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Merritt, Russell & J. B. Kaufman : Walt in Wonderland. the Silent Films of Walt Disney

The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994

ISBN 0801849071

176 pages, illustrations, cloth, dust jacket in protective Mylar covering, former owner's embossed label on front blank endpaper otherwise fine. From Booklist: "There are plenty of coffee-table books on the films of Walt Disney, one, it seems, for virtually each Disney feature. This tome's different, though. It's a serious look at the silent films Disney made in the 1920s before he revolutionized the industry with the first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie. Its first section affords an incisive critical overview, showing how these early, often pedestrian "apprentice" films--which reflected Disney's midwestern values and showed the influence of live-action comedies--laid the groundwork for later animation techniques and conventions. Many characteristics of these cartoons resurfaced in Disney's later work--particularly the personality-based comedy that was as integral to the popularity of Mickey Mouse as initially was the gimmick of sound. The book's lengthier second section, based on studio records, promotional materials, and interviews with survivors, is a detailed history of this period of Disneyana. An important and valuable contribution to film scholarship." Revised, English language edition of the bilingual volume Nel paese delle meraviglie: I cartoni animati muti di Walt Disney / Walt in Wonerland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney published in 1992 by Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Pordenone, Italy. ; 10.90 X 9.50 X 0.80 inches; 176 pages, Very Good in Very Good dust jacket

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