I had the pleasure of being asked a few months ago by my good friend Sasa Rakezic to write the introduction for a book that has now been released in Serbia: The complete reprints of the Mika Mis comic book strip from the '30s. I had always loved that weird version of Mickey Mouse and his bizarre adventures around the world and I therefore provided this introduction with tremendous pleasure. I just discovered the cover (above) and I am looking forward to getting a few copies of the book itself.

If you are interested in ordering teh book, you can email the publisher, Vuk Markovik at info@komiko.rs

The blog will be updated again on September 22.

I have just received The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion by Jeff Baham and I can now confirm that this is one of the best Disney history books related to WED / WDI released in recent years. A "must have" for parks historians.

This just in from Brad Abbott:

[I'm conducting research on the sponsors and lessees at Disneyland, from the parks opening in 1955 until the introduction of New Tomorrowland in 1967. I'm interested in how these companies/individuals came to find out about Disneyland, their decision process in becoming a part of the park, and how both parties were able to benefit (or not) from the relationship. Anyone with information/documents about the early corporate sponsors and small businesses and restaurants at the park that they'd be willing to share can contact me via e-mail (bnabbott@sbcglobal.net).]

I am very much looking forwars to this new book by Sam Gennaway, which, despite its name, is bound to be a great history book.

From what I understand, this newly released 3-Disc Mary Poppins album seems to contain a large part of the recordings from the story sessions that P.L. Travers attended at the Studio. It looks like a must-have.

This just in from garry Apgar:

[Might Walt be referring here to the camera he took with him on his Grand Tour of Europe in 1935?

"A few months ago I took a trip, combining business and pleasure, to the east, through the canal, Cuba, Florida, etc.  Before starting, my first thought was for a 16 mm. camera.  The result was the Victor, not alone for its convenient portability, but for the many technical features that my newsreel experience had taught me to value.  With it I managed to bring back many hundred feet of interesting films of my vacation.  And from it I learned that, once you’ve made a start in cinematography, you can’t stop—you’re a cinematographer for life."

Walt Disney, “Mickey Mouse and 16 mm.”
American Cinematographer, March 1932, p. 36]

Actually, the Victor model that Walt was refering to in this 1932 article was an older one than the one (model Four) that he took with him on the 1935 according to this ad.

Would anyone of you have any rare documents (memos, story meeting notes, etc) linked to Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free and Melody Time?

If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

It has been a while since I gave you an update of my ongoing projects and I thought that, with so much on my plate, now might be a good time. Here are the book projects I am currently involved with and which should be released over the next 18 months:

- Walt's People - Volume 15 (Theme Park Press). The manuscript is ready and is being checked by the contributors. I am hoping to see it released by December at the latest.

- The Drew As They Pleased - Volume 1 (Chronicle Books). The manuscript is ready and the illustrations have been selected. It focuses on Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie. About 90% of the content will be released in book form for the first time ever. Planned release date: Fall 2015.

- Eric Larson's autobiography (Theme Park Press): I am hard at work on this with Joe Campana, JB Kaufman, and Dan Jeup. I am hoping to see it released by January of next year.

- The Wilfred Jackson / Ross Care letters (Theme Park Press): I am helping Ross put his correspondence in shape for release in book form. Some of the content is truly revolutionary, and while working on this project I managed to unearth some rare (never-seen-before) photos as well as... the lost diaries of Wilfred Jackson!!

- I also had the pleasure of writing a short introduction for the upcoming reprint of the Serbian comic book Mika Mis (Mickey Mouse) from the 1930s (more on this next month).

In addition to those "short term" projects, I have started working on Walt's People - Volume 16, They Drew As They Pleased - Volume 2, and on the editing of the Ward Kimball diaries. I wonder why I felt I needed a break two weeks ago ;-)

I had the pleasure of picking up this very rare photo of Mary Blair and Kay Kamen (left) on HowardLowery.com last week and had to share it with all of you.

Not to be missed if you are in LA in September.

