Truth Conquers All Things

Warp and Weft: Life Canvas of Herbert Ryman by John Stanley Donaldson. 2010. 978-0-9843789-0-6.

John Stanley Donaldson knew Herbert Ryman for over thirty years. Herb was his mentor and friend; a lifelong companion and artistic brother. When I received a review copy of Warp and Weft, it came with a personal note from John detailing that the work has been derided as inflammatory and sparking ill will among Disney's old guard. Following many other Disney-related biographies, I wasn't sure of John's intent, but I was hoping that his book would not follow the same path as The Dark Prince or the Neal Gabler conflagration. Both titles have been scorned and refuted by the Disney Company and the Disney Family. I am glad to say that I enjoyed the book and John's unique perspective.

I wish that there were more books like this that cover the Imagineers and artists of the Disney Company. Herbert Ryman was a true legend, not just a Disney Legend, but a remarkable legend that influenced and touched everyone he came into contact with. It is easy to stand here and tell you that there would be no Disneyland or Walt Disney Word, as we know it, without Herb. After reading this lyrical tome, you get a clearer understanding of that statement. Herb, or Herbie, was a truly influential person in the life and career of Walt Disney. There was a level of mutual respect, friendship and camaraderie between the two geniuses.

A commonition to the reader: John's writing style has been described as lyrical and it does fit the form of an artist's pursuit of painting with words on paper. The style is beautiful at the same time it can be ungainly for an inexperienced reader. John rhymes his text, which can throw off the structure of the sentence. For many readers, his style will be a turnoff, but I urge you to complete the book.

Still, what is important is that John has put down an amazing story on paper; one that shows the amazing life that Herb led. A world traveler, burgeoning artist and friend to everyone he met. Where John's tale turns decidedly darker is when you learn about Herb's sister, Lucille. She and her husband are painted as the heavies of the book. Actually, they are more than heavies, they are sinister with no other compunction except money and making sure that they get what they deserve. In the case of the book, it is every last possession of Herb Ryman. By the end of the book, you will see other Disney legends in an entirely different light.

The tale, as it unfolds, is mesmerizing simply by the cast of characters that parade through the weave of the book. Many famous celebrities are forced into a connection, some tumultuous, with the Disney Company through their associations with any of the Rymans. From Marylin Monroe to drug smugglers in Florida. My favorite parts of the stories were the anecdotes of Herbie's travels throughout the world. He truly had a worldwide perspective in his art.

The Author's website.

This is a book that you have to take a chance on; one that you will need to work through in order to gain its treasures. You will not regret turning the pages, but you will gain a vastly different perspective on Herb Ryman's life. And on his various colleagues at Disney.

On a personal note, I would like to thank John for the time he spent crafting this biography. He shares many anecdotes about Herb that would be lost otherwise. He also steps forward to advocate for Herb when no one else is able to.

You can purchase the book directly from the author here.

"...and we began to realize that the term Imagineer was something extraordinary"

Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering: Harriet Burns by Pam Burns-Clair and Don Peri. 2010

Harriet Burns. Her name is synonymous with Imagineering and the creation of early Disneyland. Not only was she one of Walt's first Imagineers, but she was the first woman in Imagineering, hence her title, the First Lady of Imagineering. She worked on the development of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the 1964-65 New York World's Fair and countless other rides, attractions and resorts. Harriet retired in 1986 after 31 years of creating magic for the Walt Disney Company.

Joanne Campbell wrote about a trip to Walt Disney World with Harriet Burns in the early 1990s:

The following morning Harriet had made reservations at a park restaurant she knew served the famous Mickey Mouse pancakes. She insisted on paying the bill because she said that her Disney card would entitle her to a discount. Of course we thanked her, but we didn't think too much of it. When she presented her card to the waiter, she said she hoped it was alright, because this card was actually from California. The waiter disappeared for some time, and suddenly the manager appeared. He was quite perplexed and said, "Mrs. Burns, was everything satisfactory? Michael [Eisner] usually alerts us when you're on the property!" With that, OUR eyes popped open in amazement, and we began to realize that the term Imagineer (and her #7 on the credit card) was something extraordinary.

