Disney books? History, art, photographs etc.

[Collector49]

I imagine some of you have picked up some neat Disney books over the years, and I was hoping maybe you could tell me about your favorites. I have poked around on Amazon, and there are some neat looking books for sale. There are also a fair amount of out-of-print books that people seem to think are worth 100's of dollars. I would love to read some first hand reviews of any great Disney books that you have on your shelves/coffee tables. I like books about history, books with great art and books with lots of photographs, so be sure to tell me what your favorite book is full of.

 

[karkura]

I don't really have any Disney books, sorry. But make sure to check half.com. Some of their prices are more realistic then Amazon.

 

[akaibara]

I'll have to check my shelves but I think the only book I have which is not a reprinted collection of comics is The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. It's a large beautiful book and I've only read the first 4 chapters but it's absolutely fascinating. It's basically everything you ever wanted to know about animating and how they figured it all out. (The A It's full of interesting little anecdotes, notes from lectures and conversations as well as sketches, concept art, finished art and so on. I just wish I could find the time to finish reading it... I can't exactly carry this on the bus/train each day, it would break my back, lol.

 

[pauly88]

I only have books that fit into my collection really but I did kept the old Read along books as the picutres are amazing a true art!

Plus i liked laurie main RIP

 

[PrincessBecky]

If you like princesses, I LOVE this book:

It is a really beautiful art book...I highly recommend it!

 

[pauly88]

^^ Is that new didn't see that before and i go there often..

 

[hopemax]

Well, I'm a big Disneyland History fan so my favorites are The Nickel Tour by David Mumford and Bruce Gordon and Disneyland: Inside Story by Randy Bright. Also, old copies of the E-ticket magazine.

 

[Shivatopia]

I have many Disney book ranging from children's storybook retellings of the films (often they have some great artwork) to the "The Art of (fill in a Disney film name)" series (which has good information about the production of the film with great photographs, concept art, and movie stills). From the "Art of" series, I have the books for: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo and Stitch, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled. Admittedly, I think that some of these books are more successful than others. I am hoping that some day, Disney will make "Art of" books for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Alice in Wonderland.

I also have the first version of The Art of Animation, which covers the history of the Disney animation from Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast. It's pretty good for a general history overview, also with good pictures. A second edition was released that goes from Mickey Mouse to Hercules. I have not yet read a copy of that one.

I also love my copy of Walt Disney's Sketch Book of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is short on words, but has a lot of great design concept art for all of the characters. You can find this particular book for a reasonable price on the secondary market. I have seen scans of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (The Sketchbook Series), and the art in it is fantastic. The prices on the secondary market for these books (also including Peter Pan, Bambi, The Little Mermaid, and Lady and the Tramp) are outrageous -- we're talking hundreds of dollars.

The Disney Villain by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas is also a good book, particularly for fans of the Disney villains. It is written by two of the Disney Studio's greatest animators and contains a lot of great artwork. However, with the sheer number of characters discussed, some of the entries are perhaps too short. Also keep in mind that it goes from the beginings of Disney animation through Jafar only. No new editions were made since, so if you want info and art about the villains since Jafar, you will need to turn to the "Art of" series for each particular film.

 

[coblj003]

When I lived in Florida, I made an effort to buying several of the books on imagineering and Disney cookbooks. The Art of Imagineering is great and showcases alot of the concept art from the parks around the world. I also found an old hardback called Disney's Fantasyland Story Book. It showcased alot of the Disney Movies up to Sleeping Beauty and Lady with the tramp as well as some extras such as mother goose and babes in toyland, I'm sure it'll be perfect when I start reading stories for my daughter.

 

[mickeymousje]

I really love my book Disneyland Paris from sketch to reality

 

[Collector49]

Awesome! I have added a few of these to my "must read" list. I loved Frank and Ollie the documentary, so I will have to try and track down their books.

