Disney travelers. An amusing and irreverent read for everybody. Hipster Disneyphiles, this should be in your bookcase!

Thanks, Jennifer! Be sure to stop by Broke Hoedown and leave her some Disney Geek love!

Book Review: Walt Disney World, The First Decade

Walt Disney World, The First Decade (1982, 128 p.)

Looking for a fairly inexpensive and photo-filled look at the first 10 years of Walt Disney World?

This book is for you!

A cross between an annual guide, PR piece and corporate history, this is a fascinating look at the first ten years (well, it does cover the construction--closer to the first 15 years) of the Walt Disney World project. As per most titles on the subject, there is general coverage of the Company, Disneyland and the early progress on Walt Disney World. After the introduction, the book takes off on a leisurely, but extensive, look at everything during the first ten years.

The book focuses heavily on the Magic Kingdom and looks at each land in detail--with descriptions and lots of pictures. In-ride photos, photo-ops with celebrities from the 1970's and views of the park make up a majority of the pictures. Trust me, you will open this book many times just to take a virtual trip back to a Magic Kingdom that is no more.

Remember the Greenhouse on Center Street?

The Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts each get about five pages apiece in their coverage; lots of views of the lobbies and guest recreation areas. It is one of the few places to get basic info about the Golf Resort, the Lake Buena Vista Resort Community, the Village Marketplace and it is also one of the few places where you can visit River Country one last time. Fort Wilderness and the Tri-Circle-D Ranch are covered in wonderful detail. The photographs and details available in this book about the Walt Disney World resort are simply astounding.

What is really going to excite the Disney Geek is the behind the scenes information that Disney was so keen to publish before Epcot. Especially when they were trying to show off the new technologies that were promised as a result of the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The state of the art reservation center, the Central Energy Plant, the water reclamation center and the environmental planning (canals, ecology and conservation) are all given coverage.

The very last section is a short look at Epcot. Can you spot the missing Pavilion in the picture?

Bottom Line: This is a wonderful read and a must for every Disney Geek. If you were able to visit Walt Disney World before 1985, many of the descriptions and pictures will be a walk down memory lane. If you weren't lucky enough (or born yet) to visit Walt Disney World in the 1970's, then this book will provide many of the details of lost attractions, shops and aspects of WDW that are long gone or have changed. It is a look back a simpler, more relaxed Walt Disney World. From the standpoint of historical documentation (even though it is corporate), this book is a must for any serious scholar of Walt Disney World.

It looks like every copy I had linked to sold out, so I pulled the other Amazon links and added them to the page. Get 'em while they're hot!

Book Review: Walt Disney and the Quest for Community

Walt Disney and the Quest for Community by Steve Mannheim (2003, 199 pages).

Steve Mannheim has written a wonderful academic treatise on Walt Disney and Walt's dream for Epcot. The focus of the book is the Epcot City, the development of the ideas and their ultimate fruition. Although the title is treated as an academic work, it can almost be considered a page-turner. Steve has done an impressive job of distilling New Urbanism concepts into a readable and understandable read (for us laymen).

The genesis for the book was when a friend of Mr. Mannheim had described Walt's plan for another project after Disneyland about a city of tomorrow--where Epcot Center is today. This was the mid-1980's and there was not a lot of published information at the time. So, Mr. Mannheim began his research. Steven Mannheim holds a doctorate in planning and development. His current professional practices include real estate economics and development.

As I stated in my review of Realityland, there is not a lot published on the history of Walt Disney World. This titles adds greatly to the literature and provides a solid focus on Epcot the City, its history, development and changes.

The work starts with a look at Walt and the germination of the idea. There is a lot of focus on where Walt was, mentally and sociologically, as he began planning the Florida Project (also known as Project X). Mr. Mannheim deftly takes us through the history and theories that Walt was discovering about New Cities, Garden Cities and urban development. With the success of Disneyland, Walt felt vindicated that he could cure the ails of modern society.

The biggest issue? Control.