Because Harriet was retired at this point, she herself had not seen MGM, which had just opened in Orlando. We hopped on a double-decker English bus with the throngs, and hadn't gone too far before Harriet said, "Look, boys, there is the old airplane that Bill and I rode to New York with Walt in for the World's Fair!" My husband and I exchanged looks, and sure enough, the tour guide then said, "and THIS is the plane that Walt took to the World's Fair."--p. 42, Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering

The book is replete with stories that will touch your heart. It is so much more than a tribute book to Harriet, it is also a look at how special and amazing it was to be one of Walt's Imagineers. This book is perfect for anyone interested in Imagineering, Walt or the amazing people that were fortunate enough to meet Harriet. She was an inspiring woman!

Pam Burns-Chair, Harriet's daughter, worked with author and Disney Historian Don Peri to create and compile this list of eulogies and tributes by family, friends and Disney employees. 67 essays, ranging in size from a few paragraphs to several pages help tell the story of how Harriet touched so many people's lives. The book is filled with over 200 photographs that span Harriet's life and her career at Disney.

After reading  this marvelous title, I felt like I had the opportunity to meet Harriet through the eyes of her family and friends. She was well-loved, respected and admired. Some of the best anecdotes were supplied by former Imagineers that had developed a special relationship with Harriet. She was known for having an off-color sense of humor that seemed to be in opposition to her native Texan drawl. Many of the Imagineers wrote that Harriet was personable and never forgot anyone she met.

Chelsea Clair, the daughter of Pam and the granddaughter of Harriet, designed the book. She did a wonderful job of laying out the pages and integrating the photographs into the text. Pam, Don and Chelsea should be very proud of the book they put together in honor of Harriet. Their love and the love of Harriet's friends and family.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention Scott Wolf, Disney Historian and owner of MouseClub House Scott helped with the project and created the website for the book at Imagineer Harriet.

You can also be come a Fan of Imagineer Harriet on Facebook.

This is a sentimental and beautiful look at Harriet Burns and her life in and outside of Disney. Look at Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering: Harriet Burns as more than a tribute; Pam and Don have compiled stories that give you an intimate look at what it was like to work for the Walt Disney Company with Walt and the heralded Imagineers.

The book provided was a review copy from the publisher.

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney

I just finished reading Michael Barrier's biography The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. In my opinion, this is one of the more important biographical treatises on Walt's life.
Before we get into the review, I want to share a little about the author, Michael Barrier. Barrier has written several animation- and comic book-related titles. The most well-known are: Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age, Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book and A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. He also published Funnyworld, a magazine devoted to animation and comics. Funnyworld lived in the early 1970's and you can find reprints of it on his website.

Barrier takes a different approach to looking at the life of Walt Disney. Instead of just focusing on the more mundane facts and figures, Barrier shows us the man through Disney's work, artistry and relationships. Barrier does impart the sense that after creating Snow White, Disney was never quite happy with the films and was striving for another challenge. Even Disneyland, with the audio-animatronics, never quite compared to the challenges of Snow White.

The Animated Man is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I never felt like Barrier was reciting a litany of facts, but instead, he was telling the story of Walt Disney. Barrier is renowned for his research, but I never felt burdened by the text. In other words: I had trouble putting this book down. It is quite obvious that Barrier is an animation fan and has tremendous respect for Disney and the art that was created.

One of my favorite passages from the book concerns the Kansas City Public Library:

Disney was intrigued by animation's possibilities and by what he called "the mechanics of the whole thing." He was essentially self-taught as an animator; he wrote to an admirer many years later, "I gained my first information on animation from a book ... which I procured from the Kansas City Public Library." That book was Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development by Edwin G. Lutz. According to its copyright page, Lutz's book was published in New York in February 1920, the same month Disney joined Kansas City Film Ad, so he must have read it very soon after it was added to the library's collection. He said of the book in 1956: "Now, it was not very profound; it was just something the guy had put together to make a buck. But, still, there are ideas in there."
--p. 26, The Animated Man.

Knowing that Disney utilized a public library to help jump start his career would make any of us public librarians proud.

