Between Books - Mickey's Walt Disney World Adventure

Mickey Mouse has a big job. But can he lead the parade without his hat? As a hat dude…I am officially tense.

Mickey’s Walt Disney World Adventure by Cathy Hapka with illustrations by the Disney Storybook Art Team is a hide and seek adventure through the Magic Kingdom. Mickey and Minnie are enjoying a bi,g magical day at the park. Mickey is excited to lead the parade that evening. But he can’t find his drum major hat, an essential part of his uniform to march through the Magic Kingdom. In order ot find it, the duo speed run the park. They see attractions in all of the Magic Kingdom’s lands, bump into friends like Donald and Goofy, and gather clues to the hat’s location. We tour the entire Kingdom and seek an answer to the question, can Mickey find his hat?

I have to admit. Mickey’s Walt Disney World Adventure for a young children’s book, has a lot more words than I expected. I can see how this is a rewarding challenge for a new reader. The illustrations are tied to the action described, are colorful, and engaging. Hapka also gives us a story full of drama, because can Mickey find his most important possession, a hat? I really did feel worried that the parade could be cancelled. And I’m not four!

I do think this Little Golden Book can fill two separate purposes. For a child who has not been in the Magic Kingdom Park before, it does give them a colorful preview of what’s to come, sets some expectations, while still not spoiling any key moments. It can also be used for a child and their family to help remember their memories of their recent visits. It’s a fun and tense way to prepare and recall a future visit.

Mickey’s Walt Disney World Adventure by Cathy Hapka, with illustrations by the Disney Storybook Art Team is a more challenging book than I expected. I was surprised by the number of words on the page, and I can see how it can be a challenge to a reader who’s mastered another Little Golden Book. And as an adult, I was challenged by the drama and tension that was created.

Maybe kids and I get stressed out by the fear of a cancelled parade!  

 

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Between Books - Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks

Disney history is full of larger-than-life characters such as Bob Gurr, Marc Davis, Rolly Crump, and even Walt Disney himself. But while Ub Iwerks may not be a name known to every Disney fan, his contributions to early Disney history are irreplaceable and placed next to Walt and Roy O. Disney on the Mount Rushmore of Disney legends.

Walt Disney’s Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks by Don Iwerks is a highly visual history of the co-creator of Mickey Mouse. The text is broken into six key sections highlighting different phases of Iwerks’ life. The opening outlines Iwerks early life and animation work which included meeting Walt Disney in Kansas City, a failed partnership, and Disney asking him to join him in California. During this first stint at Disney, Iwerks would create the Mickey Mouse design and lead the development of the innovative Silly Symphonies. After a disagreement, Iwerks formed his own studio best known for Flip the Frog. Iwerks would return to the Walt Disney Studio, not as an animator but using his skill and curious nature to create special effects which included Aerial Image Optical Printers, sodium traveling matte, and Xerox processes in animation just to name a few. As Walt Disney expanded his parks, Iwerks used his knowledge of cameras to create Circarama and Circle-Vision 360. The younger Iwerks provides images and schematics along with personal know-how to explain the innovations that helped define his father's genius.

This book is personal and visual. Disney Legend Don Iwerks is writing a very personal story about his father. Oh yes, there is definitely respect and nostalgia. But Don as a member of the machine shop was also a colleague to Ub. So along with understanding the personal man, he also understands the very complicated inventions that his father dreamed up. In many ways, it’s the best of two perspectives, and Don makes his bias clear. Though that bias never seems to get in the way of his writing. And technical expertise is really needed to help explain these numerous mechanical changes. For example, I am not a camera expert. I don’t believe that most readers will be. So having Iwerks walk us through the tech, as someone who often contributed to the manufacturing of them, is completely necessary. Luckily this oversized coffee table book has numerous images which help illustrate the developments. For those who are not interested in technical details and want another starting point on Ub Iwerks’ life, The Hand Behind the Mouse is likely a better starting point and is co-written by his granddaughter.

Walt Disney’s Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks by Don Iwerks taught me a lot about cameras…and Ub Iwerks. While I have read biographies of this legend, this text has a personal touch and technical understanding that I would urge Disney history fans to not sleep on. And while we may struggle at times with technical developments, Don Iwerks helps us overcome them to better understand his father’s genius allowing us to better understand an innovator that has helped shaped animation, cinema, and theme parks. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means that Between Disney receives a percentage of sales purchased through links on this site.