With Disneyland, Walt was able to push through the City Council to meet a lot of the building demands of Disneyland. With the Florida Project, he knew he needed more control. The book outlines what Walt, Roy and the leaders of the Disney Company were able to secure and create after Walt's passing. Mr. Mannheim spent a lot of time interviewing key members of the Company, the State of Florida, local government and Disney cast members. He provides a detailed look at how Disney (the company) figured out what to do after building Phase I of Walt Disney World.

In looking at any historically-based research title, you have to consider the sources cited. Mr. Mannheim devotes 140 pages to the text and the remaining 59 to research notes and the bibliography. To a librarian and Disney Geek, this connotes a vast level of research on Mr. Mannheim's part. My only issue with the sources cited, is that a lot of the citations are from interviews conducted by the author. As of this review, the interviews have not been published. Talk about a dream publication! Mr. Mannheim, if you are out there, I would love to read the interviews that you have conducted.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed this title. The book is presented as an academic work but it is still an enthralling read and you can't put it down. Mr. Mannheim easily presents mundane concepts about planning and design and correlates them into the foundations of Disneyland and what we can surmise about Epcot the City. I would love to read the transcripts for all of the interviews that were conducted--there must be a vast goldmine of Walt Disney World-related history on those interviews. After reading this title, you will gain a vast appreciation for Walt's original ideas and the presentation of Walt Disney World as we know it. This title is geared more towards the serious Walt fanatic and the Epcot junkie. But if you like city planning, the origins of Epcot or theories about what could have happened--you will enjoy this book.

Book Review: Disneyland, The Nickel Tour

Disneyland the Nickel Tour: A Postcard Journey Through a Half Century of the Happiest Place on Earth Bruce Gordon, David Mumford, Roger Le Roque and Nick Farago.

Let me start this review with the following statement: This is the most prized book in my collection.

I'll try not to be too biased. It is also the most expensive and one of the hardest to come by. In the Afterwords section of Walt's Time, Bruce explains how The Nickel Tour came to be:

We talked to every publisher we could find, and heard the same story, word for word.
No Commercial Potential. No audience. No Market. No Deal.

They put the book together themselves: Scanned all of the cards, did the layout of every page and had it printed in Italy. They lugged the books to every convention and sold them through mail-order.

And guess what: we sold every book we printed.

--p. 241, Bruce Gordon, Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond

Disneyland, the Nickel Tour is a look at the first 45 years of Disneyland's history seen through the postcards of the park. In addition to Randy Bright's wonderful Disneyland the Inside Story, The Nickel Tour stands as one of the two most comprehensive books about Disneyland's history. Where it edges out Mr. Bright' work is that The Nickel Tour does cover the past 20 years. Unfortunately, Mr. Bright passed away in 1990 and a second edition is not forthcoming. Bruce Gordon, the primary writer of The Nickel Tour, was an Imagineer and started with the Company in 1980. Mr. Gordon co-authored many books about Disney and there are several that will be published posthumously later this year. Mr. Gordon passed away in November 2007. As it stands, the second edition of The Nickel Tour will probably be the last.

The Nickel Tour is an amazing work on so many different levels: the postcard images, the photographs of attractions that weren't released in postcard form, the historical information and the writing. They begin by sharing pre-opening cards and work their way through the history of Disneyland. One of Gordon and Mumford's strengths is that they write well and can take something as simple as post cards and turn it into an epic look at a theme park. The writing never gets technical and is always filled with reverence, love and a little remorse. Occasionally, they slip in some humor. It is always fitting and they obvious love word-play. The following paragraph could have been presented as just a litany of facts, but they went a different way with it.