If you've spent any time checking out Disney-related books, then you may have heard about the scuffle between Barrier's work and Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. See, at the beginning of Gabler's research (1995 or so), he started out to write a simpler biography of Disney after receiving a Guggenheim fellowship. At some point, Gabler was given unprecedented access to the Walt Disney Archives and corporate authorization to write a definitive biography; Barrier was denied access while writing The Animated Man. The press has been enamored with the fact that Gabler was given full access to the Archives and they have heaped accolades on him. Barrier's more authoritative research stems from the amount of work he had done while writing Hollywood Cartoons and Funnyworld and through the interviews with animation legends. Barrier knows his stuff. He does rely on a large amount of primary sources and his endnotes are well-documented and as intriguing as the rest of the text. I found myself taking much longer to read The Animated Man because I spent so much time flipping back to the notes to get more information. Since both were published within a year of each other, it is inevitable that comparisons will and have been drawn. I would have liked more comparisons between the works--from the critics--as Barrier's book is more definitive while Gabler's book comes off as a little snobbish and presents a seemingly misunderstood view of Disney.

I read Gabler's book first and found it hard to continue at points. It read as tenuously as it was long. From the beginning, Barrier captured my attention and interest and framed a picture of Disney through the art produced and the company he founded and ran. Thematically, if you look at how the authors present their vision of Disney, they take decidedly different routes. Gabler paints a man obsessed with control who is never happy because of the lack of control and his attempts at escaping his father's shadow. Gabler presumes to psychoanalyze Disney through memos, letters and notes--ultimately presenting a self-centered and egotistical slave-driver. Barrier takes us on a journey through the work of Disney to present a man who is less a control freak and more of an entrepreneur. Barrier wastes none of our time looking into Disney's psyche and instead focuses on what is tangible with Disney in order to provide a glimpse into his life.


Bottom Line: This is the best biography of Walt Disney that I have had the pleasure of reading. Barrier does focus predominately on Disney's opus of work--personal and corporate--but doesn't that define Disney as we know him and why Disney is significant to us?

I've added links to the hardcover (left) and the paperback (right). The paperback is not scheduled to be published until late March.

Building a Company

Building A Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire by Bob Thomas. 1998, 359 pages.

I read Bob Thomas' biography of Walt many years ago and it is one of my favorites. In 1998, Thomas published Building A Company, a look at the lesser-known half of the Disney Empire.

Roy's life started out simple enough and even as a young teenager, he was taking care of Walt and helping him with his dreams. This would be a consistent pattern throughout his life. Even after Walt passed, Roy postponed his retirement to see that the Walt Disney World project would be completed. He worked tirelessly to get Walt's dream as close as possible. He felt he needed to take the mantle of creative and financial lead for the Company; that no one else would be able to follow through.

This was a biography that was a long time coming. Every Disney Geek worth their salt understands how important Roy was to Walt. Without big brother Roy, we wouldn't have the Disney Company as we know it today. Walt has been quoted as saying that without Roy, he would probably be in jail for check bouncing.

This biography brings Roy's life to the forefront and paints a picture of a man that truly loved and understood his brother. Walt was always seen as the creative genius and Roy as the money man. After reading this biography, I can assure you that Roy was just as creative as Walt. Roy just used numbers, balance sheets and common sense. Thomas is able to share a Roy that was extremely ethical and treated all business partnerships with respect.

Building A Company is a very enjoyable read. Bob Thomas has written several other Disney-related titles and he was a reporter for the Associated Press for more than 50 years. As with any biography, you need to take bits and pieces with a grain of salt. Sometimes it reflects poorly on the biographer and sometimes with the prior research (and researchers). I didn't run across anything glaring, but after doing some of my own research, I did see some inconsistencies across several biographies. It just serves to remind us that not every biography is conclusive, exhaustive or authoritative. Bob Thomas does take us a on a journey through Roy's life, allowing us a glimpse of a strong man who always did what was in the best interest of the Company, even if he was at odds with Walt. Nonetheless, it is still the most complete look at Roy Disney's life to date.

Bottom Line: This is a book that everyone should read. You can learn a lot about Roy Disney by reading everything about the Company, or you can just read this book. (Although, I will recommend that you read everything!) You will appreciate this biography more if you have read Thomas' Walt Disney: An American Original or Barrier's The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. Not that Building A Company is a companion piece, but Thomas spends more time focusing on Roy's contributions and a larger familiarity with the Disney Company will benefit the reader. This is a great read. It should be read by every Disney enthusiast.

Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond

Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. 1998, 252 pages.

The Sherman Brothers need little introduction to Disney fans. Prolific composers of music for films and theme park attractions, they have written some of the most memorable songs in Disney history.

This book, which looks at their long career, finally saw the light of day after the Sherman Brothers met Bruce Gordon and Dave Mumford. Just like The Nickel Tour, publishers felt that there was no commercial appeal in this book. Bruce and David had self-published The Nickel Tour and thought that they could do the same with Walt's Time. The Sherman Brothers, after shopping the book around since 1981, had worked with Jeff Kurtti to have a majority of it written. Bruce and Dave met with Jeff and they agreed to self-publish. The Sherman Brothers were thrilled to work with Bruce, David and Jeff.

The book was created to resemble a scrapbook of their career. It starts with their first day on the Disney lot where they land the title song for the Parent Trap while auditioning a song for the Horsemasters. It then launches through the highlights of a majority of their Disney work. The middle section is dedicated to their father, Al and looks at everything that he published and his successes. During the section on their father, they look at their family history and how Al Sherman influenced his children. It is obvious from Walt's Time that the Sherman Brothers were profoundly influenced by their father and Walt Disney. When the brothers speak of either man, the text is filled with love, gratitude and wonder.

The third section details more of their work with the Disney Company, before and after Walt's passing. It also looks at the body of work they have done since leaving the company. Stage productions, theatrical work and animated films make up the bulk of their work in the '70's, 80's and 90's.

The Brothers spend a lot of time discussing their interactions with Walt Disney and how Walt was an amazing and optimistic person. The song There's a Great, Big Beautiful Tomorrow was inspired by Walt Disney. Their proudest moments include It's a Small World and Mary Poppins. They wrote the songs for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after receiving Walt's blessings to work on the outside project. Albert Broccoli (producer of the Bond movies) also owned the rights to Fleming's children's novel about the car. Broccoli brought the idea to Walt, who declined saying he had too much on his plate and wanted more creative control. After the success of Mary Poppins, Broccoli gathered most of the creative team that had worked on Mary Poppins. The Brothers were also involved with two of the biggest animated films of the 60's as well: The Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

Obviously, the Sherman Brothers' influence has been felt greatly in the theme parks. The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, Magic Highways, Magic Journeys, Makin' Memories, Astuter Computer Review, the Best Time of Your Life and Miracles From Molecules.

Looking at everything the Sherman Brothers have done is a tad bit overwhelming!

Bottom Line: I enjoyed this book and was completely astounded by how prolific the Sherman Brothers actually are. The book is designed beautifully and features awards, personal recollections and photos from every period of their career (just like a scrapbook!). This is book is clearly for music fans, fans of the Sherman Brothers and fans of Disney films from the 1960's.

Book Review: Wally Boag, Clown Prince of Disneyland

Wally Boag, Clown Prince of Disneyland by Wally Boag and Gene Sands. 2009, 176 pp.

More than a biography, this book is a work-ography of the career of the amazing Wally Boag.

Wally Boag performed at the Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland for a remarkable 27 years. He debuted at Disneyland on opening day, July 17, 1955. Prior to that, he had spent 15 years traveling the world performing for the King and Queen of England, on the Ed Sullivan show and at clubs on different continents. By his own right, Wally Boag was a star before he joined the Golden Horseshoe Review. He depicts a time in the world where performers spent most of their time on the road and rarely settled down. Thank goodness his two-week contract at Disneyland lasted for more than 27 years! You do get a good idea of how much work went into the life of a comedic artist that also incorporated dancing, singing and balloon animals.

Clown Prince chronicles Wally's life from his birth in 1920 to the publication of this book. Along the way, we meet family members, cherished performers, friends, Walt Disney and other important people in Wally's life. This book is more than a memoir; it is a scrapbook of a very talented artist. With an average of two photos per page, I would estimate that there are over 200 images. Family and performance photographs, clippings and letters attest to his astounding career.

