Design, Story, and Animation: The Walt Disney Archive Series

I suppose to the kind employees at my local Barnes and Noble, I might be a creepy loner with nothing better to do during the middle of the week except wander around the cases of books that I can never afford on my meager college budget. It is sad but true, but while nearly everyone else parties it up on the weekend at my school, I often find myself in my dorm room in front of a blank sketch book and tearing myself apart when I can’t think of what to draw. It’s at that point that I always find myself behind the wheel of my car and driving down the long stretch of road to our beautiful bookstore. And in all honesty, this happens nearly every other week.

You see, I am having a secret affair in the back of the bookstore. It’s with the Film and Television section. It is here that I will sit on the ground and marvel at the creativity and the sheer passion of the artists whose work grace the pages of the art and visual development books for all of our favorite films. And it was in this location that I discovered the series of art books that have inspired and changed my life in ways I didn’t think possible.

Much to the happiness of all Disney animation lovers out there, The Walt Disney Animation Studios has recently been releasing these incredible, high quality, and gigantic art books to the public. Their purpose? To expose art enthusiasts and long time Disney fans to the progression of the animation industry and to give a behind the scenes look into the process of how their beloved films were created. As of now there are currently three of the books on the market: “Animation,” “Story”, and “Design” (with the fourth of the series “Layout and Background” to be released on October 25^th of this year). Each of the books provides nearly 300 pages of concept art, storyboard art, and rough animation sketches from the famous and incredible artists, animators, and designers that have graced the halls of the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

What makes these books amazing are their lack of words, because they are simply not needed. True, I have friends that despise WALL-E for all it stands for simply because there is no dialogue, and I do have friends that refuse to watch black and white films because there is a chance they wont be talking. I can’t say these books would be for them because there are only 3 pages in every one of the Archive Books that has words; the title, the publisher, and a two paragraph forward from John Lasseter. The rest of the book are pages of drawings, paintings, and sketches. So how is it that it works? Well, it has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Just see so for yourself:

"Peter Pan" concept art from "Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Design"

Storyboard from "Dumbo" from "Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Story"

Scene from "The Lion King" found in "Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Animation"

These books are every art and animation lover’s dream. The drawings themselves are huge and take up the entire page which gives you the extra detail to see every stroke of the pencil and brush. The drawings are arranged in chronicalogical order in relation to the release of each film. It’s hard to describe the power of these books, I know that I nearly toppled over from pure excitement when I received Design as a gift. These incredible books pay homage to the greatest animating legends in the history of film. It provides a glimpse of Disney’s incredible past and history through it’s greatest foundation; storytelling. If cannot recommend these books enough. And quite honestly, all the inspiration you need are in these giant books. I would suggest running to your closest bookstore, sit on the ground, and be amazed. It’s one great way to spend your afternoon.