On the left hand side of Main Street, we encounter the Sunkist Citrus House. Long before this view was taken, the Citrus House had actually been two separate stores, one housing "Sunny View Jams and Jellies" and the other housing the "Puffin Bake Shop." By October of 1958, Disneyland had canned the jam and jelly shop and opened a candy store in its place. It was a sweet deal until June of 1960, when the Puffin Bake Shop went stale. (It seems they just weren't making enough dough to stay in business.) And even worse, it wasn't long before everyone was beginning to sour on the candy shop next door. So the two shops were joined together, and in a dedication ceremony held with Walt on July 31, they finally became the home of the Sunkist Citrus Shop. Things were calm until 1990, when the time was ripe to spin around in a circle once more – only to find the Sunkist moving out and the Bakery moving back in! Well, that story certainly had a peel. Orange you glad we wasted all this time? Meanwhile, here's the scoop on the Carnation Ice Cream parlor: in 1997 they split from their original parlor and (having lost their Carnation along the way) floated into the home of the bakery. Then, with perfect Disneyland logic, the bakery moved into – the ice cream parlor! If that doesn't get a rise out of you, nothing will!
p. 121

The sense of history that you get from The Nickel Tour, through the postcards and photographs, has not been presented in any other form. Besides being a reference work for postcards, it is almost a wish book--one you can flip open to any page and see a favorite or long-gone attraction and dream about visiting or re-experiencing. The images are stellar and your appreciation of postcards as art and history will grow.

Bottom Line: This work was obviously a labor of love for Gordon and Mumford. It is hard to stress how important this work is in the Disney Literature. Beside being one of two major historical works about Disneyland, you get a feel for how Disneyland evolved, how Walt plussed the park and how the Disney Company moved forward after Walt. It is the most cherished book in my entire collection. If you are lucky enough to find a copy, get it. I know that many people will dismiss this book because it is about Disneyland, but without Disneyland, there would be no Walt Disney World. The history of Disneyland offers a lot of insight into the growth of Walt Disney World as well.

This book is simply amazing!

Book Review: Walt's People Volume 1

Walt's People Volume 1: Talking Disney With The Artists Who Knew Him by Didier Ghez. (2005, 272 pages.)

Didier Ghez runs two very important sites in the Disney online community: Disney History and the Ultimate Disney Books Network. Didier has been researching Disney animation since his teens and co-authored Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Realitywith Alain Littaye.

The Walt's People seriesis five volumes with a sixth one on the way. Didier is the editor of the series and has put together some amazing interviews with Disney artists. In some cases, the interviewer is as well-known as the interviewee!

The compilation of interviews that Didier has collected makes this volume so very important to anyone researching Disney. The interviews are not just with animators, but artists that worked with Walt on Disneyland and went on to work on the Walt Disney World project. The stories, recollections and anecdotes are priceless and proffer a view of Walt that you can only get from talking to the people that worked directly with him.

The interviewees include:

• Rudolf Ising
• David Hand
• Bill Tytla
• Ken Anderson
• Jack Hannah
• John Hench (two interviews)
• Marc Davis (two interviews)
• Milt Kahl
• Harper Goff
• Joyce Carlson

The interviewers are equally impressive: J.B. Kaufman, Michael Barrier, George Sherman, Paul F. Andersen, Jim Korkis, Alain Littay, Didier Ghez, John Province, Michael Lyons and Robin Allan.

In the forward, Didier puts forth some important thoughts about the interviews.

...it is important to always keep in mind that no statement from any interview should ever be considered as the absolute truth, as the interviewee might have misremembered the facts, may have seen only part of the project described, or may have his own personal reasons for representing reality in a certain way. Hence the further importance of the various perspectives provided throughout this series.

Didier's work is going to play an important role in the future of research into the Disney Company. Many of the artists were involved in classic Disney animation at a time when credit wasn't clearly given or assigned. It is a chance for the artists to speak for themselves and offer an insight into the Disney Company that we will not likely find elsewhere. You might pass up a book like this if you are a theme park junkie, but reading the stories from artists like Hench, Davis, Carlson and Anderson--that worked on Disneyland and Walt Disney World projects--are wonderful.

Bottom Line: It is hard to place a work like Walt's People in the overall Disney literature--it doesn't focus solely on animation or the theme parks. The interviews collected are amazing and offer insight into Disney, the Studios and the theme parks. The volumes are not for everyone, but the Disney historian, enthusiast and geek will take a lot away from Dider's work. It is a great place to get your Geek on and delve into what it was like to know and work with Walt Disney, Roy Disney and the talented people in the organization.

