Between Books - Space Mountain

I am just not sure that the audience for the Little Golden Book Space Mountain by Nicole Johnson, illustrated by Mike Wall, and designed by Winnie Ho meet the height requirements for those wishing to enjoy the Disney attraction. The book follows a family, minus dad who is too scared, as they board, enjoy, and rejoin dad after enjoying the attraction. It is a clear-cut story with illustrations filled with brilliant colors. The Space Mountain featured in the story is clearly found in the Magic Kingdom due to the seating formation and being adjacent to the PeopleMover, because us Disney adults need to know.

I am not joking when I say Space Mountain’s audience likely do not meet the height requirements. It really is for a young child audience. And while other Little Golden Books may prepare a young rider to me this really communicates my friends and family on the ride will be okay. The book does not really match the ride scenes. For example, the book is wonderfully colorful and lacks darkness. Also, the scenes found on these pages do not match the actual attraction route. For example, I have never found any bake goods on the real-life route. If anything, this text makes it okay for young riders to not ride Space Mountain. Dad does not ride, so if an adult does not need to ride you do not need to either.

Color and fantastic snacks are the highlights for me in this young read. The book may not fully prepare a youngster for the fun of Space Mountain. But it will communicate that the attraction is a future fun adventure that is okay to be a bit afraid to ride. 

 

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Between Books - The Haunted Mansion

 

The Haunted Mansion adapted by Lauren Clauss, illustrated by Glen Brogan, and designed by Winnie Ho is a Little Golden Book adaptation of the Disney attraction. The book is what you expect from a 24-page Little Golden Book classic. The story walks readers through The Haunted Mansion, from entrance to exit. Each page is illustrated with new art from Brogan that highlights each significant set within the classic attraction, specifically the Disneyland version. Clauss provides new text mainly focusing on a young guest experiencing the attraction while using some quotes directly from the ride.

The Haunted Mansion is really what you would expect and hope for in a Little Golden Book version of the story. The text is short, easy to understand, kid-focused, and often original instead of just lifting quotes directly from the attraction. The images are playful takes on the images found in The Haunted Mansion, though they often make the potential terror more kid-friendly. For example, we do meet the bride Constance. But Brogan leaves her without her tool of choice and does not fully reveal her grisly hobby. 

The Haunted Mansion is playful and fun. It could potentially spoil a first-time rider's experience. But it could also help a youngster, or in my case years ago grown-man, who has anxiety about potentially scary things and what they could experience in their doom buggy. The book could also help a youngster who enjoyed the attraction and returned Between Disney in keeping the fun in their heart alive. 

 

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Between Books - The Disney Animation Renaissance

A monograph is a specialized non-fiction work usually focusing on one topic. Generally, they are scholarly researched, and validated works. When I was in grad school, monographs were used to provide specialized and detailed views of a topic. And my professors generally assigned trusted and highly academic works. I would argue that many of the books on the Between Books shelf are not monographs since they often lack extensive references, were published by non-academic presses that may have lacked scrutiny of the research or were written with publicity in mind. But as animated features become increasingly accepted as not just entertainment but also reflections of social and cultural trends, technological innovations, and art the door opens for more and more monographs to be added to books that Disney fans seek out.

The Disney Animation Renaissance: Behind the Glass at the Florida Studio by the late Mary E Lescher chronicles the development, rise, and closing of the combined Disney The Magic of Disney Animation attraction and Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio (the Florida studio). The studio and attraction co-existed from 1989 to 2004. The facility was originally designed for the Disney-MGM Studios theme park with a small animation team completing hand-drawn animation under the eyes of theme park guests. However, to Lescher’s readers, the story of the facility quickly changed as the tour educated guests on the traditional cell process but the animation team used techniques supported by computer workflows. While not truly equipped with Disney’s Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), Florida’s work was entered into CAPS production instead of following traditional hand-drawn animation. The Florida studio participated in the increased use of computer-supported animation as their hand-drawn images were scanned into CAPS in California.

