Review: Disney Version
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsThis is Disney, or rather the ""beautiful beautiful machine"" that was/is Disney, Walter Elias Disney, the midwestern Pied Piper who transported a world wide audience of untold millions through carefully wholesome plots to determinedly happy endings. This is Disney, the tinkerer, the manipulator, the man who controlled an industry worth over $100,000,000 and fretted because ""he could not draw Mickey or Donald or Pluto. He never could."" In fact he couldn't even duplicate the initials that were his trademark. In a biography that is a highly accomplished interlacing of social, aesthetic and psychological criticism, the author gives a compelling summary of the man as reflected in his creations; his small town orientation, the apple pie virtues: ""he sincerely treasured the values he portrays in his films."" This is also a history of animation and Subliminally of Hollywood as the Horatio Alger kid from the brutal background rises to become the last of the movie moguls. It's an admitted love/hate relationship with a subject summed up in one statement about the Disney Empire: ""As capitalism it is a work of genius; as culture, it is mostly a horror."" While Mr. Schickel admires ""the entrepreneurial spirit triumphant"" he also condemns the depth of banality it is capable of touching. Disney admirers won't enjoy The Disney Version but few can fault it for its in-depth perception.
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - Troy Storm - GoodreadsRead this book about ten years ago when I was much more acquainted with the Disney organization. Granted it's only one man's opinion, but that opinion is shared by many. Disney had an amazing and ... Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - GoodreadsI honestly thought i would enjoy this book more than i did,but it can be at tad bit bland at times. I would reccomend a different Walt Disney biography.
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - Robert Bryant - GoodreadsI am neither a Disney hater nor a Disneyphile. I enjoyed this pungent "minority report" on Walt's legacy. Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - Rick Ludwig - GoodreadsAfter the first one hundred pages, I was not interested enough to continue. I have enjoyed reading a number of books about Disney and his legacy, both positive and negative, but this one didn't grab me. Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - James - GoodreadsA sometimes alarming but very fair investigation of the history of Disney. Schickel doesn't forget to praise Disney's artistic accomplishments as he points out the controversial side of Walt's legacy. Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - GoodreadsTaking into account the fact that this book is almost 40 years old, I found it extremely hard to follow. The author makes many pop-culture references pertinent to the time that I cannot relate to (as ...
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - Nora T - GoodreadsBesides the fact that the book is pretty dated (written before the last 30-something years of the Disney corporation), it would have benefited from more specific examples (ie, specific movies, or ... Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - Kathy Hiester - GoodreadsBeing a Disneyaholic I personally try to read everything Disney. The positive reviews of this book have astonished me. This book is no more than 300 plus pages of personal attacks and insults on ... Read full review
Review: The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney
User Review - GoodreadsA good read. A little more snarky than it needs to be, but a really good "other side of the coin" look at Disney. Though facts are not always straight.