I can't wait to start the next volume in the series!

Book Review: The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park

The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park by Melody Malmberg (1998, 160 pages)

For Animal Kingdom fans, there isn't a lot of published information that focuses on the theme park. Malmberg's book is a rare gem for several reasons: it is an in-depth look at the creation of the park; a thorough look at the team, the political process and environmental issues; and most importantly, it is one of the few resources that looks at the step-by-step development of a Disney theme park--how it grew from a small team led by Joe Rohde to a cast of thousands.

This book reflects the Animal Kingdom in so many ways. The park was shepherded by Imagineer Joe Rohde, who had the vision and the desire to keep the project moving forward. Ms. Malmberg was able to collect the stories of the Imagineers, follow their progress and take us behind the scenes of the park. She interviewed key people that were there from the beginning: Joe Rohde, Rick Barongi and Zofia Kostyrko. You get the feeling that you were there, day-by-day, watching as they create the park.

You learn, early on, that the Imagineers knew they needed one thing to make the park a success; their rallying cry was Proximity Equals Excitement! During one budget and planning meeting, the Imagineers, unbeknown even to Marty Sklar, brought in a 400 pound female Bengal tiger that walked around the conference room while Rohde spoke. The executives got the point and let the group move forward (p. 25). They were able to try and develop new means of getting the guests closer to the animals--safely, of course.

You get a detailed look at how the art (re: buildings, details, interiors, roofs, painting) was constructed using as many local and foreign talents as available. Sculptors, thatchers and artisans were brought in from all over the world. Malmberg spends a lot of time looking at the backstage care and living areas. Since Disney was creating a park that would, inevitably, be compared to zoos, there is a focus on how Disney treats the animals. The first two animals to arrive, the giraffes Miles and Zari, were greeted with tears and cheers. Malmberg goes into great detail explaining how the animals were procured, transported and acclimated to the park.

The book is filled with photos, artwork, and concept drawings. One of the final sections looks at the next few years of the Animal Kingdom. Asia is the next land planned with the river ride and the Maharajah Jungle Trek opening first. The possibility of a new hotel called the Animal Kingdom Lodge, with savanna views, is even mentioned! The very last section is a listing of all the Imagineers that worked on the Animal Kingdom. Eight pages of names.

The park has come a long way in 10 years.

Bottom Line: This is a one-of-a-kind resource for Disney fans. There is not another work that takes such a detailed look at the making of the Animal Kingdom or a Disney theme park. There is a lot of discussion about conservation and animal care--this is not a negative, but the whole work is a balanced look at the creation of the park. There are chapters dedicated to the creation of the attractions and lands, but equal attention is paid to the zoological needs of the park. There is a lot less of the geeky stuff and more a look at the animals and their care. Ms. Malmberg is able to capture the passion of those involved and it translates very well to the written word. You will enjoy this work for the vast detail dedicated to the creation of a Disney theme park.

Book Review: Working With Walt

Working with Walt: Interviews With Disney Artists by Don Peri (2008, 246 pages).

This is a quick and thoroughly enjoyable collection of interviews with 15 different artists that worked with Walt Disney at the Studios.

Mr. Peri states in the Acknowledgements that he was prompted by Didier Ghez (editor of the Walt's People series) to finally collect the interviews and publish them. Thanks both to Don and Didier!

Most of the interviews were conducted in the late 1970's with artists that spent most of their career working at the Disney Studios. What surprised me at first was how the artists were all enchanted with Walt Disney; after reading a multitude of Disney biographies, you do get the sense that Walt was a benevolent dictator--but a dictator nonetheless. A majority of the artists interviewed stuck with Walt during the Animator's Strike of 1941. If you study any work on Disney and animation, the Animator's Strike is often seen as a watershed in the history of the Studio, prompting the mentality that Walt lost a lot of faith in his employees. With the interviews presented by Peri, you get a sense that Walt did favor the artists that stuck by him.

