Wednesday, February 19, 2020

So, now that the They Drew as They Pleased - The Hidden Art of Disney series is virtually complete, what am I working on Disney-wise (aside from Walt's People and a few editing projects)?

I have just written the first draft of a monograph about The Origins of the True-Life Adventures (1938 - 1948), to be released by Hyperion Historical Alliance Press next year. This is the first volume in a planned series about True-Life Adventures-related matters.

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this project. I feel that I am venturing into an almost virgin field. I am discovering a lot of new information about the making of Bambi, the educational projects that were being developed between 1943 and 1947 (including all the abandoned ones which gave birth to many other Disney projects in the 1940s and 1950s), and the saga of Al and Elma Milotte that resulted in the making of both The Alaskan Eskimo (the first of the "People and Places) and Seal Island (1948).

And, of course, the monograph will be full of never-seen-before illustrations.

Thirty years after starting to conduct research about Disney history, I am finally beginning to feel that I am understanding how things really happened. This is truly exhilarating and I can't wait to share this new-found understanding and those discoveries.



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