The Florida studio were key contributors to Disney feature animation releases such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The popularity of Disney animated films evolved the Florida Studio’s emphasis from education and park attraction to animation production. This would eventually lead to the massive growth of the studio and the assignment of feature films fully produced in Florida starting with 1998’s Mulan. However, this success was short-lived as technical innovations changed animation, new largely CGI studios entered the market, and corporate politics eventually lead to the closure of the Florida studio in 2004.
 

The Disney Animation Renaissance is written for an academic-minded audience. The text can easily be used in a college classroom, with clear and accessible writing. But also the text has numerous citations and references which provide the text academic authority. That being said, for Disney history fans the book is informative and likely to scratch the hobby itch. The warning I would give is this is not a relaxation text but a study text. I read the monograph with a highlighter, bringing myself back to my college days. Lescher provides no unneeded sentences and every sentence and paragraph is combined to chronicle a period in Disney animation history. Lescher’s conclusions are well-argued and ones that readers can easily find themselves agreeing with.

Lescher was well-placed to offer up this book. She held a PhD, was a researcher, and museum curator who had facilitated animation exhibits. Lescher maintains an academic tone throughout the majority of the book. But she does break free of that tone at times as she brings forth personal prior experience as a long-time staffer of the Florida studio. This tone swap helps her reader understand her passion and beloved memories of this experience. But it also explains how and why so many veterans of the Florida studio have emotional deep memories of their time there. This experience also provided Lescher the academic access to numerous other Florida studio staffers for oral history collection.
 

The Disney Animation Renaissance: Behind the Glass at the Florida Studio by Mary E Lescher is an academic monograph that is also accessible to Disney animation and parks fans. Lescher provides several important conclusions about the second Disney animation Renaissance, technology, the role of CAPS, and most of all the Florida studio’s contributions to the history of animation. Animation fans will lock onto the history of the films that the studio contributed to making. Parks fans cannot help but be fascinated by the evolution of the attraction and the perceptions of the animators behind the glass. And most of all, the work shows how serious academic studies on animation endeavors can provide us with valuable lessons about business, technology, innovation, and culture. 

  

Review Copy Provided by The University of Illinois Press

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Between Books - Santa Stops at Disneyland

Santa Stops at Disneyland written and illustrated by Ethan Reed is a Little Golden Book that depicts a moment that everyone who is young at heart would love to imagine, Santa Claus spending an evening at Disneyland. The words and images depict an evening trip for Santa and his sleigh at Disneyland Park. Reed shows his young audience a jam-packed day that includes both fun and work. Reed takes his readers through a truly joyful evening.

I am just starting to gather up Disney Parks-themed Little Golden Books. Many of us had them when we were kids. The Between Kids are now too old to be the target audience. But even as a Disney adult the book was still very fun for me. The images are cute and Reed illustrates Kris Kringle visiting the entire park, including my favorite rides. And Santa in a bobsled just looks right! We get to see Reed’s vision of the entire park. And plot-wise, Reed lets us know that Santa is a Disney adult! No seriously, he is a full-on Disney fan. If you are reading this review, you likely would believe that the Spirit of Christmas could be your pal. You read guide maps, Santa reads guide maps, clearly, we should all be holiday friends!

Santa Stops at Disneyland by Ethan Reed put me in the Christmas mood. And I love the idea of a cute illustrated journey through Disneyland at Christmas. Maybe Little Golden Books are not just for the young, but also the young at heart.

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Between Books - Star Wars: The High Republic Path of Deceit

 

Welcome to Star Wars: The High Republic!

Okay, we have actually been here before. Welcome to earlier in the Star Wars: The High Republic than we have ever been before!

There are Jedi!

There are lightsabers!

There is a lot of talk about the Force!

There are some young ladies with a name we have seen before in Star Wars: The High Republic!