I finished Walt's People Volume 1 (Ed. by Ghez) shortly after this title. There are some similarities in the scope of the two books, but they are both valuable resources on their own. The interviews presented by Peri were done at a time when there was not a lot being written about the artists that worked directly with Walt Disney. After reading the interviews, you come away with a sense of what it was like to work with Walt Disney and to work at the Studios. I feel like I have a better understanding of how Walt worked during the early years of the Studios.

The artists included animators, designers and voice actors:

• Ken Anderson
• Les Clark
• Larry Clemmons
• Jack Cutting
• Don Duckwall
• Marcellite Garner
• Harper Goff
• Floyd Gottfredson
• Dick Huemer
• Wilfred Jackson
• Eric Larson
• Clarence Nash
• Ken O'Connor
• Herb Ryman
• Ben Sharpsteen

The stories and anecdotes that each artist shares are humorous, wistful and passionate. These artists truly loved their jobs and working with Walt Disney.

...he didn't think of himself as Walt Disney. He thought of Walt Disney as an entity, an organization, and he spoke of Walt Disney as an organization, for which everybody worked and not the personal part of the name. A lot of people put Walt down because they didn't get along with him or they got canned or they were chewed out by him, and naturally they probably make more or less severe remarks about him and understandably so. He had a great ego, and because of this ego he could overcome a lot of difficulties and obstacles because he believed in himself. He believed what other people didn't believe, and he was proven right time after time after time, even with the bankers. Snow White was called "Disney's Folly," because what--an animated cartoon to run for over an hour? It's Impossible! Nobody will sit through a cartoon that long. Well that was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

--Les Clark (p. 123, Working With Walt)

Bottom Line: This is a wonderful resource to have at hand. It is not for everyone--you really need to have an interest in animation, the studios or what working with Walt Disney was like in order to fully realize the necessity of a title like this. I give it a high Geek Factor rating because of its focus, even though the book is extremely accessible and easy to read. But if you are interested in learning a lot about the artists, the studio and Walt Disney, this is a great place to start or to add to your collection. This book will foster a greater appreciation for the animated films and shorts. It is also one of the few places you can read the actual words of the artists that never received a lot of acclaim outside the arena of animation fans.

Book Review: Realityland by David Koenig

Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World by David Koenig (334 pages, 2007).

Andrew and I met David at MouseFest 2007 and heard him speak about Realityland at the Reading Trout Book Store in Celebration.

You can read my reviews of Mouse Tales and More Mouse Tales.

Realityland fills a much needed void in the WDW literature--an unofficial look at the development and construction of Walt Disney World. The book follows the same formula as Koenig's Mouse Tales titles except a lot of space is devoted to the history and development of Walt Disney World (whereas Mouse Tales focuses mainly on anecdotes about Disneyland instead of the construction). It is obvious that Koenig spent a lot of time talking to cast members, executives and construction people from the early days. The first chapters are filled with anecdotes about the Preview Center, hiring the first cast members and the rigors of developing the property.

This is one of the few un-official resources that effectively documents the construction of the Magic Kingdom, the TTC and the first resorts. Koenig offers an easy to read and compelling look at the overall development of the property. The stars of the book are the individual cast members that Koenig was able to interview. Koenig was fortunate enough to spend time with cast members from all areas of the company. He spoke to former executives that talked about the mishaps and happy accidents, cast members that talked about the early years of working at WDW and with locals about the political machinations that took place.

Koenig presents an intriguing view of how Walt, Roy and Card Walker all dealt with the Florida project. There were a litany of undercover plans, political dealings, union issues and theft! As Koenig moves through the the timeline of the resort, he presents the major issues and milestones that each management needed to contend with, including: the fuel crisis of the 70's, the question of "Where's EPCOT" and the expense of EPCOT (leading to Card Walker's retirement) and the new management of Esiner/Wells. Like Mouse Tales, there were times when I laughed out loud and times when I wondered how they got it all done.

