Disney's Art of Animation #2: FROM MICKEY MOUSE to HERCULES

by Bob Thomas

In 1958, Walt Disney encouraged Bob Thomas to write The Art of Animation, the first book that would give full credit to the animators and explore the animation process. Now, the newly revised Disney's Art of Animation covers the history of animation at the Disney Studio from the birth of Mickey Mouse to Disney's latest animated film, Hercules. This newly updated edition includes Aladdin, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Toy Story, James and the Giant Peach, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and features a special "making-of" section on Hercules. Disney's Art of Animation celebrates the magic of animation through Disney's numerous animated feature films. Thomas explains basic animation techniques and provides examples of story sketches, layouts, animation drawings, and back-ground paintings - all the elements that go into the making of an animated film. With the full cooperation of the Studio and total access to its archives, Thomas conducted dozens of interviews with the animators themselves, and the result is a remarkable tour behind the scenes of the magic we see on the screen.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Animation

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 1997

About the author

Robert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.

Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.

Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.

During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was originally published by Bob Thomas back in 1958, when Sleeping Beauty was in the works and Walt himself was still around. It is a colourful and well-written history of the Disney company and its features, running up as far as 1997's Hercules (in the most recent edition).

After beginning with a short history of animation prior to Disney, Thomas proceeds to summarise the creation of the Disney features and the studio's evolution over time. His accounts of the various stages of Disney history are neat, succinct and thankfully devoid of the personal bias which creeps into so many other accounts of the films. It finishes with a detailed look at the making of Hercules, which I found to be more interesting than that film's companion, Chaos of Creation, by Stephen Rebello, so this would be an excellent bonus for any fans of that film.

One of the original 'Art of' books written by a true Disney fan, this work is a treasure for any collector. It is only a pity that it has not been updated in recent years - but the newest edition from 1997 is highly affordable, so this would be an excellent gift for a Disney enthusiast.

[I A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good history of Disney's Animation although I wish every single film in the Canon had its own section. This version of the book also has an entire section devoted to the making of Hercules which I felt could have been shortened.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an updated publication of a previous edition. It's amazing how much progress can be made in a particular artform over a period of just six years.

The first half of this book is pretty much identical to the previous edition, after which it deviates quite a bit. While the first edition went into an in-depth exploration on the making of Beauty and the Beast, this one presents a much more brief serving on that film, and several films following, and then it contains a long second half about the art and making of Hercules, at the time the most recent Disney animated film. The additional information is concise by design, but insightful. It's not meant to be a detailed history of the making of the films from the early '90s on, but an overview of their contributions to the art form and the innovative, revolutionary methods the Disney studio continues to create as the undisputed masters of animation. The chapters on the making of Hercules were an even better offering for that film than the previous book's chapters on Beauty and the Beast were. The style in Hercules was a notable departure from the classic Disney style, and it was nice to have a fairly detailed exploration on the process and inspiration, from the inspiration of the swooping, scalloped style of Gerald Scarfe's artwork to the artists' research trip to Greece and Turkey, and from the voice actors to the animators that gave their characters life, it provided a nice understanding of the complex and multi-faceted process of making an animated film.

This was an even better book than the first edition, and not just because it was more up-to-date. As I said in my previous review, it had some information that was surprising even for a Disney nut and student of animation such as I am. I doubt there will be another edition, but if there is, I would be glad to read it.

[Diah Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE this book! Buku paling muahal yang pernah gue beli. Terpaksa beli juga buat TUGAS AKHIR kuliah waktu itu. Sampe sekarang masih terlihat licin karena ati2x banget. Boleh dibilang gue nggak baca buku ini karena gue cuma suka liat gambar2xnya.
KEREN!!

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a gift it was interesting but it didn't go into to much detail on how to draw.