Wally spent 27 years at Disneyland--with a few years at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland--and was there during the time when all Walt wanted was to make Disneyland the best it could be. Castmembers were given a freer reign and allowed to develop ideas for new shows and skits. In one more famous tale, Wally recounts the creation of the gunfights in Frontierland. He approached the Frontier Lawmen, Marshall Lucky, about staging gunfights:

I would call him out, throw a couple of insults at him, and we would pace off and draw. He, of course, would win. I'd do a dramatic fall and roll over. The people loved it! So did Walt. He saw us do it one day and said, "That's great! Do it whenever you feel like it." So, I enlarged our plot by getting up on the roof of the Horseshoe so he could shoot me off of it. We even did some shoot-outs on the railroad circling the Disneyland Park. It was fun doing it, but one day a young man with a clipboard came to see me at my dressing room and informed me that I was scheduled to do gunfights at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 pm. I told him that it was becoming too much for me to do in addition to my five shows a day at the Horseshoe. Instead, I thought it would be a good idea for them to hire some professional "bad guys." He took my advice and the gunfights became a regular part of the entertainment in Frontierland.
--Wally Boag, The Clown Prince of Disneyland, p. 88.

This book is marginally similar to Van Arsdale France's Window on Main Street. They are both fantastic works about working and playing at Disneyland. Van Arsdale presents a behind-the-scenes look while Wally talks about life on the stage. Given my druthers, I would recommend Wally's book for the humor, heart and soul that is Wally Boag. Wally paints a very intimate picture of working at the Golden Horsehoe and recounts stories that you won't hear anywhere else.

I have always known of Wally Boag, but it wasn't until I saw the ten-year anniversary special on the Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland - Secrets, Stories & Magic DVD, that I realized how spectacular Wally was. Even though the gags and one-liners were over 40 years old, he still had us in stitches. Viewing the Golden Horseshoe Review made me long for a time machine to transport me to the Disneyland of the 1960's

Wally can still be heard today as the voice of Jose at the Enchanted Tiki Room and as the voice in the Toucan and Parrot Show (The Electronic Utility Show) on the Walt Disney and the 1964 World's Fair 5-CD set. He also helped create the dialog for both shows.

If you have an interest in Disneyland history, vaudeville or learning more about working at Disneyland during its infancy, then this book is for you. I really enjoyed every page of the Clown Prince and I know it will make a valuable addition to your library.

You can purchase copies of the book at WallyBoag.com.

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men & the Art of Animation

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men & the Art of Animation by John Canemaker. 2001, 308 pages.

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men is the first book to take an in-depth look at the artists that shaped the Walt Disney Studios before and after Walt's passing. The Nine Old Men reference relates to Franklin Roosevelt's description of the Supreme Court Justices--Walt used it as a joke and it stuck. The Nine Old Men would become the most creative and powerful people at the Studios. The litany of characters that they have brought to life is simply astounding.

John Canemaker is an animation historian, animator and professor of film animation at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He is a very successful author with seven books (three just about Disney animation) and 100's of essays and articles to his name. Mr. Canemaker is also noted for several award-winning short films.

Mr. Canemaker begins the book with a look at the Nine Old Men's formative years: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Most of the Nine Old Men were hired at the Studios in the mid-1930's. Before them, were legendary men that were mentors and friends to the new artists. Vladmir Tytla, Grim Natwick, Norman Ferguson, Hamilton Luske and Fred Moore were put in charge of various departments and sections of Snow White. As time progressed, many of the Nine Old Men were mentored by these animation pioneers. For many reasons, the previously mentioned animators left Disney or found they could not keep up with the younger crowd. Mr. Canemaker touches on the influential animator's lives throughout the chapters on the Nine Old Men.

Disney's Nine Old Men:

• Les Clark,
• Wolfgang Reitherman,
• Eric Larson,
• Ward Kimbal,
• Milt Kahl,
• Frank Thomas,
• Ollie Johnston
• John Lounsberry, and
• Marc Davis.

