The Walt Disney Archives: His Animated Films

In TASCHEN's first volume of one of the most comprehensive illustrated publications on Disney animation, 1,500 images take us into the beating heart of the studio's "Golden Age of Animation," including behind-the-scenes photos, story sketches, and cell montages. It covers every major animated feature made during Walt's lifetime, as well as lesser-known shorts and unfinished projects.

Walt Disney, one of the most creative minds of the 20th century, created a unique and unparalleled imaginative universe. Like almost no other cinema classic, his astonishing collection of cartoons revolutionised screen storytelling and continues to enchant today across geographies and generations.

In TASCHEN's first volume of one of the most comprehensive illustrated publications on Disney animation, some 1,500 images and essays by eminent Disney experts take us into the beating heart of the studio's "Golden Age of Animation". This landmark book traces the complete journey of Disney animation from the silent film era, through its first feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and the pioneering artistic experiment Fantasia (1940), to its latest masterpieces Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and The Jungle Book (1967).

Based on extensive research conducted in the Walt Disney Company's historic collections, as well as in private collections, editor Daniel Kothenschulte collects some of the most treasured concept paintings and storyboards to reveal how these animated masterpieces came to life. Masterful cell montages illustrate the most famous scenes from the films in minute detail, while rare images taken by Disney photographers and excerpts from conferences between Walt and his team provide an insider's view of the studio's creative process.

Each of the major animated features made during Walt's lifetime - including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp and One Hundred and One Dalmatians - receives its own chapter, not to mention lesser-known gems such as the experimental short films in the Silly Symphonies series and underrated episodic musical films such as Make Mine Music and Melody Time, which receive the same meticulous research and attention. Many unfinished projects, including proposed sequels to the legendary musical Fantasia or a tribute to Davy Crockett by painter Thomas Hart Benton, are also highlighted with rarely seen artwork, much of it unpublished. Throughout the book, contributions from leading Disney specialists detail the evolution of each film.

The making of the Disney style was a collective project and, as much as the master himself, The Walt Disney Film Archives acknowledges the prominent animators and designers who influenced the studio's style, including Albert Hurter, Gustaf Tenggren, Kay Nielsen, Carl Barks, Mary Blair, Sylvia Holland, Tyrus Wong, Ken Anderson, Eyvind Earle and Walt Peregoy.

Copyright © 2021 by 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 head of the film section of the German national daily Frankfurter Rundschau and a regular contributor to WDR television. He has lectured at several universities, including the Städelschule in Frankfurt, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund and the University of Television and Film in Munich. He is the author of Hollywood in the '30s and The Art of Pop Video, as well as books on Robert Redford, Fritz Lang's Metropolis and the artist Mike Kelley. He also accompanies silent films on piano.

The Walt Disney Film Archives. The Animated Films 1921-1968

-Hardcover, 33,7 x 24,6 cm, 3,70 kg, 620 pages, 620 pages

-ISBN 978-3-8365-7668-0

-Edition: Spanish