The Master Magician. A fantastic voyage through Walt Disney’s animation works
One of the most expansive illustrated publications on Disney animation, finally available in a compact edition. The landmark volume includes behind-the-scenes photos, story sketches, and cel setups of famous film scenes. It covers each of the major animated features made during Walt’s lifetime, as well as lesser-known short films and episodic musical films.
One of the most creative minds of the 20th century, Walt Disney created a unique and unrivalled imaginative universe. Like scarcely any other classics of cinema, his astonishing collection of animated cartoons revolutionized storytelling on screen and enchant to this day across geographies and generations.
This expansively illustrated publication on Disney animation gathers hundreds of images as well as essays by Disney experts, taking us to the beating heart of the studio’s “Golden Age of Animation.” We trace Disney’s complete animation journey from the silent film era, through his first full-length feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940), right up to his last masterpieces Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and The Jungle Book (1967).
With extensive research conducted through the historical collections of the Walt Disney Company, as well as private collections, editor Daniel Kothenschulte curates some of the most precious concept paintings and storyboards to reveal just how these animation triumphs came to life. Masterful cel setups provide highly detailed illustrations of famous film scenes while rare pictures taken by Disney photographers bring a privileged insider’s view to the studio’s creative process.
Each of the major animated features that were made during Walt’s lifetime — including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians — is given its own focus chapter, without forgetting less-familiar gems such as the experimental short films of the Silly Symphonies series and under-appreciated episodic musical films such as Make Mine Music and Melody Time.
Realizing the Disney style was a collective project and, as much as the master himself, The Walt Disney Film Archives acknowledges the outstanding animators and designers who influenced the style of the studio, among them Albert Hurter, Gustaf Tenggren, Kay Nielsen, Mary Blair, Sylvia Holland, Tyrus Wong, Ken Anderson, Eyvind Earle, and Walt Peregoy.
Copyright © 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
The editor and author
Daniel Kothenschulte is an author, curator, and lecturer on film and art history, and a lover of animation since he first saw The Jungle Book at the age of three. As a film journalist, he is responsible for the film section in the German national daily newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau and a regular contributor to WDR Television. He has taught at various universities, including Städelschule in Frankfurt; the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Dortmund; and the University of Television and Film Munich. He is the author of Hollywood in the ’30s and The Art of Pop Video, as well as books about Robert Redford, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and artist Mike Kelley. In addition, he provides accompanying music to silent films on the piano.
About the series:
TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program — now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.
