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Once Upon a Time: Walt Disney: The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios

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Wow! Whether you're an art lover, Disney fan, or simply fascinated by Western culture, you owe it to yourself to add this remarkable book to your collection. Much thicker than a typical coffee-table tome, this big, heavy art anthology was published as a companion to an art exhibition of the same name, which collected works from both the Disney archive as well as 50 museums worldwide. The exhibit was shown in Paris last fall and is currently (spring 2007) on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It was compiled by Bruno Girveau, a principal curator at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris.

A delight to browse through, the book reproduces hundreds of original Disney pen-and-ink sketches, conceptual watercolors and actual production pieces for films from 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to 1967's "Jungle Book"; as well as many of the historic art pieces and other cultural material that inspired Walt Disney and his artists. For example, a section on the Evil Queen from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is brilliantly illustrated with a Gothic column statue from Naumburg, an 1898 French oil ("Woman in a Black Hat," George de Feure), a 1937 Disney production celluloid and a 1940 publicity shot of film actress Joan Crawford -- all of which appear to show the same person. (The text is good, too. This section includes a short essay pondering the effects of Walt Disney's hard-luck childhood.)

A chapter on pop art includes two interpretations of Donald Duck by Roy Lichtenstein and another by Andy Warhol -- and those are the dullest pieces! My favorite is David Mach's Matchstick Mickey, a real Mickey doll being eaten by a giant purple head made of nothing but purple matchsticks and glue. Other highlights in the book include more than a dozen gorgeous conceptual watercolors for "Alice in Wonderland" by Disney artists David Hall and Mary Blair, and a discussion that the Blue Fairy from "Pinocchio" is actually an animated homage to Hollywood's original blond bombshell, Jean Harlow.

My only gripe is the book's organization and index. The chapters are grouped not by film, but rather the exhibit's themes of "Disney's European Sources," "Walt Disney and Literature and Cinema," "Disney and Pop Art," etc.; and the index is only by artist. Still, what a find!

A nice companion book is Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation.

Here at Denny Magic Studios we make a point of acquiring anything and everything Disney, it's part of our ongoing education by being in the theme park design business. This passion surrounding the Disney brothers also dictated that we attend the traveling museum show on Walt which we found mesmerizing. However, although this book delivers some wonderful color plates and some good information all rolled into a beautiful coffee table presentation, and without chastising it in any way...we found that we were not too excited about it. There are several colored plates that seem to be rather rare, and the information seems well researched, but there was something that we could not put our finger on that kept it from being an exciting acquisition. Therefore we feel that if you are a die hard fan of Disney... then yes, you are going to want this book. If you are interested in Disney but not "fanatical" then you might want to wait until this one goes on sale.

Great book to see the images the Disney artists drew from for inspiration and design. Today the Disney images are considered the icons but to see their source material allows for an introduction to the original work, which is wonderful, and therefore have a deeper appreciation of each art form, both fine and animated. A worthwhile catalogue if you were unable to see the exhibit.

This sumptuously illustrated book is absolutely essential for all artists working in the area of fantasy,fairy tale, and children's book illustration. It is awesome how many famous artists worked for Disney: Eyvind Earle, Salvador Dali, Gustaf Tenggren and the list goes on. The book is packed with examples of the artwork for Disney's animated features--preliminary sketches, storyboards,and sources for the backgrounds, landscapes, and characters--many inspired by European art and architecture. There are short biographies of the Disney artists with their photos--only ONE woman on the list, Mary Blair, who worked on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. A comprehensive sourcebook! There is a list of the animated features and the artists who worked on each one. Some interesting details are revealed: Joan Crawford's face was a source for the look of the Wicked Queen in Snow White and Jean Harlow's face was the inspiration for the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio. As a baby boomer who grew up on Walt Disney and as an artist myself I was enthralled to learn about all these fabulously talented people and how trying it could be working for Walt Disney, the great visionary.