As with Koenig's other titles, he doesn't gloss over the negative side of Disney. He does cover the accidents that have happened over the years and one of the final chapters is devoted to Disney Security. I never felt that Koenig was out to get anyone--he was just trying to present a fairly unbiased look at Walt Disney World. One story that stands out is that he dispels the myth of George, the ill-fated worker that is rumored to have died during the construction of Pirates. He uses official records to show when the first actual death happened at WDW (I'll let you read the book to find out) and covers accidents, missteps and Disney/Reedy Creek policy. As I mentioned in my review of the Mouse Tales books, you might have to remove your rose-colored Mouse Ears while reading Realityland.

I would surmise that the lack of information and focus about the development of the property after the Eisner/Wells team took over is due to the author's one noticeable bias--he is not a fan of Eisner. Koenig almost vilifies Eisner when talking about the creation of the Disney-MGM Studios. A lot of the more recent developments are glossed over. The dearth of information about the most recent 15 years is the major drawback to the book.

When thinking about the history that Koenig plays out, I was able to place a lot of the people and events that I had read about in other sources--this time with much greater detail. I would hesitate to let this work stand as my only source on Walt Disney World: Since the World Began: Walt Disney World the First 25 Years; Disney: The First 100 Years and the History Channel Modern Marvels - Walt Disney World all help to create a solid history of Walt Disney World.

This is a work that will be used by future generations to help further document the history of Walt Disney World. It is obvious by the Notes section, that Koenig did his research and left a great paper trail. Koenig spent a lot of time interviewing people and researching support documents through newspapers and magazines. It is very well researched.

Withstanding the last sections of the book, the first 200 pages alone are worth the price of the book. You will learn more about the development of the property and what it took to get the Walt Disney World Resort up and running. You will never disembark from the ferry or walk down the ramp from the monorail without thinking about how massive an undertaking Walt Disney World was after you read Realityland.

Bottom Line: For any WDW enthusiast, this is one of the few books to tackle the early history of Walt Disney World. Koenig does a fantastic job of telling the story and keeps you wanting to read more. The only shortcoming is the lack of depth in the sections on the development of the Disney-MGM Studios and the Animal Kingdom. You will walk away a deeper understanding of the Resort and a greater appreciation for everything that has been done. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to all enthusiasts--no matter what your Disney Geek Level.

Book Review: The Animated Man

I just finished reading Michael Barrier's biography The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. In my opinion, this is one of the more important biographical treatises on Walt's life.

Before we get into the review, I want to share a little about the author, Michael Barrier. Barrier has written several animation- and comic book-related titles. The most well-known are: Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age, Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book and A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. He also published Funnyworld, a magazine devoted to animation and comics. Funnyworld lived in the early 1970's and you can find reprints of it on his website.

Barrier takes a different approach to looking at the life of Walt Disney. Instead of just focusing on the more mundane facts and figures, Barrier shows us the man through Disney's work, artistry and relationships. Barrier does impart the sense that after creating Snow White, Disney was never quite happy with the films and was striving for another challenge. Even Disneyland, with the audio-animatronics, never quite compared to the challenges of Snow White.

The Animated Man is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I never felt like Barrier was reciting a litany of facts, but instead, he was telling the story of Walt Disney. Barrier is renowned for his research, but I never felt burdened by the text. In other words: I had trouble putting this book down. It is quite obvious that Barrier is an animation fan and has tremendous respect for Disney and the art that was created.

One of my favorite passages from the book concerns the Kansas City Public Library:

Disney was intrigued by animation's possibilities and by what he called "the mechanics of the whole thing." He was essentially self-taught as an animator; he wrote to an admirer many years later, "I gained my first information on animation from a book ... which I procured from the Kansas City Public Library." That book was Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development by Edwin G. Lutz. According to its copyright page, Lutz's book was published in New York in February 1920, the same month Disney joined Kansas City Film Ad, so he must have read it very soon after it was added to the library's collection. He said of the book in 1956: "Now, it was not very profound; it was just something the guy had put together to make a buck. But, still, there are ideas in there."
--p. 26, The Animated Man.

Knowing that Disney utilized a public library to help jump start his career would make any of us public librarians proud.

