Overview

The 1940s ushered in an era of Description musical experimentation and innovation at the Walt Disney Studios. Artists from all over the world flocked to California to be part of the Disney magic and their ground-breaking styles influenced character designs and story ideas for such classics as Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, and Bambi. For this volume, author Didier Ghez has unearthed hundreds of enchanting images— from early sketches that never made it past the drawing board to polished concepts for iconic features—by five exceptional artists who shaped the style of the Studio’s animation during this period of unbridled creativity. With evocative descriptions and excerpts from the artists’ journals and private letters, this magnificent collection offers a rarely-seen look at the creative visionaries who breathed life into some of the most beloved films of our time.  Artists included: Walt Scott, Kay Neilsen, Sylvia Holland, Retta Scott, David Hall.

Full Product Details

9781452137445

Table of Contents

Reviews

Early Walt Disney Studio animation has a special, glowing magic familiar to anyone who has seen classics such as 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' or 'Pinocchio.' Credit the Disney Story 'Department, and the artists 'including a woman, Bianca Majolie whose stories and artwork are collected in a lovely coffee-table book... -Newsday

-No one has done more to document Walt Disney's golden age and the artists who worked for him than Didier Ghez...Here he turns his attention to five of Walt's concept artists, gifted people whose drawings, sketches, and paintings inspired the story men and directors responsible for Disney's musical features of the 1940s, from Fantasia and its proposed sequels to Make Mine Music. Their names-Walt Scott, Kay Nielsen, Sylvia Holland, Retta Scott, and David Hall-may be unfamiliar even to staunch Disneyphiles (except for the well-respected Nielsen), but through interviews, private correspondence and studio memoranda Ghez paints a sympathetic portrait of each artist and defines his or her importance to the studio. The beautifully reproduced artwork would be enough to justify this volume, but learning about their careers, artistic aspirations and frustrations gives us a real sense of them as individuals.---Leonard Maltin

The second volume of what I hope will be a continuing series, They Drew As They Pleased: The Hidden Art Of Disney's Musical Years uncovers and presents dozens of pieces produced during the development process of Disney's musical features in the 1940s by the studio's concept artists. Truly beautiful and a marvelous insight into the creative process of a landmark period. -A Site Called Fred

The artists who provided the inspiration for some of the Walt Disney Studios' classic animated films are celebrated in They Drew As The Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Musical Years by Disney researcher Didier Gherz (Chronicle), the second volume in a series of fascinating looks at the sketches and conceptual art that inspired the animation for iconic features-in this case, including Fantasia, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan. -Parade

Author Information

Didier Ghez has conducted Disney Artist research since he was a teenager in the mid ’80s. His articles about the parks, animation, and vintage international Disneyana, as well as his many interviews with Disney artists, have appeared in such magazines as Disney twenty-three, Persistence of Vision, Tomart’s Disneyana Update, Animation Journal, Animation Magazine, StoryboarD, and Fantasyline. He is the author and editor of numerous books about the Disney Studio and its artists, including the Walt’s People book series and They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden Age. He also runs The Disney History blog (disneybooks.blogspot.com) and The Disney Books Network website (www.didierghez.com).John Musker is a 38-year veteran of Walt Disney Feature Animation. Among the films he co-wrote and directed with Ron Clements are The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog, and the upcoming Moana. He lives in Los Angeles. 

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