 

[BwayGal1300]

My favorite I have is the Disneyland History book Disneyland realeased for it's 50th anniversary. I can't remember the exact title, but the information and pictures in it were fabulous. It was hard to get a hold of though. I got a good deal on amazon, but I've seen it go for a lot of money.

 

[Sju56]

My two favorites are Cooking With Mickey Around Our World (the first one) and The Gardens of Walt Disney World.

 

[dawny]

i love my "Hidden Disney". It is in the car so i can't get you all the details, but it is about all the interesting tid ibts of WDW and its parks, for example.....the antique wall phone in the candy shop...if you pick it up it speaks (never would think to do this) or who's names are painted in widows on Main Street.

 

[DPintrader]

This was an unexpected surprise. I 'm waiting for the signed lyric sheet from the Haunted Mansion, but I'll never turn down something signed by Bob Gurr:

 

[doodlebug86]

Illusion of Life is great, So are the "Art of" books (Pixar does a great group of these too).
The other amazing group is the Sketchbook series, they were limited edition books and can be really expensive. I found one in a used book store, but the guy refused to sell it to me because he wanted to hold on to it till it was worth more. As it was, he could have asked for over $200.
Also good are the Archive series which are being released one per year. Currently out are Story, Animation, Design, and Layout & Background. Out later this year will be the Flip Books which is going to be a boxed set of 9 flip books, one each of a character buy the 9 old men.
Another cool one is "Disney Lost and Found", it's a book of the art of Disney films that never were.
The art of Disney dogs is a person favorite, but not one of the best.

 

[YoSoyAhPuch]

Some of my favorite Disney books are the Art of Pirates of the Caribbean (Giant book full of concept art from the first 3 films. I purchased it at the old Disney Gallery above Pirates in DLR, so that makes it a tad more special to me) and the various Disneyland memories/souvenir books. I try to buy each new book they issue. It's always fun to see how the park evolves from one book to the next. They're also a good record of past Disneyland projects/set ups, such as the DCA "postcard" tiles at its entrance.

 

[SoraPandora]

This is a great thread.

I don't own any Disney books at the moment, but I have been seriously considering buying "The Art of the Disney Princess" since I saw it on display in Downtown Disney last week. (For those of you who do not know - the art in this book is basically artwork INSPIRED by the Disney princesses, so if you're looking for movie stills of your favorite princess, look elsewhere.) Now I'm thinking about looking into the "Art of ____" series as well.

Thanks for all your recommendations!

Sara

 

[Shivatopia]

Just a head's up, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has not been completely forgotten on the year of her 75th anniversary, but through two new books about her film. Both are written by author J.B Kaufman, and released in October 2012, but they are not the same book. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film (on the right) is a more pictoral book that takes you through the film, scene by scene, with plenty of concept designs and sketches, storyboards, backround art, and of course finished art (MSRP $35.00). The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a more comprehensive history of the creation and legacy of the film, with a lot more text, but still with a ton of beautiful images (MSRP $75.00).

I pre-ordered both books from amazon.com and received them last Friday. Of course, through amazon, they are not as expensive as the MSRP. The Fairest One of All has recently been taken down by amazon.com due to customer complaints about either the product itself or the way it was being shipped. My guess is it was due to the way they were shipped. The book is a more expensive hardcover book with a pretty dustcover jacket, but it does not come shrink wrapped, so it's possible that some people's books may have arrived scuffed or with torn dust jackets.

 

[RetroDiz]

My 1978 edition of Walt Disney's Treasury of Children's Classics has a nice combination of movie history, art and storytelling for each film; it only goes up to The Rescuers, I think.

Nostalgia time here; I love the illustrations of my old childhood books, and have "re-collected" some copies over the years:

 

[bebs]

I don't have many disney books anymore however I have in the past, one place that you can look is used book stores they tend to have things priced reasonably

 

[Mermaid's_grotto]

The majority of my books are from when I was a kid so they're all story based. Although over past couple of years I've picked up the Art of... books (Tangled & Brave). The Illusion of Life as mentioned previously is on my wish list.