Between Books - Mary Poppins & Mary Poppins Comes Back

 

For years I have had a copy of Mary Poppins & Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers sitting on my Between Books shelf, but I have never had a chance to read it.  Recently, I decided to pick it up and dive into the story that was a key Disney movie moment.  As I read through it, I realized how factual another semi-fictional Disney film actually was and the challenge this story presented. 

Mary Poppins & Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers collects the first two books of Travers' Mary Poppins series.  The titles consist of a series of short stories detailing the interactions between the magical nanny Mary Poppins and the four, yep four, Banks children.  The characters will feel familiarish to anyone who has seen the Poppins films.  And the stories will occasionally remind one of the movies as we travel into China bowls or visit a laughing uncle.  But overall, the stories are generally not connected and provide short incidents, which are often confusing and nonsensical, with the Banks children.

When we hear the story of the Disney movie, we are told that Walt's children loved these stories.  But to be honest, I did not.  They really are confusing at times and I often feel like the characters are not that approachable.  If anything, reading through these makes it clear how factual Saving Mr. Banks is, as it would have been impossible to make a straight adaptation of this writing into an engaging movie.  In short, the Travers' stories had to be adapted, and the Sherman Brothers and Don DaGradai did an excellent job taking random stories and connecting them together.  For example, the presence of Mr. Banks is somewhat invisible in the book, and the choice to make him the antagonist helps string together a watchable movie.  Ironically, at the same time, I was reading this Between Book, I also started listening to the Sherman Brothers series on the Disney History Institute podcast which focused on the facts of Saving Mr. Banks and describes the actual adaption of the book into a movie.  

In short, I was disappointed by Mary Poppins & Mary Poppins Comes Back.  I will not read any more of the series.  it is not for me.  But I also better understand the challenge that Walt Disney and his team faced when creating a classic movie. 

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Between Books - Disney World at 50

The Orlando Sentinel’s Disney World at 50: The Stories of How Walt’s Kingdom Became Magical in Orlando collects portions of the Orland Sentinel’s fifty years of reporting on the Florida vacation kingdom.   The book collects portions of articles printed in the Orlando Sentinel with tons of images from Walt Disney World.  The book covers the history of the park chronologically from the announcement for the park to the park today.  Topics covered include building the Magic Kingdom, opening day, transportation, changes in the park, and 2021 events.

The text is a pretty interesting read.  The audience gets to read historical news articles with the knowledge of today to better understand intentions and things that did not occur.  The images are very enjoyable, and coming from the newspaper's archive and not Disney’s photo collection provides many new to me images.  I do find that the page numbers are at times lost in images.  Additionally, there is a gap in the narrative.  The book jumps 24 years to the current day and the impact of the Coronavirus on the parks.  And the several pages of content do feel out of balance with other topics in the book.  Honestly, I would have found it more balanced if an event like September 11th and that park closure was included due to the impact on American society.  

The Orlando Sentinel’s Disney World at 50: The Stories of How Walt’s Kingdom Became Magical in Orlando is an interesting visual adventure.  It allows us to look back with what we know today and revisit the past.  And with images that we typically do not see in other books, readers can enjoy the 50th anniversary regardless of where we are between the parks.  

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Between Books - Claude Coats: Walt Disney’s Imagineer

 

Claude Coats: Walt Disney’s Imagineer-The Making of Disneyland From Toad Hall to the Haunted Mansion and Beyond by David Bossert is an excellent addition to the history of Disney Imagineering.  The text balances images with narratives and gives this legendary Imagineer the chronicle he deserves.

The text offers exactly as titled.  Bossert works through Coats’ career from birth to the completion of one of his most famous projects, The Haunted Mansion.  The book outlines his early career from art student to animation.  Bossert follows with discussions of his transitioning to work on Disneyland, moving beyond design to actually painting backgrounds to get the work done.  The discussion of the Grand Canyon Diorama is one of the most in-depth that I have seen.  Chapters provide details on his collaborations for the fan-beloved Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.  But along the journey, the book includes interludes on presentations to NASA and painting for the U.S. Air Force.  The text is well-balanced with Coats’ images and text providing historical context to Coats’ work.

The text is really well done overall.  Bossert helps us understand Coats as an artist as he was someone who unlike Marc Davis did not work alone in his office.  But instead would often work outside working on models and collaborating with other artists.  Bossert frames Coats, not as someone who would be adversarial with other artists.  But instead, someone who was a team player, mentor, and project management.  Additionally, the chapter on the Air Force paintings demonstrated Coats as an artist outside of his Disney work and makes it clear that he truly was a respected Califroonaia fine artist.  The biggest gap I see in the books is a lack of discussion after the Haunted Mansion.  It would be interesting to be able to compare the frustrated Marc Davis after the Mansion with Coats and how he navigated being creative as the next generation grew into their own.  

Claude Coats: Walt Disney’s Imagineer-The Making of Disneyland From Toad Hall to the Haunted Mansion and Beyond by David Bossert is a great inclusion to the Between Books bookshelf.  It is well written and illustrated.  And it clearly left me wanting more.  Maybe we needed a two-volume set here! 