Mr. Canemaker devotes a chapter to each animator and takes you from their birth to the present day (in 2001) or their passing--he has created a condensed biography and Mr. Canemaker successfully brings the important details to the top that seem relevant to the creation of the animators. You follow each artist from their birth, early family life, school, travels and eventual beginnings at Disney. All of the Nine Old Men stayed with the Disney organization until their retirement They were also faithful to the Studio during the Strike. Undoubtedly, this cemented Walt's opinion of them. Family photographs, animated film stills and corporate images fill the volume. Mr. Canemaker shares a lot of great anecdotes about the artists. Did you know that Ward Kimball attended over 22 schools growing up and that Marc Davis' family traveled the country, rarely settling in one place for more than a few months? Wolfgang Reitherman was a pilot in World War II and claims that he was only a director because Walt told him to be one.

Throughout each chapter, Mr. Canemaker shares what makes each animator so important to the Disney Studios and animation. As you go through the chapters, you see each animator as a different personality to the whole. Each one distinct and filling a specific role within the Studios. After the Animation Strike, the Nine Old Men were charged with being the review committee for the Studios. A film couldn't be made without their direct involvement and an artist could be fired at their whim. After Walt's passing, the Nine Old Men were the creative force and were often left stumbling as to the direction to be taken at the Studio.

As expected, a majority of the book does focus on animation. Marc Davis was really the only one of the Nine Old Men asked to work on the Disneyland Project. The book does cover that section of Marc's career; starting with the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland in 1962, the World's Fair attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Ward Kimball is mentioned in conjunction with Disneyland through his shared loved of trains with Walt. This book truly shines as a mini-biography of the Nine Old Men and how they moved the art of animation forward.

Bottom Line: This is a book that I highly recommend for animation enthusiasts and people interested in the Disney Studios formative years. It brings together information about the early years of the Studio and the roles of the Nine Old Men in animation, the Studio and the Company--unlike any other resource. Most of the book does deal with animation and the classic characters that were created but it does focus on the theme parks with Marc Davis and Ward Kimball's contributions.

You want this book if you have any interest in learning more about the Nine Old Men and their art.

Bringing The Animated Man Out of the Shadow

It is unfortunate that Michael Barrier's book, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney, has struggled to find its way out of the shadow cast by last year's publication of Neal Gabler's more heralded and Disney Company endorsed Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.

I have not up until this point attempted any kind of review of Barrier’s efforts, as in all honesty, I have not read the book in its entirety. I am not a reader of biographies in the traditional fashion; I tend to dig into them haphazardly, usually digesting specific passages as interest or research dictates, but rarely if ever completing cover-to-cover consumptions.

The same held true of Gabler’s longer book, although I did take a more linear approach with it initially, and have more or less completed reading it in the months since its publication. Like many others, I was at first infatuated with the potential of Gabler’s efforts. Here was someone essentially given the blessing of the Walt Disney Company and access to many otherwise restricted items from its extensive and far reaching archives. Great was my anticipation; so also ultimately was my disappointment. I quickly tired of its overemphasis on the “flawed Walt.” The book often becomes a somewhat odd apologist dissertation rather than an insightful and enlightening life story. I, like Barrier, do not subscribe to the Gabler suppositions that Disney spent much of his life discontented and at times mired in mental anguish. The "troubled genius" approach is one all too easy for a biographer to take and one that Gabler seems to readily embrace. He in effect, puts the psychoanalytical cart before the fascinating and far more relevant creatively driven horse.

While I am certainly disqualified from writing fair, overall assessments of both books, I feel I can still venture an opinion or two based on the usage they each receive as parts of my library of Disney research materials. That is to say I frequently find myself perusing The Animated Man with a regularity that keeps it almost constantly residing near my desk. It is rare that I cannot find what I am looking for within its pages. At the same time Gabler’s lengthier tome has become the research equivalent of the relief pitcher who never makes it out of the bullpen.

This is not to say that the book is without merit. Its density alone reflects exhaustive research and extensive content. But there seems to be an odd disconnect between Gabler and his subject that Barrier thankfully does not fall victim to. It's an intangible and highly subjective perception on my part, but perhaps rooted in Barrier's well earned status as one of the leading authorities on animation history. His resume in that regard is extensive, beginning in the 1970s with the publication of Funnyworld, a magazine devoted to animation and comic art. A near quarter century of research and interviews led to the writing of Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age which saw publication in 1999. Those efforts in turn ultimately served in the writing of The Animated Man.

