Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

From Mickey Mouse to Finding Nemo, Walt Disney's creations have been synonymous with wholesome entertainment for the better part of a century. This revised and expanded edition updates the 1995 version (originally published in 1973) in all areas, including feature animation, live-action movies, Broadway productions, and theme parks. The strength of this work remains the material detailing Disney's formative years, which bursts with concept drawings, interviews, and rich historical context. Yet while this new edition adds pages devoted to recent movies such as Lilo & Stitch, Mu

Publishers Weekly Review

Originally published in 1973, Finch?s classic book on the artistic innovations of Walt Disney has been revised and expanded several times, and with each edition his definition of ?art? becomes more suspect. The book?s original material, much of which Finch wisely retains, patiently records the art, inventions and shrewd enterprises of the studio?s legendary early years, while offering a fascinating tutorial on the birth of animation. Seventy lavishly illustrated pages are devoted to the Mickey and Donald years, another 50 to the movies Snow White and Pinocchio. Walt Disney stars in these early chapters as an artistic Icarus whose prodigal budgets and ?quest for perfection? pushed his production teams to unprecedented heights. An unapologetic apologist, Finch is always there to defend Disney (whom he considers ?the ultimate auteur?) against critics who have called him a ?backward-looking? artist and even ?an advocate of political authoritarianism.? Such biases aside, the book manages to tell a rousing tale of Disney?s creative life?right up to his 1965 deathbed hallucination of the yet-unrealized Epcot Center. This new edition, however, also takes on Disney?s posthumous life, when his ambitions outlive his quirky personality and are carried out by foot soldiers called ?imagineers.? The sundry innovations of Tim Burton, Pixar and two Broadway spinoffs may loosely qualify as the ?Art of Disney,? but so, too, according to Finch, do the corporation?s war chest of ?toontowns,? movie rides and international theme parks. Boldly blurring the line between art and money, Finch?s sprawling hagiography of the Magic Kingdom touches down for a perfect Hollywood ending: ?Perhaps the greatest achievement of Michael Eisner [?],? it concludes, ?has been to build a company in which no creative endeavor need be aborted for lack of available funding.? Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Booklist Review

When it first appeared in 1973, Finch's massive tome immediately became the standard work on the history of the Disney studio. While revised as recently as 1995, so much has happened in animation since then that this further revision, brimming with full-color illustrations, is definitely in order. Most of the text covering the lengthy history of the studio, from Walt Disney's early silents to the introduction of Mickey Mouse to Snow White,0 the first U.S. feature-length cartoon, to the 1990s Disney animation renaissance, remains intact. Finch also details the company's moves into live-action films, television, and theme parks. New chapters cover such recent releases as Mulan 0 and Lilo and Stitch0 , Broadway adaptations of Disney cartoon features, and, most significant, Pixar's digital-animation releases, such as Toy Story 0 and Monsters, Inc0 ., whose phenomenal popularity prompted Disney to phase out its traditional-animation unit. Although authorized, Finch's book accords each film balanced critical assessment. The initial edition is a library mainstay, but the renewed popularity of animation mandates replacing shelf-worn copies of it with this update. --Gordon Flagg Copyright 2004 Booklist