The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms by Christopher Finch [NEW CONCISE EDITION] 1975 • Abrams

The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms by Christopher Finch

NEW CONCISE EDITION [1975] HARRY N. ABRAMS

Art book with multiple full-color fold-out inserts. 

Hardcover with dust jacket in very good condition. 

Dust jacket has some mild wear and tear to edges: one sealed, mid-sized tear on rear; and a touch of spotting.  Otherwise, very good; now housed in a new HQ brodart jacket protector.

Book itself has some visible shelf wear to boards; but is otherwise excellent. Pages look and read like new. 

Walt Disney's rise to fame is a classic American success story. A poor boy from the Mid-west, he made his way to the top with a combination of hard work, practical know-how, enterprise, and ingenuity. What makes this success story different from all the rest is the fact that his unique imagination touched off a shock of recognition in the minds of millions of people all over the world. The characters Disney brought to the screen--Micky and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy, the Seven Dwarfs, Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, and the others have a universal appeal. Movies as diverse in idiom as Fantasia and Mary Poppins illustrated the range of his inventions, and he has also left us, beyond his film successes, two extraordinary entertainment complexes. Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

At the beginning of his career, Disney took a humble branch of the motion picture industry--the animated cartoon--and, within a dozen years, transformed it into a new art form capable of sustaining complex and subtle ideas. The first cartoon with synchronized sound, the first in full color, and the first animated feature were all produced by Walt Disney. His genius and sure intuition created a framework that supported the talents of many gifted individuals, many of whom are discussed in these pages. Above all however, this is a record of one man's imagination.

This account of Disney's career benefits from free access to the Walt Disney archives. The author conducted dozens of interviews with past and present Disney employees and selected a great number of previously unpublished drawings, paintings, and photographs for inclusion in this book. The basic techniques of animation are explained, and various examples of story sketches, layouts, animation drawings, and background paintings--all the elements that go into the making of an animated film--are illustrated. Many film stills and documentary photographs enrich the story, and we learn how film-making skills were adapted to aid in the design of the parks, bringing to life unexpected combinations of nostalgia and electronics.