The definitive portrait of one of the most important cultural figures in American history: Walt Disney. Walt Disney was a true visionary whose desire for escape, iron determination and obsessive perfectionism transformed animation from a novelty to an art form, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films–most notably Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In his superb biography, Neal Gabler shows us how, over the course of two decades, Disney revolutionized the entertainment industry. In a way that was unprecedented and later widely imitated, he built a synergistic empire that combined film, television, theme parks, music, book publishing, and merchandise. Walt Disney is a revelation of both the work and the man–of both the remarkable accomplishment and the hidden life. Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography USA Today Biography of the Year

Discover the story of Disneyland, Walt Disney's visionary theme park in Anaheim, California. This bountiful visual history includes stunning color photographs, concept drawings, as well as ephemera from the historical collections of the Walt Disney Company and the golden age of photojournalism, to trace the park's development and immersive...

The range of Walt Disney's accomplishments is remarkable. He is considered the most successful filmmaker in history. He won 32 Academy Awards, far more than those of any other filmmaker. He revolutionized the amusement park and resort industries, and his theme parks have been praised as among the most outstanding urban designs in the United States. As Ward Kimball, one of Walt Disney's most prominent animators, once said, "At the bottom line Walt was a down-to-earth farmer's son who just happened to be a genius." Walt Disney spent his formative years in Missouri. Some of the direct influences of these years on his career are documented in this book. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first feature-length animated film to be produced, was inspired by a black-and-white, live-action silent film version of "Snow White" that he viewed as a teen-ager in Kansas City. A theatrical production of "Peter Pan" that he saw as a child in Marceline, Mo., led to his own animated version of the story. Born in Chicago in December 1901, he moved with his family to a farm near Marceline, where he lived from ages 4 to 9. "To tell the truth," Walt Disney once wrote, "more things of importance happened to me in Marceline than have happened since--or are likely to in the future." The town of Marceline was the inspiration for many features of future Disney theme parks, and the pastoral setting he lived in there is also reflected in many of his films. Except for a couple of years spent in Chicago and France, Disney lived in Kansas City from 1911 to 1923. During his years in Kansas City he learned the discipline that would enable him to persevere and prevail through the many hardships he experienced as a struggling filmmaker. It was in Kansas City that he trained to become a commercial artist and an animator, and Kansas City was the location of his first film production studio, Laugh-O-gram Films. Walt Disney's Missouri not only tells the story of the young Disney growing up, but it also paints a picture of the Kansas City he knew. With the bankruptcy of Laugh-O-gram Films, Disney moved to California, drawing with him many of his Kansas City colleagues, who would eventually win fame in animation themselves. This richly illustrated book describes Disney's Missouri years and chronicles his many connections and returns to the state until his death in 1966. The book also details two little-know projects in Missouri that Disney seriously considered in his later years--theme parks in his "hometown," Marceline, and in St. Louis. As his daughter Diane Disney Miller says in the foreword to the book, Walt Disney was "truly a Missourian."

The untold story of ten critical, formative years in the great producer's life

Walt Disney always loved to entertain people. Often it got him into trouble. Once he painted pictures with tar on the side of his family's white house. His family was poor, and the happiest time of his childhood was spent living on a farm in Missouri. His affection for small-town life is reflected in Disneyland Main Streets around the world. With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this biography reveals the man behind the magic. This book is not authorized, licensed or endorsed by the Walt Disney Company or any affiliate.

"This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about love." Cinderella's story has been told over and over, but never has it been touched by the kind of magic created by the contributors of this book. Mary Blair painted the original pictures for Walt Disney's incomparable animated film, and here her elegant art is gathered together as a picture book. Cynthia Rylant's stories about hardscrabble lives have won not only awards and honors, but hearts. Who better to take a young girl from the darkness of her garret room to the light and brilliance of a ballroom? Together these two great artists have created something quite astonishing: a Cinderella that is breathtaking, heartrending, and joyous, both for those who are coming to the tale for the very first time, and for those who think they know it well.