Hadden Europese kunstenaars als Doré, Rackham, Grandville, Beatrix Potter, Friedrich, Runge, Böcklin, Von Stuck en de pre-Rafaelieten 50 of 100 jaar later in Hollywood gewoond, dan waren ze vast door de Disney Studio's ingehuurd.
In een prachtige tentoonstellingscatalogus, ontsluiert Bruno Girveau, conservator bij de École Nationale Superieure de Beaux Arts, Parijs de inspiratiebronnen van de klassieke Disney films van `Sneeuwwitje' (1937) tot en met `Jungleboek' (1967). Hij putte daarvoor als eerste uit het Animation Research Library van de studio's. Walt en zijn broer Ray Disney tekenden zelf alleen rond 1920 de eerste korte Mickey Mouse animaties. Avondvullende speelfilms in kleur-met-geluid bleken financieel lucratiever. Dus kwam Walt met ietwat gladde herinterpretaties van oude Europese sprookjes met de oorspronkelijke illustraties als uitgangspunt. Hij annexeerde zo in zekere zin Assepoester, Bambi en Peter Pan of Alice (in Wonderland) die we ons nu het eerst in hun bravige Disneyaanse gedaante voorstellen.
Gaandeweg volgden de films een vast stramien: naievig hoofdpersonage, omringd door kwade stiefmoeders of snoodaards, gesteund door een onhandig maar slim bijfiguurtje - Pinocchio & Japie Krekel, Bambi & Stamperdje. Dit procédé ontwikkelde zich in de huidige Disney-films tot een ergerlijk, commercieel format.
Girveau verbindt de inspiratiebronnen met even fabuleuze voorstudies door Disney-kunstenaars. De helft van was Europees, dus kenden ze hun tradities. Conceptuelen zetten met geschilderde sfeerstudies en decors het verhaal uit. Anderen ontwikkelden de personages en hun motoriek. Rond 1935 stuurde Disney zijn kunstenaars naar het Chouniard Art Institute. Daar leerde men bijvoorbeeld met een echt hert als model de elegantie van Bambi te typeren.
De studio baseerde zich echter niet alleen op de 18e en 19e eeuwse voorbeelden, ook had men oog voor de `zeitgenössische' Duitse avantgarde-film, onbekend bij het grote publiek.
De expressionistische schaduwen uit `Das Kabinett des Dr Caligari' (1919) dreigen andermaal bij `Pinocchio' (1939). Sneeuwwitje blijkt een symbiose uit het poezelige kindsterretje Shirley Temple en de lieftallige twintiger Janet Gaynor. Als modellen voor Assepoesters elegante, nare stiefmoeder fungeerden Joan Crawford en een streng realistisch beeld van markgravin Uta uit de Duitse Gothiek. En uiteraard staat het oer-Disneykasteel in het Beierse Neuschwanstein.
In `Fantasia', een ambitieuze episodenfilm met klassieke muziek (1940) gunde Disney zijn studio enige autonome artisticiteit, hetgeen vooral charmante edelkitsch oplevert.
Onbekender en hier ongenoemd blijft de veel vrijere vingeroefening `i Saludados Amigo's !' (1943) waarin een geile Donald Duck in psychedelische kleurpatronen een pre-popart trip maakt.
Zijn Disney-films nu low of high art culture? Geen van beiden. Disney is Heigho, een categorie op zichzelf.

Any collection strong in animation history and art needs ONCE UPON A TIME: WALT DISNEY: THE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION FOR THE DISNEY STUDIOS. It packs in nearly four hundred color illustrations and essays by a number of authorities as it reveals the Paris exhibition of 'Once Upon a Time: Walt Disney' and considers the films which impacted animation and the film world. Over 300 original works by Disney artists, from paintings and drawings to film clips, backgrounds and cels blend with the Western European artworks which inspired them, offering a unique visual connection between Disney's efforts and their inspirational origins. The cross-cultural connections are simply outstanding and place this 'tops' in any collection strong on Disney, film or animation history.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch