Disney Studio Story [Hardcover]

Richard Holliss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The history of the Disney Studio is largely the story of one man. After an uncertain start, Walt Disney progressed successfully from cartoons to feature-length animation and live action films. Most of the current successes have come from the "adult" Touchstone division. Although written in a somewhat pedestrian style, this work's major strength is its exhaustive filmography, which provides synopses and other data for all Disney films, including the cartoons. For an insightful portrait of the private Disney and critical analysis of the films, Richard Schickel's The Disney Version (S. & S., 1985. 2d ed. pap.) is preferable. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's lavish Disney Animation ( LJ 12/15/81) is the authoritative work on the studio's renowned animation.
- Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (November 15, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517570785
• ISBN-13: 978-0517570784
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pre-Eisner Disney Studio Reference, May 15, 2000

By 

Philip Lochner (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Disney Studio Story (Hardcover)

This book is fairly hard to find - and apparently, only available in hardcover, pre 1987.

It's an oversized, fantastic movie-by-movie story of the Walt Disney movie studio, before the fabricated Eisner studio releases of the 1990's. It details all of Disney's animation advancements from Snow White to the Black Couldron.

Inside, you'll find all the details concerning Walt Disney's original visions, including the makings of the classics like Snow White and Bambi, as well as postscript information on the "new" studio which promises great "computer animated" films, guessing to revolutionarly 90's filmmaking of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Particularly interesting are the comments regarding Fantasia and the presumed success of the mid 80's failed Disney films like "The Black Couldron". It's like an encyclopedia of all Disney films with fantastic renderings, sketches, and full color shots of the movies before the typical Eisner song/dance/emotional overload 1990 Disney.

Hardcover editions of this book have become exceedingly rare - I found mine at a bookshop with a plastic covering. A great hardcover coffee-table book that details Disney in a more innocent stage.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive record of Disney films!, November 18, 2004

By 

Winston Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Disney Studio Story (Hardcover)

This book begins with a narrative covering the history of the Disney Studios, then gets to the meat of the subject: a complete catalog of every Disney film ever made. And when I say complete, I'm not exaggerating. Every animated short(from the Alice comedies and early Mickey Mouse talkies on up through the Ludwig Von Drake educational shorts to the 80s Gummi Bears); every animated and live-action feature, and even promotional, educational and safety films intended for businesses and schools. Any film featured in a Disney park attraction is included as well (from Circlevision 360s "America the Beautiful" to Captain EO.)

Every entry gets at least a short paragraph description (and some of the more significant title, such as "Mary Poppins" get a page or more). Lavishly illustrated and copiously indexed, you'll find it all here.

The book was released at a unique threshold, just before films like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Little Mermaid" and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" were about to reignite the studio from its 80s doldrums.