The Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to Remember

by Rebecca Cline, Steven Clark

Abundantly illustrated with behind-the-scenes photographs and artwork from the studio's ninety-plus years of productions, The Walt Disney A Lot to Remember celebrates Walt Disney’s dream factory, which has always been and continues to be the heart of The Walt Disney Company.



In 1923, two enterprising brothers named Walt and Roy Disney decided to go into the movie business together, establishing the Disney Brothers Studio in Los Angeles, California. Since then, The Walt Disney Studios has released hundreds of groundbreaking and entertaining shorts and full-length feature films in both animation and live-action, garnering countless awards, accolades, and aficionados the world over. But just as Walt was never a man to rest on his laurels, the Disney studio continues to surpass itself, innovating new technology, pioneering new techniques, and gleaning higher box-office returns with every passing decade.


From Pinocchio and Fantasia , World War II propaganda films to the Disneyland TV show, Bedknobs and Broomsticks to Pirates of the Caribbean , some of the company's most monumental and iconic creations have been brought to life at the studio. So park your car in the Zorro lot, take a stroll down Mickey Avenue, and get ready for an insider tour . . . this is the Walt Disney Studios like it's never been seen before.



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Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2019

About the author

Becky Cline joined The Walt Disney Company in 1989, and became a member of the staff of the Walt Disney Archives in 1993. Today, as Director of the Archives, Becky is charged with collecting and preserving all aspects of Disney history and making the material available to researchers from all areas of the Walt Disney Company as well as to historians, writers, documentarians and fans around the world. Her many responsibilities include maintaining and conserving the Archives’ collections of historical documents, artwork, character merchandise, costumes, props and memorabilia. In the years since the Archives was established at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, it has grown from a one-person department to it’s current staff of twenty-three, and has come to be recognized as a model among corporate archives in the country.

In her position with the Archives Becky has also enjoyed participating in the research and development of many new and exciting programs and fan-based initiatives for the Walt Disney Company - most recently as part of the development and operations team for D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.

Born in Glendale, California, and raised in Los Angeles, Becky attended Glendale College and California State University Los Angeles, majoring in Theater Arts. After college, she worked for two years in the Rare Books Department of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, where she received her first taste of library/archives work.

As an author, Becky has written and contributed to numerous articles on Disney history for magazines such as Disney twenty-three, Disney Magazine, The Disney Channel Magazine, Persistence of Vision, The E-Ticket, and the Disney Insider Yearbook, as well as many Disney internal publications and websites. She is also a frequent speaker on behalf of The Walt Disney Company, giving talks and presenting seminars on Disney history.

Reviews

[Jnyama · Rating 3 out of 5]

A glossy large-format look at the history of the Walt Disney Studios, with an emphasis on the development of the current studio's footprint. Fairly superficial as far as historical content and treatment of the backlot is concerned, but probably appropriate for this format. The pictures are gorgeous--this will probably be a nice read for people, assuming they are not expecting a deep dive or new information out of it.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you drive through the San Fernando Valley on California Highway 134 near Griffith Park, you’ll notice a movie studio not far from the side of the road. As you pass the soundstages and office buildings, you may spot a familiar giant blue conical hat; look up at the water tower, and you’ll notice a picture of a very famous mouse. This is the Walt Disney Studios, which for more than 80 years has been the place where an amazing group of people have made some well-known moments of movie magic. Most of us will never have the chance to walk through the gates and see the inside of the place, but Rebecca Cline and Steven Clark have provided readers with the next best thing - a lovely book that chronicles the history of the Studios and gives readers a look at its beautiful, college-like campus.

You can’t really discuss the physical place without discussing the history of the Walt Disney Company, so Rebecca and Steven take us back to the very beginning, when Walt and Roy Disney started an animation studio in the back of a real estate office in Silver Lake. We see the studio succeed and grow until, after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt and Roy decide to build a studio in Burbank that will meet their needs for film production but also provide a better working environment for its employees. The Studio no sooner opens than it finds itself dealing with a strike, then is occupied by the military during World War II; we see the Studio struggle through diminished returns from their animated films, until they begin to recover in the early 1950s. The Studios branch out into live-action filmmaking and television production, and also becomes the place where Walt and the first Imagineers design and build the attractions for Disneyland. We see the Studios create some of its greatest successes, and then have to deal with the fallout from losing Walt. The Studios soldiers on and brings on new generations of artists and executives, finds creative and commercial success again in the 1980s and 1990s, as “Walt’s little studio” becomes the centerpiece of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies. In spite of all of the changes, it’s easy to find the places where the Company celebrates its past - provided you know where to look.

This is a beautiful coffee table book, with great photographs and lots of fun stories from Disney history - as you might expect, since the book was co-written by the director of the Walt Disney Archives! If you’re a hard-core Disney geek, you’ll probably have heard many of the stories Rebecca and Steven tell, but you’ll be introduced to some new stories and pictures you haven’t seen before; if you’ve never really explored Disney’s past or toured a working movie studio (and no, Universal Studios Hollywood doesn’t really count anymore!) you’re in for a treat. Recommended!