This movie seems to be so different from anything that preceeded it at Disney that I am actually looking forward to seeing it and to getting the Art of book, of course.

I am very much looking forward to Andreas Deja's upcoming book, The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney's Greatest Animators which will be released by Focal Press in February and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

I am back and in great shape. I really needed that break.

No better way to start blogging again than with this upcoming book from Theme Park Press.

This just in from Bob McLain, Theme Park Press's owner:

[The book is written by Art Adler, a former Disney executive who got wind that "Walt's Garage", the building once owned by Walt's uncle and where Walt did some of his earliest animation in California, was coming up for auction. He found out that Disney wasn't interested in bidding for it. Disney had no interest whatsoever in the garage. Art didn't want the garage to fall into the hands of someone who might demolish it or who wouldn't be aware of (or appreciate) its historic value. So he bought it himself, and then spent a considerable amount of time and money attempting to convince local/state/national government to recognize the importance of the structure. Adler was also the person responsible for "Walt Disney Recognition Day" (December 5), which Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1986 (crediting Adler as its proponent). More information here:

The book deals not just with the history of Walt's Garage, Adler's acquisition of same, etc., but also with the inner workings of Disney corporate in the 1970s.]

As we say in French: "The more things change, the more they stay the same..."

Temporary shutdown

There are days when trying to preserve Disney History is really not fun. Unfortunately the last two months have been full on those on my end. It looks as if I need a break. The blog will be closed until August 25 to allow me to regain faith and stamina Disney-history-wise.

Two web sites which are definitely each worth several visits:

- Passport to Dreams Old and New about Disney live-action movies (Thanks to Andrew Toffoli for the link).

- Alberto Becattini's fantastic blog

I had a chance to start reading Bobby Burgess' autobiography, released recently by Theme Park Press. I loved the two chapters about Bobby's career as a Mouseketeer. The other sections of the book are of less interest to me, but you will thoroughly enjoy them if you are also interested in  Bobby's non-Disney career which is quite fascinating in itself.

I had the pleasure of making a very cool discovery last week which involves Disney and Dr. Seuss. I do not believe anyone knew about this and I therefore decided to write a small essay about it for the Disney History Institute. Enjoy!

Interesting photo uncovered online recently while looking for something else. The caption seems to be:

[February 13, 1942. Walt Disney and others posing at the head table of a South Central Business Association luncheon at the Blue Bird Cafeteria. The individuals are, from left to right: Homer L. Blackwell of the National Screen Service Corp.; Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck; Mrs. Lillian Bounds Disney, Walt Disney's wife; Kansas City Mayor John B. Gage; Walt Disney; SCBA President Edwin J. Barnes, Sr.; Frank S. Land, founder of the Grand Council of DeMolay; Mrs. Joseph C. Wirthman; Keith Martin, Director of the Kansas City Art Institute; and three of Disney's classmates from Benton School--George L. Williams, Louis G. Lower, and Donald Monroe.]

[UPDATE: I had a nagging feeling that I had already seen this photo somewhere. David Lesjak reminds me that it was in one of his posts :-)]

An other very intriguing book just released by Theme Park Press. I have a feeling this one will be excellent. More in a few weeks when I get a copy.

http://themeparkpress.com/books/haunted-mansion.htm
http://blog.themeparkpress.com/author-jeff-baham-on-the-haunted-mansion

This documentary about Marceline seems to be quite interesting. I have not yet seen it but have just ordered the DVD.

This wonderful photo of Walt with George McManus was recently unearthed by Are Myklebust. Pure delight.

Help needed in Washington D.C.

Any volunteer based in Washington D.C. who would be willing to conduct some research in the Archives of American Art? If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com?

Jim Korkis recently reminded me that the magazine The Atlantic Monthly commissioned writer Paul Hollister to do a series of articles on Walt (just as Pete Martin did later for The Saturday Evening Post) which would be released as a book.  Apparently, the manuscript was completed but never released. The Paul Hollister papers are preserved by the Archives of American Art and I am wondering if the manuscript might be there.

