Coming very soon (better a little late than never)... More details in a few days.

Remembering Disney Legend Dick Nunis

I suspect that one of you picked up those exceptional documents pertaining to Bill Tytla in the the auction by Heritage this weekend.

If that is the case, could you please, please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I would love to get access to some of the info they contain and have some incentives that you may like to motivate you. Thanks in advance.

Ken Bruce's spectacular new book about Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, Before the Birds Sang Words, had just been released and it is a great read and a must-have. My only regret is the lack of endnotes, but not all books can be perfect. This one is like Mary Poppins: "almost perfect in every way."

I have not yet watched "Wish" but I just got the book The Art of Wish and I absolutely love it.

First, there is a lot more text than in previous installments of "The Art of" series, and then there is the stunning concept artwork by Lisa Keene (who never ceases to stun me), Camille Andre, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay and many more immensely talented concept artists.

I hope the movie is as good as the art book.

Quick a few astounding treasures in the upcoming auction by Heritage in a few days, including this stunning piece by Gustaf Tenggren, which I had the pleasure of seeing in person for the first time about 10 years ago at the house of Eric Gurney's son.

A heads up to our French readers: Christian Renault's new book is now also available in French :-)
 

While researching something else, I stumbled upon this photograph of Walt in New York by Colombian photographer Leo Matiz.
 

This is an article that I found recently in a French magazine from the early 1930s. The article itself does not contain anything of interest, but I thought you would enjoy the three illustrations. The two on the left come from local Mickey Mouse posters. I had never seen the one on the right.

 I am wondering if some of you collect the Hallmark cards created by Mary Blair in the 1940s, especially the Mexican Posadas series. If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I need scans of some of them for a book project. Thanks in advance!

One of the most intriguing books about Disney history coming up in 2024 is The Art of Hercules by Gerald Scarfe to be released by Insight Editions in August.
 

The latest issue of the magazine Disney Twenty-Three contains an excellent article about Disney's True-Life Adventures, which, I am glad to say, mentions my new monograph The Origins of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures.

 The Disney Books Network has just been updated.

UCLA's Film and Television Archive has just released some astounding Disney-related footage thanks to Randy Yantek. You can watch all of it as this link. Enjoy!

 An upcoming French book I am looking forward to getting when it is released.

Let's start the day with two photos of Walt which I just discovered this weekend while looking for something else. The one on the set of Paramount's "Untamed" was shot in August 1940. The second one is from a trip to Maine in June 1947. Walt was there with his wife Lillian as well as with Bill Cottrell and his wife. The spent from June 10 to June 11 in Lakewood according to the article. They had visited Bethel the day on June 9. It was, apparently, the first time that Walt visited Maine, where he had sent artist Jake Day a few years earlier on a research trip linked to the making of "Bambi."

 

I celebrated the 100th birthday of The Walt Disney Company today by watching, like many of you, "Once Upon a Studio."

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this short. From the opening featuring Burny Mattinson to the appearance of some of the most obscure characters from the 1970s (my childhood).

If you have not watched it yet on ABC or Disney+, do yourself a favor and do so right now. You will not regret it.

 

FINALLY!

I am glad to report that Disney enthusiasts in Europe can now purchase The Origins of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures via a local European distributor. Here is the link.

By the way, this monograph is one of the finalists for this year's Theatre Library Association Award.

Several readers who own this book have sent me messages underlying the fact that I missed the point of the book in my review. It is also great for adults who want to learn how to draw Disney characters. I am guilty as charged. Not being able to draw at all myself, I did indeed miss that point.

I agree with all those who mentioned this: It is indeed also a great book for adults.

Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift for kids who would love to learn how to draw Disney characters and learn a bit of Disney history as well?

Then this wonderful new book by my friends Jim Fanning and Andreas Deja is the perfect answer to your challenge.

This is not a book for grown-up historians, but it is the perfect way to introduce a kid or a teenager to some elements of Disney history, while giving them the tools to start their artistic careers.

And of course, it goes all the way from the 1920s to the 2020s, which I loved. I wish this book had been released in the 1970s, when I was a kid!