This came as a total surprise to me last week: The first volume of my They Drew As They Pleased book series has just been released in Japanese!

Despite the fact that it contains extremely little text (which was my only disappointment),
Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai is an excellent book which does beautifully what it intends to do, i.e. showcase the maps that were created for the Disney parks around the world by the likes of Sam McKim and Paul Hartley. The layout is great and it is full of little surprises which made me want to study each page carefully.

If you love the Disney parks and the Disney park maps, this is without a doubt a "must have".

This is not a book that I will pick up but some of you might be interested in the fact that it exists, hence this post.

I just picked up on ebay a copy of the British magazine Illustrated from July 30, 1949, which contains this marvelous  article about the Disneys' visit to the United Kingdom from around June 15 to August 15, 1949. I have a feeling that many of you will enjoy it. You can click on each of the pages to enlarge them.

One more book released for Disney comics enthusiasts who are also fluent in Italian.

This just in through CartoonBrew and Andreas Deja:

15 Rare Color Photos Of Walt Disney And Artists You Probably Haven’t Seen Before

This just in from Theme Park Press:

MORE SECRET STORIES OF WALT DISNEY WORLD BY JIM KORKIS

[Oh, You Didn't Know...

Just when you think you *do* know everything there is to know about Walt Disney World, here comes Jim Korkis with a new book full of stuff you won't easily find anywhere else. From the theme parks and resorts to "beyond the berm", this is the Disney that Disney forgot.

Coming on the heels of the bestselling original "Secret Stories", Korkis has declared no secret off limits in this new volume. Delving into his treasure trove of lore compiled over the decades from sources both inside and outside the Disney company, and from official Disney documentation long since lost or destroyed, Korkis mainlines the most potent blend of mouse tales this side of Main Street, USA, including:

-  Haunted mahjongg, mermaid statues, handprints, and rock stars: a VIP tour through the back roads of Hollywood Studios

-  The hidden narrative of Liberty Square, and why Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe is much more than meets the eye

- The Native American mythology behind the totem poles at Disney's Fort Wilderness Lodge

- Where to find vestiges of Roger Rabbit Toontown at Hollywood Studios, and why Roger himself isn't there

- Plus, Florida theme parks that never were, Disney's aborted airport, Snow White's secret house, the Mickey Mouse tax, and dozens more

NO DECODER RING REQUIRED!]

If you live in Miami: I will be autographing They Drew As They Pleased - The Hidden Art of Disney's Musical Years at Books & Books on Wednesday this week at 8PM.

Dave Lee has posted a review of the book on YouTube.

And Matt Hunrichs has posted a review of Volume 1 on Scrubbles.net.

The blog will be updated again on September 19.

If you have received and liked They Drew As They Pleased - The Hidden Art of Disney's Musical Years, please remember to post a review on Amazon! Thanks in advance for your support.

If you already own The Art of Mickey Mouse, which was released many years ago, you know exactly what to expect with the upcoming The Art of Minnie Mouse. This is not a book for historians, but it is a beautifully produced volume, which features some fun re-inventions of Minnie. I particularly enjoyed the pieces by artist Jeffrey Thomas (especially Minnie as Disney villainesses) and those by Kim Raymond (Minnie inspired by Edgar Degas) and Leo Oliveto.

Clearly not a "must have" but a great gift for Minnie Mouse enthusiasts.

With the upcoming release of the updated edition of the seminal book Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series, I took time last week to interview one of its authors, my good friend, Disney historian J.B. Kaufman.

Didier Ghez: Could you tell us about the genesis of this new book?

J.B. Kaufman: The first edition of the book was published in 2006, but there were distribution problems and it didn't reach a very wide audience. Russell and I always thought it would be nice to give the book a second chance -- and, at the same time, rework the text and upgrade the illustrations. We got our chance when the Disney company launched a fresh initiative involving the Silly Symphonies. Those live Silly Symphony concert presentations, with full orchestra, are exciting, and the big "Silly Symphony Collection" LP set, released last year by Walt Disney Records and Fairfax Classics, is even more exciting. Tying in with those projects, Disney Editions offered us an opportunity to produce a new edition of our book. Of course we jumped at the chance.

DG: What were the major changes, additions and corrections?

JBK: Mostly details. You may remember that the main body of the book is a Silly Symphony filmography. In most film books the filmography is a little appendix tacked on at the back, but we wanted to make this one as exhaustive and thorough as possible, documenting every bit of information we could find on production and exhibition of each film. That means lots and lots of detail, and as you know, an author can fuss endlessly over details. We've done a good deal more research since 2006, and were able to add new information, and fine-tune the information that was already there. In addition, Russell rewrote his part of the essay. And the design has been reworked by Tamara Khalaf, who did a tremendous job with it.

DG: Any surprises we should expect if we already own the first version of the book?

JBK: For me, it's tremendously exciting to see all the new information in the filmography. Animation credits on the early Symphonies, in particular, were very difficult to research the first time around. We've learned a lot since then, and we also had a lot of new assistance from the wonderful folks at the Walt Disney Archives and the Animation Research Library. Now we've been able to document those early titles much more thoroughly, and that information -- along with loads of other new material throughout the book -- can be preserved for posterity. Also, I mentioned that Russell rewrote his part of the essay. He's one of the most brilliant film historians in the world, and his part of the essay already featured some invaluable observations and insights, but now he's added even more. And Tamara's work with the design is brilliant in its own right. I always loved the original design by our friends at La Cineteca del Friuli, and now Tamara has enhanced it even further. And she's added a good deal of original production art and other graphic rarities. We were really fortunate to work with her.

DG: What are you most excited about when it comes to this new version of the book?

JBK: All of the above! I was always proud of the first edition, and now we've been able to polish it still further and "plus" it from beginning to end. Needless to say, I'm excited about that! I also love the fact that Disney Editions is getting behind it. Along with the chance to work with the great folks there, especially editors Wendy Lefkon and Laura Hopper, that gives us the advantage of Disney Editions' distribution network. I'm confident that the book will have a chance to reach a wider audience this time!

 

Needless to say, this model sheet created by Johnny Walbridge for the planned remake of Mickey's Man Friday will not be included in They Drew As They Pleased - Volume 3, which will focus on the art and careers of Eduardo Sola Franco, Johnny Walbridge, Jack Miller, Campbell Grant, James Bodrero and Martin Provensen.

As we celebrate the release of They Drew As They Pleased - The Hidden Art of Disney's Musical Years, I also spent time this week finalizing the text for next year's volume (which will be huge) and working on the caption file. All done. I am exhausted. But it is definitely worth it!

From what I hear this long-awaited book will be released very soon.