Theme Park Press just released a paperback version of Disney's Grand Tour. The three differences with the hardcover version: a) The price is $17 instead of $34; b) It does not have a dust jacket; c) all the photos that are in color in the hardcover are in black and white in the paperback.

I do enjoy very much the magazine Disney Twenty Three and am looking forward to the recently announced Fall issue, especially the rarely seen concept art from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that it will contain.

I am always amazed at how Chronicle Books manages to produce some truly gorgeous books about the making of movies that are at times totally uninteresting. Case in point: The Art of Planes which I enjoyed tremendously even though I have absolutely no interest in the movie itself (a rare exception when it comes to Pixar movies).

I have received last week review copies of four new books released by Theme Park Press over the last few months. My favorite one is Service with Character by David Lesjak which includes a lot of material that I had never seen before. That book is a "must have".

If you enjoy Kindle books then that is the version of David's book you want to get since it contains illustrations, which is not the case of the physical book. But you know me and my love for physical books. Considering how cheap the Kindle version is, I would recommend getting both the physical book and the Kindle one. But that is just me, of course!

I need your help.

This letter was sent by Disney artist Kay Nielsen to a friend on December 1940. As you can see, his handwritting is a real challenge.

Here is my current interpretation of the text:

[We are all right, only we are deadly tired – now the dentist is over – it was a horror and [dominated] all my weekends for three months. Tomorrow I am to have the first conference on The Swan of Tuonela. I have got Bill [Wallett] back and he is going to work with me on that music – and it is wonderful music too – only I wished I was not quite so tired. I have done too much and worked too hard on the little [XXX] but I hope this will be good – it might too. I seem to be the sombre sector at that place. God knows whether they really like it – and I have yet to hear anything about the new contract. Strange we must admit.]

Could you help me figure out the XXX? Am I making some mistakes on some other words?

[UPDATE: As many of you noted, the missing word is "mermaid". This now appears so obvious that I want to kick myself ;-)] 

[And here is the corrected text thanks to several of you:

"We are all right, only we are deadly tired—now the dentist is over—it was a hard one—it ruined all my weekends for three months. Tomorrow I am to have the first conference on The Swan of Tuonela. I have got Bill [Wallett] back, and he is going to work with me on that music—and it is wonderful music too—only I wish I was not quite so tired. I have done too much—or worked too hard on The Little Mermaid. But I hope this will be good—it ought to. I seem to be the sombre note at that place. God knows whether they really like it—and I have not yet heard anything about the new contract. Strange one must admit."]

I had the pleasure of watching this weekend on Netflix the episode of American Experience from PBS about Henry Ford and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am mentioning this, of course, because its director is Sarah Colt, who is in the process of directing a 4-hour long documentary about Walt Disney which will be released in the fall of next year on PBS.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Sarah earlier this year and know that she has done her homework. I have a feeling this documentary will be something truly special and I am hoping that it will be one of the best movies about Walt to date.

Time will tell...

I just ordered the books Pacific Ocean Park: The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles' Space Age Nautical Pleasure Pier and Pleasure Island (Images of Modern America). They are not Disney history books, of course, but so many former Disney Imagineers worked on those two parks that I know many of you would like to be aware of their existence.

The documentary about Disney and Italy, which I mentioned a while back on the blog has finally been released in DVD. The good news is that the DVD contains English subtitles (but it uses the European format, so unless you have a multi-zone player you will not be able to watch it in the US).

The documentary is very weak, both from a structural standpoint and from the point of view of historical accuracy. However it contains enough rare sequences of Walt visiting Italy for me to be happy to own it. I am a very special nut case, of course, so I would not really recommend any of you outside of Italy to pick that one up.

This just in from Jim Lentz at Heritage Auctions:

[Did you know Heritage auctions weekly Comic and Animation auction is selling tons of vintage disney animation drawings cels and extibles each week? If you could let people know I'd appreciate it.  This week a ton of feature animation 1990 crew jackets as well as great 30s Disney animation drawings.  These type itmes are up every week!]

I didn't know and I enjoyed what I saw.

