Howard Beckerman - "Animation Spot" - Back Stage; New York Vol. 23, Iss. 52, (Dec 24, 1982): 28, 42.

 ". . . I'll have Walter Disney

 Pictures on the wall, 

When my ship comes in."

              Eddie Cantor, "Kid Millions," 1934 

The drawings and paintings that make up an animated film were never meant to be studied individually but instead were intended to be viewed as part of a continuous flow of melding images. Art for the Disney films was usually enhanced with double exposures, camera effects and the illusion of motion which transformed them from bits of paper, paints and cels into pieces of believable time and place. Much of these finely rendered works were discarded with the trash after they had served their purpose, or if they were salvaged at all it was strictly for reference heeds and not for privileged hanging on gallery walls. 

Animation art served the same purpose as magazine illustration or comic strip art. It was made to be reproduced and as soon as it was the artists' handiwork lost its reason for being. In the last few years interest in animation drawings, cels and backgrounds has been growing among collectors much to the surprise of veteran animators, even though they may have clung to favorite sketches themselves for over thirty years. 

Much of the current interest was fired by the vast exhibit at the Whitney Museum last year which under the shepherding of Greg Ford was able to herd thousands of drawings, paintings and photographs into one arena for popular viewing. The public responded enthusiastically, and many individuals returned time and again to peruse samples of Disney studio art; most of which had never been exhibited anywhere before. 

Now, two books have appeared in time for the holiday gift buying season that contain choice examples of graphic works from the Disney archives. "Walt Disney's World of Fantasy" by Adrian Bailey and published by Everest House has been packaged for a general market. Yet inside this collection of Disney family photos, stills from live action films and colorful views of Disneyland, are some fine reproductions of drawings and pain-tings that were the underpinnings of the animated films. 

The book is designed so that the reader can happily glide through the text and keep turning pages to find new delights on each subsequent leaf. Adrian Bailey has detailed the now familiar life and times of Walt Disney and has attempted to add a bit of balance to a story that has often included only the bright side and ignored failures and critical put downs. Yet the text rarely strays from the accounting of Disnev triumphs even as it is expressing some of the negative aspects of more than fifty years of efforts from the Disney organization. 

For instance, one reference explains that the film Pinocchio was not as charming as its predecessor, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and that it did not follow Collodi's original story very closely, yet on the following page the film's integrity is rescued when the author observes that, "Pinocchio is a film that is at times almost surreal, and in this respect takes its cue from the fantasy of the original." 

Bailey also takes a stab at explaining the personality of Disney, and as he attempts to pull together the opinions of those who met Walt on a daily basis the reader will not get any negative impression of the Master of Burbank, because this book is weighed heavily in the direction of extolling the genius of the man whose fortunes it follows. 

"Walt Disney's World of Fantasy" contains several previously unpublished photographs of Walt and his surroundings that should appeal to the fans and followers of the creator of Mickey Mouse, but the high point of the work is the sketches and animation drawings scattered throughout. 

Many prominent artists that visited the Disney workshop over the years expressed their wonder at the strength of the drawings as against the slickly finished colored cels that became the final film. It is rare then to see a collection of art that was only preliminary acts to the big show. Yet much of the sketches and inspirational paintings are worth close scrutiny and appreciation. Curiously, all of this work was accomplished by artists who had little interest in their daily doings as real art. 

Happily the author refers to several of Disney's best artists by name a welcome practice that has begun to usurp the earlier anonymity that shrouded the hundreds of practitioners of the art that toiled in the fields of animation. 

Disney himself had little truck with the presumptions of art and was strictly concerned with the entertainment values of his films. Though he surrounded himself with the best animation artists in the business, Walt was always looking toward the final screen result. A new book now contains examples of the art that made up the foundation of these films. Entitled: Treasures of Disney Animation Art" and unlike "Walt Disney's World of Fantasy", it has been solely designed as an art publication in the manner of hooks that extoll the work of Picasso or Rembrandt. 

This volume with a preface by publisher Robert Abrams and a lengthy introduction written by John Canemaker is an impressive 12" by 51/2" bulk that is intended to approximate the size of the original art as closely as possible. Contained in this volume are samples of layout sketches, parts of animation sequences, background renderings chalk techniques, an approach once popular in cartoon studios and ad agencies, but that has now been usurped by felt markers. The many pastel and chalk drawings in the collection reveal the excitement of shaded hues on deep colored papers an effect out of the realm of even the most brilliant felt markers. 

Wherever possible the artists' names are mentioned along with the samples of art which fills this 320 page work. The numerous references to, "Artist unknown", attests to the problem of finding out who did what in the short history of animation. 

An interesting point to note is that this vast volume contains no drawings by Disney himself. You would have to turn to "Walt Disney's World of Fantasy to find a sampling of early art done by Walt. In the introduction, John Canemaker filmmaker and animation historian tells of the studio's attempt to improve the product and points out the pattern of change that took place from the early simple Mickey Mouse cartoons to the more complex demands made on the artists to produce films such as a Dumbo or Fantasia. 

While these books are not cheap, "Walt Disney's World of Fantasy" is just under $40.00 and "Treasures of Disney Animated Art" retails for $85.00 they offer a chance to own reproductions of animation drawings and paintings that are not readily available for scrutiny and study.