While the success of Disneyland is largely credited to Walt and Roy Disney, there was a third, mostly forgotten dynamo instrumental to the development of the park--fast-talking Texan C. V. Wood. Three Years in Wonderland presents the never-before-told, full story of "the happiest place on earth." Using information from over one hundred unpublished interviews, Todd James Pierce lays down the arc of Disneyland's development from an idea to a paragon of entertainment. In the early 1950s, the Disney brothers hired Wood and his team to develop a feasibility study for an amusement park Walt wanted to build in southern California. "Woody" quickly became a central figure. In 1954, Roy Disney hired him as Disneyland's first official employee, its first general manager, and appointed him vice president of Disneyland, Inc., where his authority was exceeded only by Walt. A brilliant project manager, Wood was also a con man of sorts. Previously, he had forged his university diploma. A smooth-talker drawn to Hollywood, the first general manager of Disneyland valued money over art. As relations soured between Wood and the Disney brothers, Wood found creative ways to increase his income, leveraging his position for personal fame. Eventually, tensions at the Disney park reached a boiling point, with Walt demanding he be fired. In compelling detail, Three Years in Wonderland lays out the struggles and rewards of building the world's first cinematic theme park and convincing the American public that a $17 million amusement park was the ideal place for a family vacation. The early experience of Walt Disney, Roy Disney, and C. V. Wood is one of the most captivating untold stories in the history of Hollywood. Pierce interviewed dozens of individuals who enjoyed long careers at the Walt Disney Company as well as dozens of individuals who--like C. V. Wood--helped develop the park but then left the company for good once the park was finished. Through much research and many interviews, Three Years in Wonderland offers readers a rare opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the men and women who built the best-known theme park in the world.

FOLLOW ELIZABETH DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE-AND MEET A WHOLE NEW ALICE. Elizabeth, a twenty-four-year-old interior designer living in Brooklyn, New York, encounters a little more than mental static when she sits down for her morning meditation, feeling disconnected from herself and her reality. As she meditates, she forces herself to confront her inner demons head on-including the darker parts that she would rather keep hidden from others, like her boyfriend, Adam. Her inner conflict leads her down a rabbit hole that is far different from the one she remembers from her favorite childhood story. When Elizabeth reaches the bottom of the rabbit hole, she follows a shadowy figure in a familiar blue dress who taunts her and coaxes her deeper into Wonderland. Unable to release herself from her meditation, Elizabeth chases Alice through Wonderland, guided by clues left by Alice, as well as the dark and strangely familiar characters she meets, like the Cheshire Cat, the Tweedle twins, and the Mad Hatter. In Wonderland, Elizabeth comes face to face with her inner light and darkness, and, finally, Alice-and discovers that Alice's secret might be what she has been searching for all along.

A highly original colouring book for older children and adults alike. Highly detailed line artwork allows the magical fantasy of Alice in Wonderland to be brought to be life in an entirely unique way. Handy-sized square format - take it anywhere!

Roy O Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire Roy and Walt Disney will go down in entertainment history as one of its all-time most successful teams. Everyone knows about Walt but what of Roy, the older brother whose stormy relationship with Walt helped build their business empire? This is a fully authorised look at the other Disney genius, featuring previously unpublished interviews, notes, letters, and photographs. It illuminates the Disney story as never before.

When Hugo and Neve settle in Paris, they assume that they will enjoy a few peaceful years away from the turmoil of British politics, but they are not nearly as safe as they believe themselves to be, especially since everyone has something to hide. Meanwhile, Max must learn to adapt to life on a sugar plantation in Barbados, and decide whether to accept help from an unexpected and dangerous source; a decision which may cost him his life.

Inspired by: Alice's adventures in Wonderland / Lewis Carroll.

Besides Walt Disney, no one seemed more key to the development of animation at the Disney Studios than Ward Kimball (1914–2002). Kimball was Disney’s friend and confidant. In this engaging, cradle-to-grave biography, award-winning author Todd James Pierce explores the life of Ward Kimball, a lead Disney animator who worked on characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter. Through unpublished excerpts from Kimball’s personal writing, material from unpublished interviews, and new information based on interviews conducted by the author, Pierce defines the life of perhaps the most influential animator of the twentieth century. As well as contributing to classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, Kimball established a highly graphic, idiosyncratic approach to animation alongside the studio’s more recognizable storybook realism. In effect, Ward Kimball became the only animator to run his own in-studio production team largely outside of Walt Disney’s direction. In the 1950s and 1960s, he emerged as a director and producer of his own animation, while remaining inside Disney’s studio. Through Kimball, the studio developed a series of nonfiction animation programs in the 1950s that members of Congress pointed to as paving the way for NASA. The studio also allowed Kimball’s work to abandon some ties to conventional animation, looking instead to high art and graphic design as a means of creating new animated forms, which resulted in films that received multiple Academy Award nominations and two awards. Throughout his life, Kimball was a maverick animator, an artist who helped define the field of American animation, and a visionary who sought to expand the influence of animated films.