Between Books – 2020 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual

 

As someone who has a history degree and been part of history associations, I have some pretty high standards for what content should be from these professional groups.  Then tie in Disney and the contributors who are participating in the Hyperion Historical Alliance, well a fairly high bar is set.  With the “2019Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual”, I found a concern or two.  Would the Alliance’s second annual correct the concerns I had?

In his introduction, Hyperion Historical Alliance President Didier Ghez notes that the first Annual appeared to really focus on production and artists.  And for this volume they attempted to provide a wider array of topics.  I am not sure that they fully hit with this stated goal as five of the six essays are really based on filmed productions and only one theme park based article.  However, I never really noticed the focus on production.  Instead I found myself caught up on an unintentional theme, Disney female pioneers.  Of the six articles, three have a focus on female contributions in Disney history and unearthed to me some unknown interesting Disney figures.  And Ghez’ article on Mickey Mouse productions also adds additional female contributions.  And on a whole I found these articles interesting and engaging. 

The “2020 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual” consists of six articles.  The first two highlight the contributions of two female creators in the 1930s and 1940s giving an overview of the careers of Betty Smith-Totten and Grace Huntington.  Both articles make it clear these women were trailblazers in numerous areas of their lives and the impact of women at Disney.  “A Preview of Disney’s World” chronicles the Walt Disney World Preview Center, with a focus on staffing and the Center’s impact on promoting the future theme park.  “Wise Dwarfs and Thrifty Pigs” outlines the use of Disney animation to promote Canadian War Bonds during World War II, which really shows the innovative ways Disney reused animation for new purposes.  And finally, “Mickey’s Revivals” discusses the attempts to get Mickey back on the big screen from the 1970s to the recent past. 

One of my complaints of the earlier volume was adapted work that I had seen elsewhere and in multiple forms.  To me these articles were all fresh and new research.  The one that likely worked the least for me was the Mickey article, as it felt like it was the one which could have been written without special access to unpublished documents or interviews.  And it just reminded me that I wish the Hyperion Historical Alliance was less exclusive and a path for those who are interested in Disney history to have more active participation.

And I can guarantee, I will purchase next year’s annual especially after the quality of the articles in the 2020 edition. 

Between Books - The Book of Mouse

As we have heard it said many times, "It all started with a mouse!"  And Jim Korkis in his newest book looks to tell the history of Mickey Mouse, set some myths straight and provide reference material about the world's most famous mouse.

Korkis in The Book of Mouse: A Celebration of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse collects 300 pages of history and reference materials related to Disney's most famous animated creation.  The book is written in an essay format.  The first section captures stories of Mickey Mouse's birth and early years.  This is followed by looks into Mickey Mouse's big screen history including a annotated filmography.  Korkis follows this with a discussion of Mickey Mouse in the parks.  And he closes with a some words about the relationship between Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney.

The book reads to me like a collection of essays and supportive materials.  This makes sense, as Korkis has published a number of blog and magazine articles over the years on pretty much everything Disney.  In fact, I would guess that some of these essays began as essays published in other locations.  So I would say, anyone who enjoys Korkis' writing is going to enjoy this offering since his tone and presentation is consistent with his overall body of writings.  The fact that this is a book of essays also means some articles are short and others are longer due to the amount of information that has been uncovered on the topic.  And though the essays are collected under the same theme they do not always flow with transitions from chapter to chapter, and some essays repeat information, though not an overwhelming amount.  The lack of transition and repeated information for some readers will be an advantage, since the book can be used for just in time information where you do not have to read the chapters before to get an understanding of the topic you want to explore.  

Korkis does a good job of uncovering myths and providing new information.  For example I did not realize that Plane Crazy, Mickey's first produced short, featured another innovation with camera movement in animation.  Additionally Korkis shatters the myth that Steamboat Willie was the first synchronized sound cartoon!  And the book made it abundantly clear to me that Mickey Mouse is not a character, but is in fact an actor.  And as an actor, Mickey can be flexible and be dropped into a number of situations just like any other actor.  I wonder if Mickey should take over as Iron Man!  Other new information that I really enjoyed was the chapter on Paul Castle, who helped Mickey Mouse for several decades.  The chapter is fantastic and for me brought a lot of new information about the behind the scenes preparation to bring Mickey Mouse onto stage. 