If you've spent any time checking out Disney-related books, then you may have heard about the scuffle between Barrier's work and Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. See, at the beginning of Gabler's research (1995 or so), he started out to write a simpler biography of Disney after receiving a Guggenheim fellowship. At some point, Gabler was given unprecedented access to the Walt Disney Archives and corporate authorization to write a definitive biography; Barrier was denied access while writing The Animated Man. The press has been enamored with the fact that Gabler was given full access to the Archives and they have heaped accolades on him. Barrier's more authoritative research stems from the amount of work he had done while writing Hollywood Cartoons and Funnyworld and through the interviews with animation legends. Barrier knows his stuff. He does rely on a large amount of primary sources and his endnotes are well-documented and as intriguing as the rest of the text. I found myself taking much longer to read The Animated Man because I spent so much time flipping back to the notes to get more information. Since both were published within a year of each other, it is inevitable that comparisons will and have been drawn. I would have liked more comparisons between the works--from the critics--as Barrier's book is more definitive while Gabler's book comes off as a little snobbish and presents a seemingly misunderstood view of Disney.

I read Gabler's book first and found it hard to continue at points. It read as tenuously as it was long. From the beginning, Barrier captured my attention and interest and framed a picture of Disney through the art produced and the company he founded and ran. Thematically, if you look at how the authors present their vision of Disney, they take decidedly different routes. Gabler paints a man obsessed with control who is never happy because of the lack of control and his attempts at escaping his father's shadow. Gabler presumes to psychoanalyze Disney through memos, letters and notes--ultimately presenting a self-centered and egotistical slave-driver. Barrier takes us on a journey through the work of Disney to present a man who is less a control freak and more of an entrepreneur. Barrier wastes none of our time looking into Disney's psyche and instead focuses on what is tangible with Disney in order to provide a glimpse into his life.


Bottom Line: This is the best biography of Walt Disney that I have had the pleasure of reading. Barrier does focus predominately on Disney's opus of work--personal and corporate--but doesn't that define Disney as we know him and why Disney is significant to us?

I've added links to the hardcover (left) and the paperback (right). The paperback is not scheduled to be published until late March.

Daily Figment 166: Book Review - The Disney Villain

The Disney Villain is a beautiful work by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, two of Walt's Nine Old Men. I'm not sure if there were ever two people more suited to describing the Disney Villain--Frank and Ollie were supervising animators at Disney for almost 50 years. More than meets the eye, this book does more than just look at the Disney Villains, it also sheds light on what makes a villain and why some Disney Villains were much better than others.

Because the concept of evil is the most terrifying and thrilling concept in our language. We need terror by which to measure and enjoy our comfort; we need thrill to ameliorate the tedium. We need evil to locate our good. And evil is a concept that has been increasingly undervalued and ignored. We require a devil with whom our gods can do battle, lest our gods become reduced to mere royalty-splendidly clothed, gossiped about, but superfluous.

--T. Jefferson Parker (1992, January 19). The Obsession with Evil Why we are transfixed by serial killers :[Home Edition]. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext),p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Los Angeles Times database. (Document ID: 61560068).

Part of the quote above is used by Ollie and Frank in the preface of the book to illustrate one of the reasons they did a book about Disney Villains. That and so many of their colleagues and friends requested it.

They look at 59 villains (only 8 of which were female) over the course of almost 70 years. In the beginning, they talk about the Alice shorts and how Peg Leg Pete was the first villain, although Ollie and Frank refer to him more as a bully. Pete made the transition from Alice to Oswald to Mickey. Ultimately, he was in 32 shorts with Mickey and friends, but he never achieved a starring role.

Throughout the rest of the book, they look at each animated film and discuss the villains. Not just which ones were truly scary (the Evil Queen) but which ones added to the hero's quest and ultimately made the hero a much more beloved character. It is difficult to sum up a work of this caliber. Ollie and Frank are not only terrific animators, but they tell a great story. Each villain is the center of a debate that is bookmarked between the Evil Queen and Jafar. The authors do more than just talk about villains, they also talk about the highs and lows of Disney animation. This book could be used as a starting point for anyone looking for an introduction to the Disney animated library.

