DVDizzy Forum

I am very curious about this, since I don't only collect Disney DVDs, but also books: good books. Coffee table books and the art of books. I have a big collection. But I'd like to hear the titles you guys own.

I only have two, Walt Disney Treasures and The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to Magic Kingdom. I wish i had more... like the art of Mulan, Tarzan Chronicles and The Art of Fantasia 2000

i don't own any but i did read michael eisner's autobiography. i don't know what possessed me.

The Art of Pocahontas
The Art of The Lion King
The Art of Hercules
The Art of Mulan
Fantasia 2000 VISIONS OF HOPE
The Tarzan Chronicles

are all amazing. I recommend them to anyone!

i just read a biography of Disney titled "Disneys World." fascinating stuff. has anyone else read this? i've always been interested in facts about Walt but had never sat down and actually read about his life. i plan on finding some more biographies of him to get the most complete picture i can. i'd definitely recommend "Disneys World"

I have also the funny collection of HOW TO DRAW DISNEY'S... although I am not an animator, I love to draw these characters that usually start with a circle, and see how bit by bit turn into the persona I'm trying to make...
... and yes, they're for kids, and I am... a 31 year old kid...

Disney The First 100 Years
A good genral overview of the history of the company and includes most Disney milestones (but some events have surprisingly brief mentions). Good for an introduction to Disney history, but not as detailed as I expect most people here would want.

Mickey Mouse: The Evolution, the Legend, the Phenomenon
Personally I think this is a great book, a great discription of Mickey Mouse and how he changed American cinema. This book looks at everything from cartoons shorts to movies, TV, comics and other merchandise. Sadly, this book is likely to look dated with this year being Mickey's 75th anniversary.

The Disney Films
Maltin looks at the feature films of Disney - with special attention to the films made during Walt Disney's lifetime. Periodically updated to include newer movies.

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men

Er. I don't actually have this book, but John Canemaker's "Nine Old Men" half-hour documentary on the 2-Disc Peter Pan is absolutely fantastic (perhaps the best Disney documentary I have seen). I expect the book to be just as perfect... if not better. It's on my list (but rather expensive)

And here's one for Jabby
Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney
Again, I don't own this, but I know Jabroni76 will love this book all about Walt Disney's silent films - Alice Comedies, Oswald and Mickey Mouse.

Actually this week I ordered from Amazon.com WALT IN WONDERLAND. It is very interesting. Also, WALD DISNEY AND EUROPE: EUROPEAN INFLUENCES ON THE ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS OF WALT DISNEY is abook that I also wanted, and I finally found it on line

Disney: The Ultimate Visual Guide
The Art of The Incredibles
Learn to Draw Lilo & Stitch

I may have a few more, but this is all I can recall owning.

Deep breath (here we go):

* Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life - Frank and Ollie's monster of a guide to what makes Disney animation magic. Technique and philosophy discussed, and probably a must-own for any animation fan and not just Disney fans.
* Disney: The Ultimate Visual Guide - Does what it says on the cover, and does it quite well. Covering animation, live action and the theme parks, as well as merchandise and nostalgia. Another excellent one from DK.
* The Disney Treasures by Robert Tieman - One of those books that has all the pop-ups, collectibles and random gubbins inside.

Theme Park Books

These make up the majority of my collection, as it is the theme parks that I have been most interest in for the last few years and there is a surprisingly large amount written on them.

Some are reviewed here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... ight=books

These include:

* Walt Disney's Disneyland (1969) - One of the earlier books I own on the subject, and is quite comprehensive for the day.
* Disneyland: The First Quarter Century (1979)
* Disneyland: The First Thirty Years (1985) (virtually identical to above)
* Disneyland: Dreams, Traditions and Transitions (199-?) - By Leonard Shannon. This is an interesting one. I picked this up when a library I used to work at was going to discard it from their donations pile! It is brand-new, and filled with high-quality glossy photos. No surprises, but very well done.
* Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever (2005) - Released for the 50th anniversary of the park. I reviewed this for UD a while back. Excellent collection. Accompanying the informative text is an enormous collection of sketches, maps and early construction photos of many of the major attractions that now populate the park. In addition to those rides and attractions that still remain, we get an inside look at long-extinct attractions such as Submarine Voyage and Indian Village, which predates both Bear Country and Critter Country.
* The Art of Disneyland (2005) - Jeff Kurti and Bruce Gordon. Great for its large reproductions of original Disneyland concept art.
* Around the World with Disney (2005) - Kind of like a global version of the souvenir books you get in the parks, but this one doesn't include Hong Kong. Lots of great photos.
* Secrets of Disney's Glorious Gardens (Disney Editions - June 2006): Ok, I freely admit this is an odd one, and obsessive. It's all about gardening - the Disney way! Maybe one day your garden will look as good as Disney's - of course, I'd be nice to have the land and money they have too. Probably for serious Disney Park enthusiasts only, and those that have an eye for gardening. To be honest, I just enjoy looking at the pictures.
* Pirates of the Caribbean - From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies (2006)
* The Haunted Mansion - From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies (2003)
* The Disney Mountains - Imagineering at It's Peak (2007)
These three books above, all by Jason Surrell, examine their subjects in exquisite detail. The first two take the two most famous of the Disneyland attractions, and the latter takes those attractions that are especially hard to miss. Looking at Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach in WDW, Splash Mountain, Grizzly Peak (DCA), Mount Prometheus (Tokyo DisneySea) and most recently Expedition Everest, it even has a section on the mountain that never was, Candy Mountain (mmmm...). All must-owns.
* The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland (2008)
* The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World (2005)
* The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World (2007)
* The Imagineering Field Guide to EPCOT at Walt Disney World (2006)
All of the Imagineering Field Guides are worth picking up, as they are like little travel guides pointing out the facts, bits of trivial, concepts and stories behind the obvious and not-so-obvious attractions in the Disney Parks.
* Tokyo Disney Resort Dream (2008): This is a 25th anniversary book I picked up in TDL last year in the Resort. Comes with a DVD I am yet to watch...
* Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park (2008) - Don't you love book titles that tell you exactly what is going down inside the covers? Long-delayed but worth the wait, this pulls back on the pictures (of which there are still many unique ones) and features stories and tales from all the big names in the Imagineering business. Can I say, excellent?