And look over here, there is a ship that will become important later!

Yoda is not in the building!

Star Wars: The High Republic Path of Deceit by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland opens up a new chapter within Star Wars: The High Republic. Years before the creation of Starlight Beacon space station and the attack of the Nihil on the Republic, a Jedi, and her Padawan Kevmo Zink are tasked with finding stolen artifacts rich in the Force. They believe that on the planet Dalna, a group called the Path of the Open Hand is connected. The two investigate with Kevmo meeting the young Path member Mardo Ro who brings brightness to Kevmo’s life and challenges his beliefs about the Force itself. Kevmo and Mardo navigate the tension between the Path of the Open Hand, Jedi, and a plan that is greater than two young people.

Star Wars: The High Republic can be hard for me. I am convinced that Star Wars is best when visually presented. The mind needs visuals to see the whole magnificent picture. So, as we are invited into a tale that has no characters we have seen on the screen or in comics, LucasFilm is asking the authors to take on a hard task. They have to provide us information about where we are, hints to what is to come, and characters that we need to care about…and quickly. And they need to deliver the request at a young adult reading level. And I am a Disney adult, which I am sad to say only really means young at heart. This meant that Star Wars: The High Republic Path of Deceit did not work the best for me. The authors complete their charge, a young adult novel earlier in the High Republic than we have gone before. But I found myself asking the bigger questions; first, why did they not continue from the end of the last major event publishes in the High Republic instead of jumping backward? Second, I have friends who question the distribution of television series as they do not want to watch every episode of Star Wars: Rebels to understand what is occurring on Disney+. Is it possible by not giving us familiar characters in publishing that some of the hardcore readers may be turning away as the non-core asks this question?

Star Wars: The High Republic Path of Deceit has some familiar story threads. And the text has concepts that tell you that you are in Star Wars. And the authors clearly completed their assignment. But perhaps Disney executives should be reviewing their strategy in greater detail.

I mean, I will still read what is next! 

 

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Between Books - Walt's Apprentice

It is a harsh reality that Walt Disney passed away over 55 years ago. And sadly it means that many of Disney’s close colleagues and acquaintances have been taken from us. Dick Nunis represents one of those colleagues who worked with Disney over half a century ago, who we have heard others talk about but who had not yet captured his memories working at Disney until now.

Walt’s Apprentice: Keeping the Disney Dream Alive by Dick Nunis collects Nunis’ memories. Nunis outlines his youth including his college football career at the University of Southern California. After suffering a significant injury, Nunis moved into education, then training and development where Disney hired him as part of the Disneyland opening day training team. After a successful launch, Nunis found himself in operations where he oversaw lands within the park. His focus on capacity, efficiency, and maintaining Walt Disney’s standards led to his oversight of park operations. Working closely with Disney, Nunis would find himself added to projects as assigned. This would include participation in a World’s Fair, an Olympics, and eventually Disney’s move to the east coast with Walt Disney World. Nunis would successfully lead operations on both coasts until his retirement. Nunis then describes his post-Disney years as ones where he remained active and shared Walt Disney’s standards with others.

Nunis was assisted by a book team that created an outline for his recollections. Chapters tend to be topical and do not fully link to each other. The writing is clear, his team likely included editing skills, and he is easy to understand. Nunis has a reputation for being gruff. And his writing at times leans into this image with one section including phrases that support the story of the taskmaster general. The value is to see and hear these stories in Nunis’ voice. For example, he clearly was proud of his actions during the Yippie invasion of Disneyland. The text allows him to share his thoughts on this historical moment instead of letting others describe his actions for him. The pages allow him to tell the story in his voice and as he would shape it. The interesting piece to me however was how little was new. So many writers and colleagues have talked about the man that stories are not generally new information. Instead, they are about Nunis, by Nunis, and all of them are collected in one volume. Each chapter ends with a business lesson from Nunis, Disney, or other colleagues. I found these quotes somewhat unneeded as I read the volume less as a business book than a memoir. And some of these lessons seemed a little stretched to fit.