Not 100% Disney history related but I am very much looking forward to Sebastien Roffat's second volume of his history of animation in France, now available on Amazon.fr

This just in from one of Disney Legend Cy Young's relatives. Does one of you speak Mandarin? Could you help me dig out the info related to Young's early career in China?

If so, please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com

[Dear Didier，

My Grand-uncle Cyrus Young’s given name in Chinese is 锡冶 （See Yeh）, and his second name is 左匋 (Zuo Tao).  The following websites might help you to find some of his early activities in fine arts in China.

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5992bc5c0100tacs.html

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/df498a8eb9d528ea81c77909.html]

Very interesting ebook released recently on the iTunes Store for $4.99. If you want to get the pdf copy, you cal email Dexter Francis at dwf@d-innovation.biz.

Two upcoming books which might prove quite interesting:

- Walt Disney, from Reader to Storyteller: Essays on the Literary Inspirations
- A Wish Your Heart Makes: From the Grimm Brothers' Aschenputtel to Disney's Cinderella by Charles Solomon

The autobiography of Bobby Burgess has just been released by Theme Park Press...

This photo just in from Gunnar Andreassen.

J.B. Kaufman's new book, Pinocchio: The Disney Epic, which will be released in February of next year is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Can't wait!!

Cover for the program of an event that took place in El Paso quite a few ago. Found on ebay recently by Gunnar Andreassen. I love it!

Fun letter found on ebay recently.

Sadly: Dick Jones, actor who provided voice of Disney's Pinocchio, dies at 87.

One more magazine with a Disney cover (from Portugal - 1938) thanks to Gunnar Andreassen.

This just in from Garry Apgar from Film Daily, July 2, 1938, p. 2.

At the celebration of the "Victoires du Cinéma Français 1948" given at the ministry of Industry in Paris. From lef to right, the winners: Monsieur Bellfort representing Alfred Hitchcock, Walt Disney, Jennifer Jones, Jean-Pierre Mauclaire, director of Cinémonde magazine, Robert Lacoste and François Mitterrand, ministers of Commerce and Industry, and minister of Information, Louis Jouvet, Michèle Morgan, Jean Cocteau, Jean Delannoy, Louis Jourdan representing Grégory Peck. Cinémonde July 4, 1949.

Disney artists Art Stevens and Charlie Downs clowning around. Courtesy of Julie Svendsen.

A great 4th of July to all of you! Enjoy the weekend.

This just in. Can anyone help?

[My name is Chelsea, and I am a Cinema and Animation student at Elon University. I am currently completing an Honors undergraduate thesis on the use of stereoscopic 3D in hand-drawn animation. As part of my research, I am looking into older methods of converting Disney-style animation into 3D, including Disney's own work in the field. I came across your Disney History blog while collecting articles, and was impressed by the depth and detail of your archive. At the moment, I am running into a roadblock in my search, and am hoping you can shine a light on where to look next for new information.

Specifically, I am trying to learn more about the short films Melody and Working for Peanuts, both released by Disney in 1953. While I know these films were both produced in 3D (Melody being the first 3D animated film ever), I'm having a hard time learning anything about the specific processes used to convert the 2D animation into a 3D viewing format. Most 3D history books focus on live-action 3D films, and I wouldn't know where to start looking in Disney short film research. As both 3D filmmaking and Disney history are not taught by my school, my professors are equally unsure of where to look for more information.

In your research, have you come across any references to the techniques used in the production of either of these films? Are there any books or DVD extras you would recommend? Or, are there any websites, archives, or other historians you would point to as a better source of insight? Any information about these films and their creative process would be a great boon to my research and final thesis paper.

Thank you very much for reading, and have a wonderful day!]

While looking for some information about Gustaf Tenggren's work on Bambi for my upcoming book, I stumbled upon this great interview with Maurice "Jake" Day and his photographic work in Maine for Bambi which I know you will all enjoy.

Some truly unique documents in Heritage's new auction. Call client services at 877 437 4824 if you want to register to bid.  (You can't bid without registering).