On December 11, Heritage Auction will hold another spectacular Animation Art auction. As always, they have located quite a few rare masterpieces including those two spendlid ones by Mary Blair. The one from Susie, the Little Blue Coupe is one of only 5 pieces by Mary Blair from that short that I am aware of.

You can check out the catalog at this link.

This just in from Theme Park Press:

[SKIPPER STORIES
True Tales from Disneyland's Jungle Cruise

Real Skippers of Disneyland

In this unique oral history of Disneyland's iconic attraction, the World Famous Jungle Cruise, dozens of skippers, from the 1950s to the present, share harrowing, humorous, sometimes even horrific tales of their pun-fraught voyages and their behind-the-scenes hellraising.

The Jungle Cruise is that most unusual of Disney attractions where the ride itself is secondary to the cast member. Once the boat leaves the dock, Disney no longer controls the experience; your skipper does.

Former skipper and now history professor David John Marley presents the uncensored stories of six decades of Jungle Cruise skippers. Their never-before-spieled tales include:

- Skipper selection, skipper training, how the ride works, and no-holds-barred confessions of what life is like in the jungle

- Celebrity guests: the good, the bad, and the entitled, and one very public embarrassment, skipper style

- The rite of passage for new Jungle Cruise skippers: peeing in the river

- Drunken orgies, stand-up comedy, and a heist that led to one skipper's permanent expulsion from Disneyland

- Pranks and more pranks, from the comic to the cruel, with dickish skippers and unruly guests learning the law of the jungle

Welcome to the Jungle...]

This just in from Theme Park Press about The Walt Disney World that Never Was:

[The Imagineering Graveyard

On an alternate earth, Walt Disney World guests are taking in the thrills of Thunder Mesa, braving the Beastly Kingdom, marveling at Villains Mountain, and staying the night at Disney's Persian Resort. Want to join them? This is your guidebook to the theme park that Disney never built.

In this unique, extensively researched book, Christopher Smith discusses the many attractions, shows, and resorts that were planned for Walt Disney World, from opening day to the present day, but that exist only in the minds of Imagineers.

You'll find old "favorites" such as Thunder Mesa and Beastly Kingdom, as well as those lost to the pixie dust of time, like Dick Tracy's Crime Stoppers, the Enchanted Snow Palace, and Buffalo Junction. Smith looks at the politics and internal struggles behind the decision to shelve each concept, and imagines what guests might have experienced.

Every park at Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios - has its hidden cache of "lost" attractions. They're all here, along with the many resort hotels that Disney intended to build, but didn't.

Put aside those guidebooks of the Walt Disney World that is, and come to a vacation kingdom that you can visit only if you find the second star to the right and then keep straight on till morning.]

The French version of Garry Apgar's great book about Mickey is available at this link.

I need to get a copy of the catalog from this Japanese exhibition. Could anyone help?

Very much looking forward to the book by James Bohn, Music in Disney's Animated Features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Jungle Book, which will be released in June next year.

I will be in "survival" mode over the next few weeks in order not to lose my mind. This blog will be updated again around November 22.

This upcoming book has just been announced by David Bossert on his web site. Can't wait!

[OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT

The Search For The Lost Cartoons

By David A. Bossert

SUMMER 2017

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Cartoons is an in-depth look at the origins of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio first major animation success in 1927, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The latest book from author David Bossert will explore the importance of this character from the rejection of the first Oswald short, Poor Papa, to the well-received second short, Trolley Troubles, to losing the rights to the character all together. This book will cover the definitive history of all twenty-six Walt Disney directed Oswald cartoons.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a seminal part of the early Walt Disney Company history. Without the Disney Bros. losing the rights to Oswald, there may very well never have been a Mickey Mouse created. This new book will track the history of Oswald using rare, never before seen, surviving documentation; letters between Walt Disney and his brother Roy O.; early photos from the Kingswell Road and Hyperion Studio facilities; the film shorts; the repatriation of Oswald to Disney from Universal in 2005; and of course the Sportscaster Al Michaels connection.

This compelling, profusely illustrated volume is targeted to Disney animation aficionados and fans alike with an introduction by author and Disney historian J.B. Kaufman and archival editing by David Gerstein. It is the definitive Oswald the Lucky Rabbit reference for libraries, film schools, and anyone with an interest in the silent film era of early Hollywood and the animation film industry. This newest book by Bossert will coincide with the 90th Anniversary of Oswald and releases in the summer of 2017.]

This just in about upcoming books from Chronicle Books by David Peake:

[THE ART OF CARS 3 Preface by John Lasseter Foreword by Brian Fee Introduction by Bill Cone and Jay Shuster Pixar Animation Studios presents The Art of Cars 3, a behind-the-scenes look at the concept art from the latest film in the popular Cars franchise. Fascinating storyboards, full-color pastels, digital paintings, and more offer a unique perspective into the beloved world of Lightning McQueen and his friends, new and old. With a preface by John Lasseter, foreword by director Brian Fee and an introduction by production designers Bill Cone and Jay Shuster, The Art of Cars 3 is a scenic road trip through a masterfully animated film. Hardcover, $40.00, 28 x 23 cm, 160 pages, plus gatefold, full-color illustrations throughout, 6000 words, Spring 2017

THE ART OF COCO Foreword by John Lasseter Introduction by Lee Unkrich Pixar Animation Studio’s latest film is the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a most extraordinary and surprising family reunion. Filled with captivating storyboards, character sketches, and gorgeous full-color digital paintings, The Art of Coco draws back the curtain to provide a fascinating look at the development art that inspired Pixar’s most mesmerizing world to date. Hardcover, $40.00, 28cm x 23cm, 176 pages, full-color illustrations throughout, 6,000 words

THE COLOR OF PIXAR Introduction by Tia Kratter This eye-catching new hardcover collects more than 300 images from the Pixar Animation Studio archive, arranged in a stunning spectrum of color. Using gorgeous final frames from iconic feature films that focus on hidden moments and unexpected color palettes within beloved films, this colorful cross section of work from more than 30 years at Pixar is elegant in its simplicity and bold in its vision. Eye-catching and in a gift-friendly package, this book will be a centerpiece for any Pixar fan. Hardcover, $29.95, 20 x 15 cm, 352 pages, full-color images throughout, 500 words, Fall 2017]

The catalog of the upcoming Van Eaton Galleries auction is now online.

