One of the crown jewels in the Rankin/Bass Special Holiday Television library is Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, which still airs on network television to this day. Why has it lasted for half a century? Take a look inside this book to learn about the special people assembled by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass to make this magical Animagic television special.Hollywood stars, Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn, along with Robie Lester as Jessica and Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger and Grinzley, lead a mostmemorable Holiday cast. One that would not be forgotten for many years to come.Also included is a look at one of Rankin/Bass' most ambitious feature films called TheDaydreamer. This film combines a star studded cast of both live-action and Rankin/Bass' famous Animagic puppet animation to create a memorable, but lesser known feature. Released in 1966, the live-action segments were filmed on the New York World's Fair Belgian Village. Included is Don Duga's storyboards used by the Japanese Animagic crew for the final animation.

Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass are best-known for producing some of themost popular animated holiday TV specials ever aired, including the longrunningRudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, The YearWithout a Santa Claus and The Hobbit. They have also brought us animatedfeature films including Mad Monster Party and The Last Unicorn, and cartoonseries such as ThunderCats, The Jackson Five, and SilverHawks.This definitive, authorized history and celebration of Rankin/Bass animationdocuments every one of their productions with rare photographs, productionstills, concept drawings and memorabilia, along with extensive commentary byArthur Rankin, Jr. and dozens of the artists, actors and animators he worked with.The 20th Anniversary Edition contains pages of New and Rare Content.

This short journey begins along a wintry and desolate Cape Cod beach where you'll discover how to push back the ocean by discovering the magic of goals. Next you'll learn how to think like a champion and help others find their own passion. Finally, you'll realize how easy - and necessary, it is to change a piece of the world.

Around the world there are grandparents, parents, and children who can still sing ditties by Tigger or Baloo the Bear or the Seven Dwarves. This staying power and global reach is in large part a testimony to the pizzazz of performers, songwriters, and other creative artists who worked with Walt Disney Records. Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records chronicles for the first time the fifty-year history of the Disney recording companies launched by Walt Disney and Roy Disney in the mid-1950s, when Disneyland Park, Davy Crockett, and the Mickey Mouse Club were taking the world by storm. The book provides a perspective on all-time Disney favorites and features anecdotes, reminiscences, and biographies of the artists who brought Disney magic to audio. Authors Tim Hollis and Greg Ehrbar go behind the scenes at the Walt Disney Studios and discover that in the early days Walt Disney and Roy Disney resisted going into the record business before the success of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" ignited the in-house label. Along the way, the book traces the recording adventures of such Disney favorites as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Cinderella, Bambi, Jiminy Cricket, Winnie the Pooh, and even Walt Disney himself. Mouse Tracks reveals the struggles, major successes, and occasional misfires. Included are impressions and details of teen-pop princesses Annette Funicello and Hayley Mills, the Mary Poppins phenomenon, a Disney-style "British Invasion," and a low period when sagging sales forced Walt Disney to suggest closing the division down. Complementing each chapter are brief performer biographies, reproductions of album covers and art, and facsimiles of related promotional material. Mouse Tracks is a collector's bonanza of information on this little-analyzed side of the Disney empire. Learn more about the book and the authors at www.mousetracksonline.com.