Walt’s Apprentice by Dick Nunis paints the former executive as a student of Walt Disney. And for some who see Disney as creative or affable may not take to the imagery. But we must also remember that Walt Disney was not a man who issued praise, worked hard, and demanded high standards. And while Disney may not have seen himself as a general like Nunis is willing to do, in many ways Nunis learned much from Disney. We must never forget that people are complex and do not always fit the stereotypes we place within our heads. The great benefit of Walt’s Apprentice is this book captures Nunis’ memories in Nunis’ words including his impressions of Walt Disney and himself.


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Between Books - Career Magic

 

My career combines operations, customer service, leadership, and relationship building. And being a big Disney fan introduced me to former Disney executive Lee Cockerell. I have a fairly robust intellectual diet of the former Executive Vice-President of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort’s thoughts and best practices. Cockerell recently updated one of his books I had not read before, so I jumped on the pre-order as it suddenly seemed very relevant in today’s current job-seeking world.

Career Magic: How to Stay on Track To Achieve a Stellar Career by Lee Cockerell has recently been updated. Cockerell in podcasts and presentations has stated that he was dissatisfied with the editing of the first edition and that this revised edition cleans up editing errors. Career Magic narratively follows a life and career. Cockerell outlines his steps from a poor family in Oklahoma, a short stint in college, joining the Army, and then starting a hospitality career. Cockerell started at the lowest levels as a banquet server and leveraged his growing experiences into leadership positions at Hilton and Marriott. As an executive, Disney recruited Cockerell to join the Disneyland Paris opening team before he moved to Walt Disney World where he finished a career earning a window on Main Street. The book ends with Cockerell’s current retirement life as a consultant and speaker. In each chapter, Cockerell recounts his career story, connects his story to lessons he learned, and then finishes the chapter with summary statements of his career lessons.

Jobs and careers are a big topic right now. So let’s start with what this book is not. This is not a job-seeking how-to book. Anyone wanting hints and tips in getting hired by Disney or maximizing a job search will be disappointed. Cockerell does not share his ideas on using LinkedIn or his favorite resume format. So those seeking a resource on the nuts and bolts of their job search will not find tactics here.

Instead, this is a career book! Again, not tactics but really this is a book that highlights strategy. For me, I see two main themes; relationship and excellence. I really see relationship as being tied to leadership for Cockerell. He will remind his readers that he was rarely given leadership training as his career advanced. And so he often had to grow this area. As I read his journey, it seemed to me that as he grew as a manager and leader, this was really expressed in his relationships. You see Cockerell grow as a leader and executive in how he treated others. And Cockerell advocates for interactions that are respectful and emphatic. Basically, to grow a career, be nice! Second Cockerell’s journey and growth is tied to his continued excellence in assigned tasks. He took on positions that often pushed his current capabilities. He threw himself into understanding these jobs and then executing on expectations. This excellence often lead to him being noticed and advanced. And while he did have setbacks in his career, he still focused on the task at hand which allowed others to observe his execution and keep him in mind for future advancements.

Writing style, the text is very approachable and feels like Cockerell’s voice in text form. Cockerell is recounting his professional journey and the writing, and perhaps updated editing, provide an easy-to-follow story, even for those lacking a hospitality background. He also does a good job of providing easy-to-understand lessons that are directly tied to his career progress.

So many professionals in the current state of the world are reflecting on job seeking and careers. Career Magic provides professionals with many considerations while considering the next strategic steps and potential job changes. Those who are facing obstacles, perhaps they will find hope that relationship and excellence can create a career legacy of success. For those professionals who are also Disney fans, they will find two chapters on Disney parks operations that may spark additional interest. Lee Cockerell provides us with content to reflect on as we all look to create a career that satisfies and interests us.

 

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