Really looking forward to finally ready this book.

I have now received this book and I LOVE it. This is an extremely important reference volume. Finally a book full of "real" Walt quotes and not invented ones. (Of course some of the quotes come from articles that Walt only signed - but as long as he allowed for his name to be featured at the end of an article, even if an article was not actually written by him the words became his.) Finally a book in which Jim lists his sources carefully.

This is a "must have".

Do not miss this wonderful homage to Mitsuo Natsume: The Forgotten Imagineer!

The new Hake's auction is now online. The most spectacular piece it features is this beautiful Kay Nielsen which I had never seen before.

The blog will be updated again next Monday.

I can't stand the cover of this book but apparently, from what I hear, its content is excellent. According to the publisher:

[On the Road with Walt

British university professor and Disney scholar Lee Brooks chronicles the road trip he took with his family from Anaheim to Orlando, and all "Walt" points in between, in search of how America molded Walt Disney, and how Walt gave voice to our values, our dreams, and a big slice of our pop culture.

The best way to understand Walt Disney is to follow in his footsteps—literally. And the best way to understand his "mythical America" is to look at it through the perspective of someone foreign to it. On a road trip! In the passenger seat of a rented blue Ford Fusion, Lee Brooks attempts to unravel the skein of history, fantasy, and pop culture that for a few decades took the guise of Walt Disney.

Watch for the exit signs to:

- Anaheim, California, where the trip begins, and where the spirit of Walt Disney is seen reflected in the windows along Main Street, USA

- Kansas City, Missouri, where the McConahay Building, home to Walt Disney's first studio, Laugh-O-Gram, still stands, in derelict grandeur

- Marceline, Missouri, where the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, in the stillness of an old railroad depot, opens for a few hours each day to reveal its preserved relics from Walt's past

- Orlando, Florida, where the Magic Kingdom that Walt inspired but didn't live to visit still evokes much of what's mythical about America, and about Walt himself

ARE WE THERE YET?]

The catalog of Van Eaton's upcoming Disneyland-related auction is now available for pre-order.

This just in from Disney historian Jake Friedman:

[I'm looking for a volunteer in LA who would make use of the public library and send me scans from within 4 months of Daily Variety.  Or someone who has online access to their archives. [The volunteer would get] research credit in my book [about Art Babbitt]. This would not take more than part of a day.]

Could somebody help? If so, please email me (didier.ghez@gmail.com) or Jake (jakefriedmantoons@gmail.com)

One more interesting book just released by Theme Park Press. According to the publisher:

[Jay Stein Builds a Better Mousetrap

After years of sitting fat and happy atop the theme park totem pole, Mickey Mouse discovered a big cat in his backyard named Jay Stein. Against stiff odds, corporate politics, and fierce opposition from Michael Eisner's Disney, Jay Stein founded Universal Studios Florida. This is how he did it.

Starting in the mailroom of MCA (now NBCUniversal), where his duties included delivering messages to stars like Alfred Hitchcock and Ronald Reagan, Jay Stein soon found himself in charge of the Universal Studio Tour, reporting directly to MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. He became a keen observer of what Walt Disney had accomplished in Disneyland—and how one day he might do even better.

That day came when Wasserman gave Jay the go-ahead to build a Universal theme park in Orlando, Florida. With help from Steven Spielberg, Jay got to work, in Jay style: no excuses, no retreats, no failures. Despite Disney's relentless attempts to sabotage the project, and ruinous infighting among members of his own team, Jay did not give up.

When the new theme park opened in 1990, it was full of Jay's patented "JayBangs"—rides and attractions that stunned, shocked, and surprised guests, dousing them with water, blasting them with air, heat, or cold, and giving them what the Disney parks of that time lacked: fear and visceral delight.

It was beating Michael Eisner at his own game. It was catching Mickey in a trap he couldn't aw-shucks his way out of. It was Jay Stein's triumph. But the man who went from delivering messages to building theme parks wasn't done yet...]

This just in from Theme Park Press:

WALT'S WORDS by JIM KORKIS

[Did Walt Really Say That?

Now you'll know for sure, in this comprehensive collection of Walt Disney's wisdom, as delivered through interviews, articles, speeches, TV appearances, and more. Each of the over 800 quotes in this book is authoritatively sourced as well. You'll be surprised by what Walt said—and what he didn't say!

Disney historian Jim Korkis has devoted a lifetime of research into assembling the most complete, most accurate, most useful compilation of Walt Disney's quotes ever put into print. For fans, it's a deep dive into the wisdom of Walt; for authors and researchers, it's an invaluable reference, as Korkis also provides the source of each quote—something you won't find anywhere else.

Walt Disney had a lot to say, about many different topics, including America, animation and films, art and music, books, business, Disneyland, education, fear and failure, Mickey Mouse, money and work, religion, storytelling, television, and women. It's all here, uncensored and unedited.

The best way to learn about Walt Disney is to read what he said, not what others have said about him. Walt's Words is the closest we'll ever get to an autobiography of Walt Disney.]