Customer Reviews

Art of Walt Disney

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book gives good insight into the story of the Disney company. It was nice to hear an honest account of whether each movie was a success or failure with critics and audiences, though I feel some were a little shortchanged. A book of this size should have had a chapter (or at least a full page) dedicated to each movie. And while it is heavily illustrated, the text does not in any way rely on the pictures. I guess screen shots from the movies or brochure style pictures of the parks are "art" but based on the title I was expecting more unique in depth imagery like preproduction and concept art, storyboards, construction photos (from the parks).

If you have the older Concise edition of this book, then I don't think this one is necessary. So there are stills from a few more movies, but all the classics up to Fantasia 2000 are covered in the smaller book. Besides, the best of the new movies covered is Finding Nemo, and who doesn't have that on tape or DVD? Don't spend this much money on a few screen shots, just watch your movie. And I was particularly interested in seeing some of the new parks that weren't in the other book (California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea) but alas they accounted for about 3 pages. Just a warning because the annoying shrink wrap prevents anyone from flipping through to decide based on the contents whether or not to fork over that much money (and the cover is so enticing...).

If you have never read anything about Disney this is a great place to start, but if you already have a collection of Disney books (especially this one's concise ed.) then this one doesn't have much more to offer. And if your true passion is in the theme parks, don't let this deceptive title make you believe that equal emphasis is given to the "Magic Kingdoms". There are way better (and cheaper) books on that subject that will give you much more insight.

This book is packed with photographs, drawings and artwork from Walt Disney's life and from the Walt Disney Company. In addition to the all the images, there is a lot of good information about Walt Disney and the Disney Company in the text. Even the cover of this book is well done and attractive. Anyone could feel proud to have this book sitting on his or her coffee table.

The book was well researched and contains a lot of historical information about Walt Disney and the Disney Company. In terms of information on Walt, it is not as complete as some of the biographies of Disney that I read. However, it is a very good overview of Disney's life and a good chronology of the Disney Company.

I appreciated the way that the artwork was coordinated with the text and well explained. There is artwork and photographs from Disney's very early days all the way through to the 1990s. The author did not seem to miss anything in this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the art of Walt Disney and the Disney Company and would like to know both a little better.

I have all previous editions of this book. This edition continues the excellence of these prior editions with a new section on Pixar, new entries on recent animated features including "Tangled", plus updated theme park information. His summary of each movie is honest and informative. As usual, the illustrations are lavish in scope and quantity.

This book goes through the entire Disney legacy, in what is supposed to be art criticism. As far as it goes, the text is pretty good, but they are mere accompaniments to the photos, which is the bane of many art/design books. Finch makes an effort at being comprehensive, though ultimately - if you read through the whole thing - it comes off as a vanilla milk shake, with virtually no depth and ultimately flattering to just about everything Disney.

Moreover, the beginning of the text is far stronger than the end, reflecting hte fact that this is an update. As such, the author worked much harder and dug deeper on the sections that covered Walt Disney's work and ideas directly - the subject of the first edition and far more interesting than later work - and then feels the rest is pasted on to update it. To cover the post-Walt Disney things, many of which represent great art in and of themselves - would merit an independent work like the first volume.

Futhermore, by separating the book into discrete sections devoted to film, TV, parks, etc., the author misses one of the most important aspects of the Disney company: its work is self-reinforcing through all the media. Thus, though the early TV shows did not get enough commercial sponsorship and hence lost money, Walt Disney viewed the shows as the ultimate tool to implant his brand in the minds of the young. Even the toys were part of this, though they are almost entirely neglected in this book. It all fits together, each part morphing into the others, which Finch fails to see.

The worst failing of this book, though, is its utter lack of analysis beyond crude evocations of historical context. Though purporting to be a critic, Finch does not ponder any of the company's impact on, or as a reflection of, American culture, particularly the dark side. Why do many people (myself not among them as I essentially love the DIsney legacy) despise the way the company transforms culture into its own immediately recognizable brand? What does it say about the American predilection to recreate realities, such as a mock European village, rather than seeking out the real thing (even at similar cost)? These are tough questions.

In the end, this reads like something directly out of a PR department. I enjoyed the images and some of the reconstrctions of the films. But this offers little in the way of true criticism.

This is not just a book for Disney art lovers -- it is a terrific background on the Disney Company as a whole and the process in the art of animation. It goes into detail as to the extent of Walt's genius and leadership abilities. Never the less, the art in this collection is phenomenal!! I personally love the preliminary sketches and the process that eventually become what you see on the screen. There is also a chapter on the role the Disney Studios played during WWII. I will cherish this edition for many years to come.

Came in perfect condition. Was loved by the person we bought it for. Came in record time for Christmas. Glad we could get this item for a gift.

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS I PURCHASED VARIOUS EDITIONS OF THE ART OF WALT DISNEY: FROM MICKEY MOUSE TO THE MAGIC KINGDOMS FOR EACH OF MY FIVE GROWN CHILDREN PLUS THE COPIES FOR MY WIFE AND I. THESE BOOK EDITIONS REFLECT A VIBRANT HISTORY OF WALT DISNEY'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH MICKEY MOUSE AND HOW THE VAST EMPIRE OF DISNEYLAND, WALT DISNEY WORLD, AND THE MANY OTHER DISNEY ENTERPRISES DEMONSTRATE THE EXQUISITE TALENTS OF THE MANY ARTISTS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE LEGACY OF WALT DISNEY. MY FAMILY HAS BEEN GOING TO WALT DISNEY WORLD ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS AND THIS BOOK IS A TREASURE TO COMPLEMENT OUR ACTUAL EXPERIENCES. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO PURCHASE MORE RECENT EDITIONS OF THIS BOOK FOR MY FAMILY.

This is the original and best "The Art of Walt Disney" book. The much later Abrams books by the same title can't compare. I had a tattered and jacketless copy of this book for years and foolishly got rid of it some time ago. Fortunately, I just found a nice copy of an English First Edition with dustcover of this--published by Collins in 1944 (two years after the U. S. First Edition by Macmillan)--which I am definitely going to hang on to. Unless one is a "collector," the English edition is, in every way, comparable to the U. S. edition, and not nearly as expensive.

I've wanted a copy of this book for forty years. It is quite rare and always way out of my price range. This isn't the best copy but it is in tact and a wonderful read. I am delighted enough to have the spine repaired. You have brought me many hours of happiness. Thank you for making me feel whole by having this wonderful book in my collection finally. I'm having a lucite bell jar made to display it in my library.

As a book that produces the art of disney (particularly its animation) this book excels! It provides a complete history of Disney art and animation.

As an art book however it is quite disappointing. I was expecting the book to explore Disney art, instead it just describes what each film or piece of art is about - something that i found to be very disappointing and underwhelming.

The book is still great if your a fan of disney animation, especially considering its size!