Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules [Hardcover]

John Grant (Author)

Book Description

From Mickey Mouse to Timon, Roger Rabbit to Hades, and Aladdin to Sebastian--the famous, the infamous, and the obscure--every character of the Disney honor roll is present and accounted for in this comprehensive volume that every true Disney fan and animation enthusiast will treasure.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ten years after the first edition and six years since the second, Grant has again updated his mammoth illustrated guide to beloved Disney creations. Where the previous revision brought a new section on TV characters, the only substantial changes this time pertain to new Disney productions of the last few years. The ratio of information per page is high, particularly in the feature-film sectionAwhere credits are followed by a history of the production and the critical and popular response, a plot synopsis, and analysis of all significant characters. The organization of the short-films section (which includes no new entries since 1992) is more idiosyncratic, though the writing is still a delight and not without occasional criticism of the company. The TV section is, however, not up to par, even if it has doubled in size this time to 20 pages. The real disappointment is the flat, even muddy quality of the illustrations that are lavishly spread throughout the text. A peerless reference work for those countless film fans and figurine collectors, this is still an imperfect coffee-table companion. Because there is relatively little new material, libraries with a second edition in good condition could probably wait for the inevitable fourth.AEric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions; 3 Sub edition (April 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786863366
• ISBN-13: 978-0786863365
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 9.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #892,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Pop Culture
  • #100 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art > Cartooning

More About the Author

John Grant is the author of more than seventy books, including the critically acclaimed Discarded Science, Corrupted Science, and Bogus Science. In addition to his popular science writing, Grant is a prolific science fiction and fantasy writer. He has won two Hugo Awards, the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a number of other international literary awards. He coedited with John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and wrote all three editions of The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters; both encyclopedias are standard reference works in their field. Under his real name, Paul Barnett, he has written several books and run the world-famous fantasy-art-book imprint Paper Tiger, for this latter work winning a Chesley Award and a nomination for the World Fantasy Award. For more on this prolific author, see www.johngrantpaulbarnett.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely STELLAR!, September 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Hardcover)

For anyone who ever had a longing for a complete, accurate, and all-encompassing critique of the treasure trove that is Disney animation, this is as good as it gets! From early, unheard-of black-and-white shorts to the latest animated programs and features, this anthology will enthrall readers/animation fans with its painstakingly exact analysis of every element of animation: the art, music, story, script, voice performances, characterizations, and basic dynamic of the film. In addition, the readers will find very well-researched analysis of other reviews of Disney's works and exactly where the given piece of work fits into the Disney cannon. One cannot possibly recommend this encyclopedia highly enough- it is DIVINE! Bravo for John Grant and his masterful evaluation of Disney animation. Those of us who have been lucky enough to discover this virtually sacred tome await with baited breath for the next installment, likely to be published in 2003.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition of the single most useful Disney reference book, May 16, 1998

By 

S. C. Mitchell (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Hardcover)

John Grant's "Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters" is, beyond doubt, the single most useful reference volume about Disney's animated films ever printed. The original edition, published in 1983, was phenomenally complete -- it seems Grant *saw* every Disney animation ever made, and listed them in two sections: "The Shorts" and "The Features." It was up-to-date for its time; the "Features" section ended at "The Great Mouse Detective," and information on what were then Disney's only animated TV series, "The Wuzzles" and "Gummi Bears," was included in the "Shorts" material.

The first revision, published in 1993, brought the "Features" section up to date as of the summer of 1992, including a short entry on "Aladdin," still in production when the book went to press. It also added a third section on Disney's animated TV series. Unfortunately, the new material showed signs of having been hastily assembled. The television section included more promotional art than still frames; information was duplicated between the "Shorts" and "TV" pages; and there were a few noticeable inaccuracies (most egregious of all, a picture of the malignant asylum keeper from "Beauty and the Beast" was inexplicably captioned, "The old witch whose curse condemns the vain Prince to become the Beast").

First Net-rumors of a new revision were heard in the summer of 1997. The new edition was finally officially announced, with a release date of "November 1997." Now, nearly six months later, the third edition is available. The errors have been rectified, and don't seem to have been replaced by new ones. The TV section has been updated to cover, albeit briefly, the entire "Disney Afternoon" syndication lineup, as well as Saturday-morning shows. The "Features" section now fills two-thirds of the book's 460 pages.

This is a large, thick, h! eavy volume. It is massively indexed, and gorgeously illustrated with still frames -- literally hundreds of them, most in color. And best of all, it's great fun to read. The section on "The Shorts" includes not only such classic characters as Mickey, Goofy, and Donald, but the nameless "lithe young male sapling" and "Garbo-esque lady sycamore" from the first Technicolor cartoon, "Flowers and Trees"; specific names for the Three Little Pigs; and sympathetic comments on Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, co-workers of Mickey's from the early 1930s, who remained "perennial extras" as later characters soared to stardom. The huge section on "The Features," includes every animated Disney feature from "Snow White" to "Hercules," with plot outlines, character lists, voice casts, complete credits, and even release dates. What were the names of the ballet dancers in the "Dance of the Hours" segment of "Fantasia"? (Mlle. Upanova, Hyacinth Hippo, Elephanchine, and Ben Ali Gator.) Who was Namontack? (The Native American shot and wounded by Governor Ratcliffe in "Pocahontas.") What were the names of the elephants who ostracized Dumbo? (Prissy, Matriarch, Giggles, and Catty.) How about Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters? (Lady Tremaine and her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella.) How many Dalmatian-spots appear in the animated "101 Dalmatians"? (6,469,952.)

For the true Disney fan, this book is absolutely indispensable. I recommend it with no reservations.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book for Disney fans, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Hardcover)

I find this book really fantastic. The true delight of this book, apart from great reviews of many Disney movies and their characters, is the fact that it contains tons of color pictures! Another great point is that one can find references to many different Disney short movies, many of which I did not have a chance to hear about before. I could only wish though that even more detail was given describing the characters of the films (i.e. include even more characters), and more photographs were included. For example, the description of the "Fun and fancy free" movie does not include any photographs of the "Bongo" section characters, and I thought this short section contained some really lovable bears that should have been represented. Another problem (although nothing major) is that some of the full length animated movies that were sequels to others are not included in their own category but reather in a small section "spin offs" of the first episode movie. Hence "Return of Jafar", etc. are not described in any great detail. But it is really great book, for once probably worth the price, since it is also considerably big book too. Enjoy the reading.