Barrier himself addresses Gabler in a commentary he has posted on his web site. While it would be quite easy to quickly dismiss his pointed criticisms and the extensive list of errors he has found in Walt Disney as rooted in professional rivalry, a careful reading of the post reflects a genuinely fair and balanced assessment of Gabler’s efforts. One especially notable point addressed by Barrier is Gabler’s citings of two particular sources, Hollywood’s Dark Prince by Marc Eliot and Disney’s World by Leonard Mosley, both known for their often outrageous conjectures and numerous inaccuracies. While it is certainly unavoidable to not shine a spotlight on Barrier’s potential bias in the discussion, he is still unquestionably among the very few individuals qualified to question the veracity of Gabler’s work.

Especially pleasing to a Disney historian such as myself (albeit of a distinctly novice stature when compared to the Barriers, Canemakers and Maltins of the world) is the wealth of information and commentary Barrier makes available at his web site. A recent post that addresses Disney’s wearing of a Goldwater campaign button to a White House ceremony hosted by LBJ is an excellent example of the lengths Barrier will go to to insure that his work is accurate and as close to the truth as one can get.

At the conclusion of that particular essay, Barrier states that “. . . where Walt Disney is concerned, I realized long ago, there's always something new to learn. That's what makes researching and writing about him so fascinating, so frustrating, and, ultimately, such an enormous pleasure.”

The statement demonstrates a passion for the subject matter that is, as I previously stated, noticeably absent in Gabler’s Walt Disney. Barrier also displays a much a greater understanding of the business that Disney pioneered and ultimately came to represent on so many levels. While The Animated Man has not enjoyed the publicity and critical recognition that Walt Disney has in many ways received more by design than by merit, it is an effort that deserves to be recognized as a valuable and important contribution to the library of Disney history.

Charles Ridgway's Wonderful World

Disney pundits across the web seem to be in complete agreement with their praises of Charles Ridgway’s wonderful new book, Spinning Disney's World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent. I as well would like to voice my very, very enthusiast endorsement of this must-read tome for any Disney fan.

An unquestionable Disney Legend with a window on Walt Disney World’s Main Street USA (Ridgway Public Relations - Charles Ridgway Press Agent), Charlie is a forty year veteran of the Walt Disney Company and has literally worked in some capacity for every Disney theme park around the world. He covered the opening of Disneyland in 1955 as a local newspaper reporter, and most recently worked as a consultant to help prepare for the debut of Hong Kong Disneyland. In the time between, he has amassed an amazing collection of stories and anecdotes that fill the pages of Spinning Disney’s World.

Reading Charlie’s stories is akin to spending an evening or two with an old friend. His prose is friendly and conversational, and it feels like you reach the end of the 200+ pages all too quickly. What is exceptional about the book is that Charlie was either present or on the periphery of just about every major development at both Disneyland and Disney World over the course of the last half century.

A great example of this, and one of my favorite passages, is where Charlie describes the nearly overnight, fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants design and construction of Mickey’s Birthdayland in 1988 at Walt Disney World. With the majority of WDI resources tied up with the building of Disney-MGM Studios at the time, creating a way to celebrate Mickey’s 60th birthday fell to a new Michael Eisner/Frank Wells-created marketing task force dubbed MATADORS, of which Charlie was a member. The project literally went from conception to completion in a few short months and on a shoestring budget, but ultimately laid the groundwork for Toontown expansions at Disneyland and Disney World.

Equally entertaining is Charlie's own favorite story of training fifty white Peking ducks to follow Donald Duck down Main Street as part of his 50th Birthday parade in 1984.

In a book where the names of Hollywood stars, political figures and international dignitaries are sprinkled heavily throughout, Charlie remains a down-to-earth, genuine and sincere witness to Disney history. It is refreshing to read a book where there are no axes to grind and the author’s sole purpose is to simply share his happy, positive and always interesting life stories with the reader. In a time of contentious debates and Eisner-bashing, Charlie only has kind words and compliments for his former bosses and company associates. He is as gracious as his book is captivating.