Like many of you I am currently watching the final episodes of Game of Thrones. As you know the series is based on books by author George R.R. Martin. Is there a link between Martin and Disney? It turns out there is, via Edgar Rice Burroughs!

In the 1990s, the Walt Disney Studios was trying to adapt A Princess of Mars to the screen and asked Melinda M. Snodgrass and George R.R. Martin to write a treatment. Copies of the work they did on the project can be found at the Cushing Library.

My friend David Peake has just spotted three interesting upcoming books on Amazon:

- The Art of Frozen II by Jessica Julius

- A Tale of Transformation: Twenty-Five Years of Beauty and the Beast On Stage by Jeff Kurtti

- Disney's Land by Richard Snow

I am really looking forward to picking up the second volume of Julie Andrews' autobiography, which focuses on her years in Hollywood, including the making of Mary Poppins.

I am supporting this new book project by David Koenig. I hope many of you will too.

This just in from Theme Park Press about Jim Korkis' new book:

[How the Magic Was Born

Once upon a time, the swampy flatlands of central Florida were home to oranges, cattle, and alligators. Then a man came and said, "lo, there shall be a theme park." A few years later, swampland turned to fantasyland, as Walt Disney World arose. This is the story of how it happened.

Jim Korkis, the world's premiere Disney historian, weaves a compelling, organized tale from the thousands of details, reports, and eyewitness accounts—some of them never before in print— about the early days of the most magical place on earth. As with his companion book,
The Unofficial Disneyland 1955 Companion, Korkis delivers a top-down history, from the perspective of high-level Disney executives to that of front-line Disney cast members.

Korkis begins with the initial surveys of the Disney World site in 1958 and takes the story through 1972, telling the complete and definitive story of how the park was designed and built, and how it was run during its first year.

As Walt Disney stood on a swampy marsh in central Florida not long before his death in 1966, he did not see a wilderness, he saw a bright city of tomorrow, a towering castle, innovative hotels, and above all, families having fun in themed lands of wonder.

We know how the story turned out, but now you can stand alongside Walt and experience it all over again, from the very beginning.]

This just in from Are Myklebust:

[Here is another entry to the list of a Disney-film within a non-Disney film that I have discovered;

“Portrait of Jennie” (1948), with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. The film is directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick (Vanguard Films).

In this very strange film, there is a sequence where Joseph Cotten’s character is having a conversation with an old doorman at a (cinema) theatre. In the background you can see an old Mickey Mouse short from the early 1930s being screened.

The whole film can be watched on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmF3rL2HadU

The sequence with the Mickey Mouse short can been seen from ca. 29:50.
I haven’t been able to identify the short, but perhaps David Gerstein or someone else can help?]

[UPDATE:
Hello, Didier.  I tried to post a comment on your Disney History Blog website, but I don't think it worked the last few times, so I am sending it by e-mail:

The Mickey Mouse cartoon seen in the background in "Portrait of Jennie" is 1931's "The Delivery Boy."  In the first few scenes, Mickey and Minnie are singing and dancing to a jazzy version of the song "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree."  Later, they are playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" on the piano.  Some of the piano scenes are out of order.  No scenes of Pluto or farm animals were included, except for a brief final shot of a pig holding a saxophone (through which a smaller pig is pumping water).  During this sequence in the movie theater, the images from "The Delivery Boy" are reversed because Joseph Cotten and  Felix Bressart are behind the screen.

Jeff Peterson]

The Disney Books Network has just been updated.

I am definitely looking forward to reading this upcoming book.

This just in from my good friend Harald:

[Something your blog readers may enjoy: recently Saturday Evening Post issues from the 1950s were uploaded to the Internet Archive. Included are also the issues from 1956/57 containing the 8-part series "My Dad, Walt Disney" written by Diane Disney Miller and Pete Martin. As far as I know this is the first time all 8 parts are available on the internet.

Check out the first part at DIX.

The other parts are linked as related entries.

Regards and Happy Easter,

Harald]

Those who know me also know that I am not planning to go see the new Dumbo movie. I understand why those live-action remakes are made, I know that some of them are good (and some even great) movies, and I have nothing against them philosophically, but I am just not really interested and prefer to stay with my untainted memories of the animated classics.

All this being said, I received yesterday the book The Art and Making of Dumbo and I was blown away by it. This is clearly one of the best "making of" art books that I have ever seen. The research that the author, Leah Gallo, conducted to write the text is breathtaking, the amount, quality and variety of illustrations is unparalleled, and the whole volume was clearly laid out by someone that is truly passionate about her subject matter.

What makes the book even more valuable from my standpoint, though, is the first chapter, which deals with the making of the original, animated movie. Like the rest of the book it is meticulously researched and represents the best history of the making of Dumbo that I have ever read to date, complete with very precise end-notes.