The reference materials are also somewhat useful.  While I do not enjoy the chapters consisting of miscellaneous quotes and facts on Mickey, other reference materials were a huge success for me.  I have already made notes from the Annotated Filmography for future posts.  And looking through it shows the impact that World War II had on the studio and the production of Mickey Mouse cartoons in a visual way.  

Jim Korkis' The Book of Mouse helps illuminate and expand Disney fans' understanding of Mickey Mouse and his history and relationship with Walt Disney.  Fans of Jim Korkis are sure to enjoy this Mickey Mouse offering.  And every reader will surely have a better understanding of Mickey Mouse and his importance in Disney history. 

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Dreaming Disney - Mickey Through the Decades

I live Between Disney. And in Betweenland there are some things that are just not going to happen. Though I will admit that I have lucked out and been able to schedule our family vacation to Disneyland over the last few years, so I ask for no fan pity. Some things are just pipe dreams for me. For example, I doubt I would ever be able to go to a D23 Studio Tour. I simply cannot imagine timing my vacation perfectly to match up with the schedule. But hey, I am still a lucky guy and having my schedule coincide with a D23 Expo once was probably as lucky as I was going to get.

But lightening struck again when D23 put out notice for sign-ups to attend Old Navy’s Mickey Through the Decades Collection at the Walt Disney Studios event. And best of all, it was scheduled for a day where the Between Family would not be going into Disneyland on a already scheduled vacation!

The day started with us renting a car and gulp driving through the LA area traffic. We left early to give ourselves plenty of time. This meant we had time to explore. We drove around Griffith Park, where Disneyland as an idea was germinated. And after we found the studio I searched the GPS for close by attractions and found the Hollywood Sign. With the sign adventure in our rear view mirror the Between Family was in full tourist mode when we checked in at the studio.

The event itself was somewhat of a free for all, with you choosing between several activities. There was one area where press photographed the three celebrities sporting Old Navy’s new Mickey Mouse tees. The three celebrities Jennifer Love Hewitt, Constance Marie and Brooke Burke mingled with the press, but really did not spend time with the other invitees. Though I did see some of their kids enjoying the offered activities. They took photos, answered press questions, but really did not interact with the fans. In fact I never saw anyone ask any of them for their autographs.

Old Navy's Mickey Collection

It was everyone else, like us, who got to have fun. The invited guests were given a voucher for a free t-shirt. Since Jeffrey and other staff pointed out there were plenty of t-shirts we skipped over the crowd of people at the Old Navy tent. Honestly, this may have been a mistake since there were a limited number of shirts in each style and the Between Family had to chose from the picked over remains. We instead went first to have our photo taken with Mickey, in a 50’s costume. He would be relieved by Minnie throughout the event with her 50’s themed dress also.

After our picture with the main mouse we jumped into the line to get a Disney artist to draw a custom Mickey sketch for us. You could get Mickey or Minnie. As I stood with the Between Kid, the artist asked him what picture was desired. The response was baby Mickey, which the child ahead of us had gotten. The artist instead described a Star Wars Mickey Mouse. The Between Kid said no, baby Mickey please. So the artist laughed and said let’s do baby Mickey for you but Luke Skywalker Mickey for dad! He saw the gleam in my eye! So of course I loved it and was thrilled to get my own custom Mickey/Star Wars mash-up. (Note, I did ask later a character artist in the park if they could make me an Agent Coulson Mickey. He stated currently Marvel is not included in what they can produce).

Mickey Skywalker

After the Between Kid got a Mickey temporary tattoo and grabbed some coloring sheets, we ate. And we ate in the Commissary! The food itself was burgers and hotdogs from a caterer. But it was super fun to be able to say that we were eating inside the Disney Commissary. And sitting inside away from the heat, we saw the Saving Mr. Banks trailer for the first time.

After eating, we went into a conference room to watch some of the new Mickey Mouse shorts. We were given popcorn, candy and bottled water. They were bragging that one of the shorts had not been seen yet. But I could not tell you which one since we had not seen around three of them.

Oh, and now the real fun began. When we left the Commissary building we noticed some guests walking around. So we tested our limits. We walked down to Pluto’s Corner and snapped some pictures. And since we made it that far, we took some pictures of the Animation Building. The Between Wife shook her head as I pointed out to the kids that this was the building that Walt Disney worked in. And then we walked a little further to get good pictures of the Team Disney Building. And since we were there we wandered around Legends Plaza, with me in full geek mode as I put my hand in the impressions left by Marc Davis, Roy E. Disney and others. So we may never be able to go on the official Disney tour. But it our unofficial self guided tour made the trip to Burbank.