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Between Books - They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Late Golden Age The 1940's - Part Two

 

Short Version - They Drew as They Pleased by Didier Ghez is really good.  If you like or love Disney animation and books you will want very volume.  With volume three, that summary can continue!

Long Version - They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Late Golden Age The 1940's - Part Two by Didier Ghez is the third volume in this art driven series.  Ghez again features treasures from Disney's story artists.  This volume focuses on members of the short lived Character Model Department in the 1940’s under the leadership of legend Joe Grant  The artists including Jack Miller, Campbell Grant, James Bodrero, and Martin Provensen may be a group that honestly are not familiar with every Disney fan.  But they were a group who contributed significantly to the look and feel of Disney features like Fantasia and animated shorts in the 1940s. 

For me, I really focused on Miller, Grant, Bodrero, and Provensen.  The Character Model Department  was only functional for a few years.  And they were often resented by their animation colleagues for their ability to play and dream.  But the group was made of high-quality artists, many of them finding their way to other commercial avenues after Disney.  And they were extremely close with Grant, Bodrero, and Provensen living together, playing together, and seeming like a real life Three Musketeers.  While there were several projects discussed, I found myself struck with the differences between Fantasia and Victory Through Air Power during World War II.  Fantasia concept art from these artists is true fine art.  But for the air power propaganda film, well there is no concept art in these brilliantly illustrated paintings.  As this Disney passion project bored them with charts and arrows and in some cases drove them one step closer to leaving the studio even joining the war effort.  Leaving the studio is a true theme as it is shocking yet again how short some of these masters’ tenure at Disney was. 

Yes, They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Late Golden Age The 1940's - Part Two is a volume that history loving Disney fans want and need.  Well written and beautifully illustrated it is yet another joyful read. 

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Between Books - Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks

 

I love the holidays!

I love Disney!

And when I have been able to celebrate a holiday in a Disney park, it’s been wonderful.  Though let’s admit it, all of us Between Disney’s are finding a way to bring the park to us.

Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks: Celebrations Around the World from Fall to Winter by Graham Allan, Rebecca Cline and Charlie Price is a wonderful book that will put in into the holiday spirit.  This massive coffee table book is just full of holiday merriment and images.  The text focuses on two distinct holidays, Halloween and the Christmas season, with Christmas/winter holidays dominating the book.  The authors sell the book on the massive number of images, which work best listening to the appropriate holiday music as one dives into the pages.  But there is still quite a bit of text that provides history and background.  Overall, this is currently the premier Disney holiday book on the market.

This book is gorgeous. The images are full color, and often big and well framed.  It really is a treat on the eyes as they gathered images from throughout time and the world of Disney celebrations.  But honestly, I was most surprised by the text.  The authors present a nice history of the Disney holidays including narratives about historical celebrations, like pumpkin carving contests and pumpkin parades, I had never been introduced to. 

Holiday Magic at the Disney Parks: Celebrations Around the World from Fall to Winter by Graham Allan, Rebecca Cline and Charlie Price is a book you want for your Between Books shelve.  No matter how Between Disney you are, this massive book will help you celebrate your holidays in a very Disney way. 

 

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Between Books - The Disney Interviews: Volume I

 

 

The Walt’s People series has really created a gold standard for interview/oral history volumes on our Disney bookshelves.  These books create a benchmark that even experienced authors and interviews may struggle to maintain.  So, while the idea of an experienced interviewer moving audio interviews into a text format may seem like a no-brainer, sadly it can still go wrong. 

The Disney Interviews: Volume I by Lou Mongello transcribes interviews from the popular WDW Radio podcast into book format.  Each chapter consists of a brief introduction by the author about the context of the interview and some thoughts about the event.  The bulk of the chapter is a transcription of the interview.  Those included are a wide range of Disney celebrities including the well-known Julie Andrews, Alice Davis, Marty Sklar, and Richard Sherman.  But it also includes figures like Al Konetzni and Ralph Kent that may not be on every Disney fan’s radar.

This volume shows how difficult it can be to create a book, even when you have strong material.  In short, this book needs an editor desperately.  There are numerous text errors that create both reading discomfort and factual errors.  It makes one wonder if a simple transcription program was used to move the words into text, and then perhaps not carefully reviewed.  There are numerous grammatical errors.  But factual errors also frequent the book.  I was wondering who Dick Nunez was as he seemed to have had an impact on Tom Nabbe’s career.  I eventually figured out it was Dick Nunis.  But I was taken out of my experience as I pieced this puzzle together.  There are even factual errors in the introductions.  For example, in the Al Konetzni interview readers are directed to the full podcast episode 511, which is the Bill Sullivan interview. 

The Mongello interviews are comforting to hear.  They may be fancentric, but they really are like sitting down with an old friend when you hear them.  I really was looking forward to revisiting these interviews in a new way.  Sadly, instead I found The Disney Interviews: Volume I to be distracting and periodically frustrating to read.  I borrowed a Kindle edition and would really like to see this material edited and updated to provide what should be a fine reading experience. 

 

 

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