The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney

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Mike Barrier began this scholarship in his great fanzine, Funnyworld, which I was able to read in the 1970s.

Michael Barrier's The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney is one of two recent biographies released on Disney, the other being Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. Tough struggles with his employees in the 40s, omnipresent when the studio was young and totally absent the last years of his life. He was both a creative visionary and a dynamic entrepreneur, roles whose demands he often could not reconcile. Like many geniuses of their time and field, Walt seemed driven and singularly obsessed with perfection.Nice (and yes a little nostalgic) to be reminded of the days when Walt Disney was a person more than a brand (although he was a brand too from pretty early on). It charts Disney's progress through his many enthusiasms and as he leaves one behind - often of necessity - new aspects of his personality come into view.

Appreciated as well the connection of Disney's life to the greater animation landscape of the first half of the 20th century.And then on the same page there's this quote from someone interviewing Disney in a separate piece: "While the public thinks of Disney as playing with trains and exchanging pleasantries with juvenile alumni of the now-defunct Mickey Mouse Club, he actually is one of the most widely read, most widely traveled, most articulate men in Hollywood. com"This book is important not just as a biography, but also as a cultural history that provides great insight to one of the best-known creative minds of the twentieth century. Not always a fun book, but definitely full of interesting nuggets, and a worthwhile read for any fan of Disney or the industry.

The book itself gives a great account on Walt's life, with loads of interviews and quotes from people who knew him, personally or not. This book was an interesting read; it isn't a celebration of Disney's life so much as an attempt to counteract some of the blind reverence that has developed over the years.Yet, they all line up today to take the same ride I did- in its current incarnation as Finding Nemo. To some, he had little involvement in many of the later projects under his growing enterprise, while others marveled that somehow he still managed to touch everything.

While this book isn't the fast read I normally enjoy (then again, I normally read light mysteries), I found it very interesting. Early days Johnny Bravo worked as a Hipster 101 lodestone – smart, cool animation, catchphrases, pastiche, and big moments (remember him going on a date with an anthropomorphic horse) 10.

One example being how many of them over the years mentioned how he was able to get results out of them that they would otherwise not been capable of achieving.