Sadly, the chapter contains a small mistake. A few years ago, in Walt's People - Volume 9, I re-released Mark Langer's interview with Ken O'Connor, complete with the introduction that Mark had written for its original publication in Animation Journal. Unfortunately, author Leah Gallo, when she read that introduction to the interview thought that I had written it and ended up quoting from it attributing the quote to me. You now know that the quote is from historian Mark Langer.

That being clarified, I really recommend Leah's book, especially if you enjoyed Tim Burton's movie.

I was excited to learn about the release of this new German book. The title and the introduction article are written in German, but the comic pages inside are facsimile copies from the British Mickey Mouse Weekly and in English. I just ordered a copy.

[NOTE ABOUT THE BELOW: I have now heard from a few of you who have read this book and the feedback is a negative one. This is apparently not a very good read at all for various reasons. A shame.]

I just received this new book (which I have not read yet) about Milicent Patrick, better known to all of us as the Disney artist Mildred Rossi. (Thanks to Michael Golberg for the heads up about the book).

I am excited to see a complete biography written about Mildred Rossi and even more pleased to see that the author got in touch with my friend and fellow Disney historian Mindy Johnson to get information about Mildred's Disney years. Can't wait to start reading.

 This just in from Caleb Nelson:

[Below is information about the world premiere compact disc release of George Bruns' music for the Disney film Johnny Tremain:

I have been researching this title since 2003, and am very excited this CD has become a reality. Hope you enjoy the CD!

Jim Lochner's liner notes are marvelous and Kay Marshall's booklet design complements Peter Ellenshaw's production design for the film itself.

There are several emotional high points that George Bruns scores beautifully. His music goes all the way from despair and fear to exhilaration. His music also seems to sound like Ellenshaw's production design and matte paintings, if that makes any sense:-) ]

Alberto Becattini's new book has just been released. If you are a comic book fan, this is a must read.

From the publisher:

[The Grail of Funny Animals

For decades, Italian comics historian Alberto Becattini has been researching and writing about American funny animal comics. In this first volume of his two-part opus, Becattini presents the fruits of his labors, the definitive guide for funny animal fans, collectors, and historians alike.

Becattini examines the funny animal phenomenon, starting from its origins in popular and children’s literature, and continuing through its appearances in newspaper comics, comic books, and comic magazines.

All of the more famous characters are included, such as those created at Disney, Lantz, Warner Bros., MGM, and other cartoon studios, as well as the many lesser-known characters that appeared in obscure comic book titles issued by equally obscure comic book publishers.

During the writing process, and while viewing thousands of comic strips and comic pages, Becattini had many discoveries and “epiphanies” that let him shed light on the identities of hitherto uncredited artists and writers. While his aim has been to highlight the talent behind the comics, rather than the stories and characters themselves, he also provides in-depth coverage of virtually every funny animal comic book, illustration, and animated cartoon.

A must-have title for any serious funny animal fan!]

Not sure what this new book edited by the son of Buzz Price is worth, but it sounds very interesting and I just ordered a copy.

Look what is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

I am particularly proud of this volume, which deals with an often overlooked era (Disney's 1970s and early 1980s) and which focuses on the life and art of my two favorite Disney artists: Ken Anderson and Mel Shaw.

The first Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual has just been released. It contains in-depth essays about Disney history by Jim Hollifield, Garry Apgar, Todd James Pierce, Lucas Seastrom, Dave Bossert, and your truly.

If you care as much about Disney history as I do, this new magazine is a must have. Note that it is not heavily illustrated. If you buy it, you will do so to read extremely accurate and detailed essays about little-know aspects of Disney history. I have a feeling that quite a few of you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Speaking of interesting books for kids, this one about Tyrus Wong looks fascinating.

If you have kids, this wonderful  new book by my friend Aaron Golberg is a great gift for them.

This just in:

[This e-mail is to confirm that Daan Jippes is coming to L.A. at the end of March. He will be signing his artbook at Wondercon Anaheim on March 29 and 30, at the stand of Stuart Ng Books. In the days before the event he will be giving noon talks at Disney Studio's (March 27) and Dreamworks (March 28).

Daan Jippes is regarded as one of the best Disney artists in the world. He is able to adapt any character or style and produce drawings that have great appeal and are full of life. Being an inquisitive and ever exploring comic artist, Daan Jippes also showed his ability to work on storyboards and character development in animation. In 1979 he traveled to the United States where he got a job Disney’s Consumer Products Dept. From there he worked his way into Animation. Jippes has worked on many movies during the Disney Renaissance, including Beauty and the Beast (1990), Aladdin (1992) and Mulan (1998). For Dreamworks he worked on The Road to Eldorado (2000), Joseph (2000), Flushed Away (2006) and Bee Movie (2007).

In 2017 The Dutch Comic Museum held a large exhibition about his work. It was accompanied by a 160 page book written by curator Jan-Willem de Vries. The book was translated in English by Bob Foster and printed in a limited run.]