The Team Disney Building

Reaching Out to a Legend

After we left the Studio and went to the beach. So it was an awesome day overall.

Yes I live Between Disney. But you never know what you may find Disney Adjacent until you open yourself up!

Between Books - Art Afterpieces

Clearly to Ward Kimball nothing was sacred.

In his book Art Afterpieces, Kimball completes classic works of art. For example, in Kimball’s revised version of William M. Harnett’s After the Hunt, Kimball adds Donald Duck to the hunter’s bounty. To the familiar Blue Boy he adds a jazzy goatee and sunglasses. And in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, God lights up Adam’s cigarette. The point of the book is not necessarily to be funny. In fact Walt Kelly in his foreword recounts Kimball’s statement that if others found his artwork funny, he has failed in his task. Kimball himself recounts a story from his childhood in which he looked to complete a classic painting. And that is what Kimball has done, added to classical art in a way that matches the late Disney legend’s personality.

Art Afterpieces is a short book, and you likely can find one of two editions for a few bucks. I am not an art guy, so I was able to run through the book in around 20 minutes. I did chuckle a few times, especially when Kimball added Disney images to the artwork. So I guess I missed the point! I would likely suggest this book to fans of Ward Kimball as it helps show off his cracked view of the world. A reading of the book helps give you insight into the mind of the very quirky Kimball, and may lead you to want more (cough cough where’s the bio). But for the casual Disney fan, this is probably not something that would be enjoyable.

I just wonder how the late Kimball got some of these images past (cough cough) Disney legal!


For more on Ward Kimball see:
Between Books - Walt Disney's Nine Old Men: The Flipbooks
Between Books - Who's Afraid of the Song of the South 
Walt's Windows - Kimball's Engines
Walt's Windows - Ward and Groucho 

 
  

Goofy Gadgets - Disney Infinity

Before Christmas the Between Kids asked a few times for a Skylanders play set. They had seen this video games/action figure set at a friend’s house and enjoyed it. But I just did not know about the game. And with several Disney themed gifts already planned, Santa simply did not have room in his sack to include Skylanders.

Thank you Santa! I thank you! The Between Kids thank you! Because now we all plan to wait for Disney Infinity being released in June 2013 to enter into this gaming sphere.

Here is the trailer for this upcoming game:

What did you think? The Between Kids have gone through all of their favorite characters asking if they will be part of the game; Stitch, Vanellope von Schweetz, the Mad Hatter, and of course Mickey Mouse! Of course, I cannot answer all of these questions yet! Additionally, I have been asked if allowance can be replaced with new characters, for a game we do not even have yet!

What do you think of Disney Infinity? Are you excited? The Between Family is!

Between Books - Disney Dossiers

Jafar was based on another Disney animated villain.

Huey, Dewey and Louie are related to a prominent duck who is not Donald or Scrooge.

Lucifer the Cat in Cinderella had a real life model linked to a Disney legend.

These facts and more can all be found in Jeff Kurtti’s Disney Dossiers: Files of Character From the Walt Disney Studios.  Each page is designed to look like an open file folder containing personal records, pictures and random notes that would be useful to a Walt Disney animator or story man.  The characters covered are not exhaustive but detail the background on all major characters from Mickey Mouse to the animated features of 2006.  Some files include two page narratives discussing the character while others may only have two sentences.  Other pieces of information found in the descriptions include filmography, relationships, works well with lists, does not work well lists and summaries of key supporting characters or foils.  Some characters share pages, while other major characters like Mickey Mouse receive a multipage spread.

This is a fun book but not an exhaustive one.  The details provided on characters vary and some credit lists are selected only.  But the character selection is well done, with even The Reluctant Dragon being covered.  The facts that Kurtti provides do provide some ah ha moments for even the more knowledgeable reader.  The real fun of the volume is the pictures which include concept art showing us versions of the familiar characters that did not make the screen.  And it is fun to pretend that one is flipping through the confidential files of Walt Disney Animation.

Jeff Kurtti’s Disney Dossiers: Files of Character From the Walt Disney Studios provides a fun reading experience, and one that can be revisited to provide light entertainment.  It may not be deep enough for hardcore Disney researchers, but it would provide enjoyment to children wanting to know more about characters or casual readers.  And for both children and adults the images will likely be pleasing.  It is a nice addition to a Between Books library, but not as essential as some of Kurtti’s other works.               

