The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney

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I ventured into this book expecting to hate Walt Disney by the time I'd be finished with it--in fact, I was a bit scared I really would, and this is one of the reasons it took me forever to be done with it. Walt's management style also made for hard adjustments in relationships with employees and at times even family members. A bit of an out-there choice but there is not a brighter, madder character in the animation-sphere than Lederhosen clad, pizza befriending, rainbow farting, tiger riding Uncle Grandpa. The one thing you get a sense of was that Walt was always busy with something and determined to see it through. Having read the book leading up to my trip (finishing it sitting by the pool at my resort in Disney), I really felt like I had a better understanding of what went into making a place like Disney.

But every once in a while his eyes would narrow, the rural twang would disappear from his voice and he'd discuss financial projections for 1962, the modern art of Picasso and Diego Rivera, and Freudian psychiatry. Some lesser ones are acknowledged (chain-smoking and a penchant for profanity) but never used as sensationalist crutches. You haven’t lived until you’ve conducted focus groups with 7 year old boys acting out their favourite powers.Beginning in 1969, two and a half years after Disney’s death, Barrier recorded long interviews with more than 150 people who worked alongside Disney, some as early as 1922. Unfortunately, Barrier sometimes drifts away from his main subject, especially when venturing into the careers of top animators Vladimir Tytla and Art Babbitt.

The brand spearheaded the global success of anime, and spans more than just TV; it’s video games, movies, merchandising – all centered around Ash Ketchum and his collection of Pokemon. Barrier's deft navigation of a wide variety of historical streams gives Animated Man a uniquely comprehensive and compelling story about Walt Disney. In fact, the author goes out of his way to show Disney as a bumbling-but-determined entrepreneur who succeeded despite a lack of artistic and financial ability.

Am I supposed to hate Disney or dismiss him as a bad person because he was every inch business man, or because he was a Republican or he no longer dined with his wife by the time he was sixty? Walt Disney is a hero of mine, and I enjoyed this biography that didn't pull any punches and revealed him as an actual human, faults and genius both. For example, his vision for Epcot Center was problematic and was immediately scrapped after his death. The book focuses a great deal on the making of films themselves, but I enjoyed watching the man transition his attention from films to trains and ultimately to the theme parks that still draw our children back time and again. It's certainly typical in its structure, from rural upbringings on a farm and then Kansas City in the early part of the 20th century on to Hollywood and his start-up of drawing (with good ol' Ub Iwerks!

The later animated films are covered much less intense, with 'Lady and the Tramp' being hardly mentioned, at all. DreamWorks Animations recently launched a third film in the Trolls franchise Trolls Band Together (2023)! I have heard several different stories about Walt Disney (some very harsh), and as such, I found this easily readable, but very detailed, biography an entertaining read. Yet, they all line up today to take the same ride I did- in its current incarnation as Finding Nemo.Going to try How to Be like Walt and/or Walt Disney: An American Original next time, which both appear to be much better books. Just like the "Hidden Mickeys" placed all throughout the park that you may spot or miss, the famous fish himself is a secret gem keeping the spirit of that original Disneyland attraction intact. As promised, following last week’s non- animated and animated iconic female leads we have the male leads.

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney' is animation historian Michael Barrier's attempt to grasp Disney's life and persona. Unlike other Disney biographies, Michael Barrier presents a Walt who was neither a saint nor a demon, but a complex human being. Not always a fun book, but definitely full of interesting nuggets, and a worthwhile read for any fan of Disney or the industry.I love the tone of this autobiography, because what comes across in Barrier's book is his great admiration for Walt Disney, and simultaneously, his great disappointment in him. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. There are good lessons in this for working through problematic and occasionally haphazard conditions to achieve a desired goal.