J.B. Kaufman

Released in 2012, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this book tells the fascinating story of the making of Walt Disney's groundbreaking animated classic. More than 250 artworks, including rarely seen concept sketches, background paintings, and cels illustrate the genius of Walt Disney and the creative vision of the artists who produced a beloved milestone in cinematic history. In 1933, Walt Disney was a rising star in the world of animation, just beginning to become a household name. Ambitious new ideas emerged from the Disney studio on a regular basis, and the film world waited eagerly to see what the creative young filmmaker would do next. The answer surprised them all: a full-length animated feature film, based on the traditional tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The production took three years and the talents of many of Hollywood’s top artists . . . and, of course, created one of the best-loved classics of all time. This book, based on a ground-breaking exhibition of both familiar and never-before-seen art from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, walks the reader scene by scene through the movie, accompanying the art with behind-the-scenes stories about the film’s production. The book features over 200 pieces of art, many reproduced from original concept sketches, background paintings, and production cels, as well as alternate character concepts, deleted scenes, and step-by-step process shots.

The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

In 2012 Disney will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Snow White movie, a beloved classic and an important milestone in film history. This book, created with the Walt Disney Family Foundation, run by Walt’s daughter, is an exploration of the making of the film that includes never-before-published facts and art. The Fairest One of All won the award for Best Animation Book at the 2012 A113Animation Awards. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was first shown to a theatrical audience in December 1937 and brought overwhelming, joyous applause from a house full of hardened film-industry professionals. In subsequent months it would open around the world, happily acclaimed by audiences and critics everywhere as one of the best films of the year, if not the decade. From today’s perspective, its stature is even greater—named as one of the best movies of all time by the American Film Institute, and still beloved by children and adults around the world, Snow White can be seen as the flowering of an all-too-brief Golden Age of animation as well as a fascinating document of its time. Such a level of artistic achievement doesn’t happen by accident. Walt Disney and a staff of exceptionally talented artists labored over Snow White for four years, endlessly working and reworking their scenes to achieve an ever higher standard. The result, as we know, was magnificent and game-changing for the Disney Studios and, indeed, for the art of animation itself. This book is the first to reconstruct that process in exacting detail, with the loving attention it deserves from an internationally noted film scholar. Author J.B. Kaufman spent years researching the film’s history, interviewing participants, and studying the marvelous archival art that appears in these pages. The result is a work that can be appreciated equally as a piece of film history and as a collectable art book, a joy for anyone who loves film, animation, and the magical world that Walt Disney created.

The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Fairest One of All

In 1940, Walt Disney released his second feature film: Pinocchio, based on Carlo Collodi’s 1883 Italian children’s novel. The film was groundbreaking: it pioneered the latest animation and sound technology of the era, and established a blueprint for Disney filmmaking that remains intact today. It became the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award® (in fact, it won two), and earned a place on the roster of the National Film Registry. Pinocchio’s crucial role has endured decades, given its rare 100% rating on the film website Rotten Tomatoes and the lively discourse that continues to surround the film today. To celebrate the film’s 75th anniversary this year, author J.B. Kaufman presents a complete history of the making of Pinocchio, from source material to rerelease. Pinocchio, published in partnership with the Walt Disney Family Foundation and the Walt Disney Family Museum, is an in-depth exploration of the making of the film. Academy Award-winning animator and film historian John Canemaker says of Pinocchio: “In great detail, J. B. Kaufman reveals the struggles, triumphs and disappointments encountered by Disney and his staff during the creation of this sacred monster of a film. Woven here is a once-upon-a-time story sure to fascinate and inform readers, an exciting adventure into the inner workings of a one-of-a kind studio and team at its creative peak.” Go behind to the scenes with stories of the inner workings of the Golden Age of Animation, the animators’ personalities and story changes like why Jiminy Cricket’s character almost got left on the cutting room floor. Over 300 photographs, illustrations and concept sketches – many of which are available for the very first time – accompany the story behind the story. Become a part of the wild, legendary ride that was the making of Pinocchio.

The Making of the Disney Epic

Pinocchio

Russell Merritt

Launched by Walt Disney in 1929 as a "musical novelty" series to complement his recent success with Mickey Mouse, the Silly Symphonies soon became much more. This line of delightfully innovative, animated cartoons ran for ten years and produced such classics as Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, Music Land, and The Old Mill. Silly Symphonies won every Academy Award. From the authors of the prize-winning Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney, this richly illustrated volume is a complete history of the Silly Symphonies including detailed entries for all the Symphonies along with a lengthy critical analysis and production history of the series.

J.B. Kaufman

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