Dreaming Disney - Writing Walt Disney World

Full disclosure: I stole this idea from the Couponing to Disney blog.  The Between Wife found a link to the original Couponing to Disney post on Pinterest.  And the minute I heard about the idea, I knew it was a Dreaming Disney concept.

Betweenlanders you need you to know that you can write Disney characters at the Walt Disney World Resort and get a response.  At one time, the response you received included an autographed photo of the character you sent the letter to.  But Couponing to Disney also noted this had changed.  And I needed to verify for myself and you the actual experience of writing to your favorite character at Walt Disney World. 

Earlier this summer I had a great opportunity to try this experiment out with four Betweenland children forced to spend time with me.  I worked with each kiddo to select a character, print off a picture which they colored, and write a letter to the character.  This process itself was pretty easy except some of the youth changed their minds several times to who they wanted to write.

Their targets were the following:

·         Between Kid 1 who is the youngest always chose Lightening McQueen, which was a relief since it led to the least amount of work for me.

·         Between Kid 2 wavered a lot.  The kiddo chose Tinker Bell, then shifted to Merida, and then went back to Tinker Bell, and then finally got completely bored!

·         Between Tween 1 started with Rapunzel, changed to Merida and then chose the Mad Hatter which is a character which fits this kiddo better than the other choices.

·         Between Tween 2 is the oldest and shifted only once starting with Tiana and then choosing Mulan, which like the other tween was a better fit for this youth.

Our Letters

I packaged up the photos and letters and asked what will you get? 

Between these four Between Kids there are two addresses in two different states.  So I was also interested in the timing of the responses they would receive. 

Between Kid 1 received a postcard of Mickey and Friends with a message from the Big Cheese.  Between Kid 1 was thrilled and is currently keeping the postcard alongside some other special items, including family pictures from past Disney vacations (man I love this kid).

The Mickey Postcard

 Between Tween 1 received a postcard from the Disney Princesses with a special message from Cinderella.  The Tween was not thrilled.  It was okay to receive a message from Cinderella, but what was really wanted was a card or message from the Mad Hatter.  The Tween has moved somewhat away from princesses and the Hatter is a bigger impact character in the Tween’s life.

The Princess Postcard

These two kids received a response in around two weeks.  Between Kid 2 and Between Tween 2 are still awaiting a response months later.  I actually felt like I had to have made an error in addressing the letters since they both live at the same home and it seemed odd that one address would get responses and another would not.  I have since confirmed the address, but I am still convinced there was a user error on my part. 

So here are my lessons learned from this experiment.

1)     Spending time with kids you like, even if indecisive, is very fun.  Don’t forget it!

2)      If you are a girl writing a character at the Walt Disney World Resort you are probably getting a princess postcard.  And if you are a boy you are probably getting a response from Mickey and his friends.  I am assuming that there is some variation and maybe if a boy wrote to Cinderella he might get the princess postcard.

3)     Kids love getting mail.

The book is closed on the Walt Disney World writing experiment.  The Between Kids have not asked to write again.  But I wonder about what happens if they write that west coast park? 

Walt's Windows - Ub Iwerks at the Walt Disney Studio

When reading Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy’ s The Hand Behind the Mouse: An Intimate Biography of the Man Walt Disney Called “The Greatest Animator in the World” numerous animated short films are mentioned that many are not familiar with.  I found that it was helpful and enriched my reading experience to reference these short films, with many of them available for viewing online.

The following are shorts films that Ub Iwerks contributed to during his time as an animator at Disney. 

Trolley Trouble released in 1927 was the first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon released and the second one produced.  Critics applauded this short, though Walt Disney and producer Charles Mintz were unhappy with the first offering’s jerkiness.  Being perfectionists Iwerks and Disney changes processes to improve future offerings. 

 

Steamboat Willie was the first released Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928, though the third produced.  It is also the first cartoon with synchronized sound.  Though we generally think of Mickey Mouse as a nice guy, the animals in this short would likely not agree.  

Skeleton Dance released in 1929 was the first of the Silly Symphony series combined music and animation.  The animation by Iwerks showed off his skill and believed by some to be too scary.  And it lacked mice!  However, Disney believed in the short and released it to a press screening which showed the success of this new series.  Skeleton Dance is generally seen as the pinnacle of Iwerks’ career. 

These are just highlights from Iwerks’ first tour with Walt Disney Productions and many more can be found online.