Some of the villains are villainous simply because of their nature. The rat in Lady and The Tramp, the bear in The Fox and the Hound and Monstro from Pinocchio. Not that they are true villains, but because their nature is to forage for food, protect their environs or because they are monstrous in size--they act as villains to the hero. Other villains never quite made it. Ollie and Frank point to Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective, Mr. McLeach from The Rescuers Down Under and Prince John from Robin Hood. For various reasons, they felt that these characters, along with a few others, never quite made the bold statements that were needed. In some cases, the hero was so powerful that it negated the villain's actions entirely.

Beautiful artwork flows throughout the 232 pages of the book. There are full-page shots, thumbnail sketches, storyboards and rough sketches. We see, through the animator's eyes, how a character is developed and comes to life on the page. Both Captain Hook and Gaston were originally seen as foppish characters that were larger than life. In both cases, the animators were instructed to bring the villain down to scale and inject more human characteristics into them. Mainly so we would see them either with flaws or as people we have known--more like a villain archetype.

Bottom Line: This is a wonderful book for any collection. It does center specifically on animation, but through the course of discussing the villains, a lot of history of the films and the Disney Company rises to the top. Frank and Ollie have a wonderful narrative that is interspersed with anecdotes and knowledgeable insights into the world of the animated villain. The amazing artwork alone makes it worth picking this title up--the text is the icing on the cake!

Daily Figment 158 - Book Review: Inside the Mouse

Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World, The Project on Disney. 1995, 250 pages.

Did you ever have a book that you were loathe to finish? One that you didn't want to spend time with?

Let me tell you about one. I was excited when I got my copy of this book. It has been around for a number of years, but not many people have talked about it. Now I know why.

I've seen the terms pompous, boring, irrelevant and "ivory tower" used to describe this work. I agree.

The authors (all academics) take on Walt Disney World, but they never look beyond the ends of their noses. They land smack dab in the middle of the Disney Decade and all they see is mass consumerism and an idle shift in corporate values. They also see us, the visitors to Walt Disney Word as a heard of brand-induced and crowd-mentality fodder for the turnstyles, gift shops, restaurants and hotels. In all of their interviews and anecdotes, it is apparent that they never talked to anyone that had a inkling of what a Disney vacation is supposed to be.

The book did have three redeeming chapters: Working at the Rat, Public Use / Private State and Monuments to Walt. Working at the Rat consists of interviews with castmembers that connote that working for Disney is tantamount to forced, temporary labor. No chance for advancement and every chance of being let go before you get permanent status. Granted, the tone is pretty negative and it is obvious that only the "lower echelons" of Disney castmembers were interviewed. Looking at this chapter, one would surmise that working for the Mouse is extremely cut-throat. Public Use / Private State made me step outside of my normal tourist pursuits and see how we interact with the private (re:corporate-owned) areas like the theme parks. Even though they are private, we are expected to use them as public spaces, i.e. a park, mall area or town square. Disney champions what most other businesses can't: use us like you were at home, albeit a care-free and safe home. The chapter I enjoyed the most was Monuments to Walt. The author looked at current architectural motifs and themes and discussed how Disney was using them to gain a means. A means of continuing the storytelling to the resorts and eateries. There is still some lambasting, but mostly to the end that the author believes that what exists today is because the leadership of the company, until Eisner, constantly prayed at the altar of "What Would Walt Do." The author proclaims that Epcot is merely a necropolis dedicated to Walt. That is why it fails.

Those sections, mentioned above, were the highlights of the book...and that ain't sayin' much!

The most thought-provoking section is entitled, The Alternative Ride. The author questions how we deal with images incongruent with what Disney presents: kissing, hand-holding, angst (think teens) and other images that aren't white, middle-class, middle-American "values". How they can shock us and force us to step outside of our vacation experience.

The Bottom Line: This book is not worth reading or adding to your collection. I hate to post such a negative review, but for us Disney Geeks, there are so many better titles out there.