Description
Although Walt Disney is best known as a filmmaker, perhaps his greatest skill and influence was as a reader. While many would have regarded Felix Salten's Bambi and Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio as too somber for family-oriented animated films, he saw possibilities in them. He appealed to his audience by selecting familiar stories, but transformed them to suit audience sensibilities. Many of the tales he chose to adapt to film went on to become the most read books in America, eventually becoming literary classics.
Although much published research has addressed his adaptation process - often criticizing his films for being too saccharine or not true to their literary sources - little has been written on him as a reader: what he read, what he liked, his reading experiences, and the books that influenced him. This collection of essays addresses Disney as a reader and shows how his responses to literature fueled his success. Essays discuss the books he read, the ones he adapted to film, and the ways in which he demonstrated his narrative ability. Exploring his literary connections in reference to his animated and live-action films, nature documentaries, theme park creations, and overall creative vision, the contributors provide insight into Walt Disney's relationships with authors, his animation staff, and his audience.
About the Author
Kathy Merlock Jackson is a communications professor and coordinator at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. She is the editor of The Journal of American Culture and is a past president of the American Culture Association.
Mark I. West is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA teaching children's literature and serving as associate dean for student services. He has written or edited a dozen books on children's literature and culture and is a past president of the Children's Literature Association.
Book Information
ISBN 9780786472321
Author Kathy Merlock Jackson
Format Paperback
Page Count 236
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
Although much published research has addressed his adaptation process - often criticizing his films for being too saccharine or not true to their literary sources - little has been written on him as a reader: what he read, what he liked, his reading experiences, and the books that influenced him. This collection of essays addresses Disney as a reader and shows how his responses to literature fueled his success. Essays discuss the books he read, the ones he adapted to film, and the ways in which he demonstrated his narrative ability. Exploring his literary connections in reference to his animated and live-action films, nature documentaries, theme park creations, and overall creative vision, the contributors provide insight into Walt Disney's relationships with authors, his animation staff, and his audience.
About the Author
Kathy Merlock Jackson is a communications professor and coordinator at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. She is the editor of The Journal of American Culture and is a past president of the American Culture Association.
Mark I. West is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA teaching children's literature and serving as associate dean for student services. He has written or edited a dozen books on children's literature and culture and is a past president of the Children's Literature Association.
Book Information
ISBN 9780786472321
Author Kathy Merlock Jackson
Format Paperback
Page Count 236
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