Misc:

* Disney Comics: The Classics Collection
* Pixar: 20 Years of Animation
*Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture (1996): To quote the linked review: "Don't let the "Disney" name in the subtitle fool you. Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture is not a travel guide, a child's storybook or a sugarcoated romanticization of the Disney empire. Instead, author Beth Dunlop's picture-packed book is a careful study of the imaginative and often-revolutionary designs found in Disney theme parks, hotels and corporate offices." Now OOP.

Probably some I've missed, and will update accordingly...

I have:
The Art of A Bugs Life
The Art of The Incredibles
The Art of Ratatouille
The Art of Cars
The Art of Wall-e
The Art and Flair of Mary Blair
The Art of Bolt
Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters
The Art of Walt Disney:From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom
The Disney Villain

I've just ordered The Art of The Lion King.


Does anyone know what the difference between the regular edition, and the miniature edition is, apart from the overall size? Does it contain less?

Rach

2099net wrote:Er. I don't actually have this book, but John Canemaker's "Nine Old Men" half-hour documentary on the 2-Disc Peter Pan is absolutely fantastic (perhaps the best Disney documentary I have seen). I expect the book to be just as perfect... if not better. It's on my list (but rather expensive)

Did I miss something? Are you talking about the last Platinum Edition? I own that, and there's no Canemaker documentary on it. Or is it only on the American R1 version?

Goliath wrote:

2099net wrote:Er. I don't actually have this book, but John Canemaker's "Nine Old Men" half-hour documentary on the 2-Disc Peter Pan is absolutely fantastic (perhaps the best Disney documentary I have seen). I expect the book to be just as perfect... if not better. It's on my list (but rather expensive)

Did I miss something? Are you talking about the last Platinum Edition? I own that, and there's no Canemaker documentary on it. Or is it only on the American R1 version?

Judging from the date of Netty's post (almost 5 years ago!) I would imagine this would have been one of the import Peter Pan's available at the time. I think this one was French. It had a wonderful cover and contained the "Nine Old Men & the Art of Animation" Featurette.

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1737

In a thread that I started a few months ago on Disney Books, I wrote:This probably won't get more than three or four replies, but I just thought that it may be an idea to devote a thread to favourite, past and upcoming reference books on Disney animation or non-park Disney books (since there's a thread for that in the Theme Parks forum). I know that such reference books cost a bomb, thus the reason why I don't have quite a number which I quite want. But I personally still have quite a few.

Books that I have:
Disney War (okay, it's more of an exposé-cum-biography on Michael Eisner, but still worthy of note)
The Disney Films
The Art of Walt Disney (the concise edition...bought it in a discount bookshop a few years ago)
Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (really my first introduction to Disney history)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: An Art in Its Making (miniature edition)
The Disney Poster (miniature edition again...I believe that they did an update of this some time ago...this version only goes up until Aladdin!)
The Art and Flair of Mary Blair
Paper Dreams

Books that I want (if given an endless supply of cash, I'd get everything, but most of all):
The Disney that Never Was (bidding on a copy on E-Bay)
The Illusion of Life (they had this in our school library, until it mysteriously vanished)
The Disney Experience (believe that this was only released in the UK...looks mighty purty)
Walt Disney's Cinderella (the one with the Mary Blair artwork alongside a retelling)
Walt Disney and Europe (potentially interesting, what with my love of all things continental)
Disney Lost and Found
Walt Disney's Fantasia

I did get The Disney that Never Was in the end. I haven't bought a Disney book in a while, although when I was in France, I managed to buy the DVD that accompanied the Il était une fois...Walt Disney exhibition a few years back in Paris. How/why it was being sold in a Virgin megastore in Strasbourg, I have no idea...