GMBH Taschen The Walt Disney Film Archives. The Animated Movies 1921-1968 Large Coffee table edition

The Walt Disney Film Archives. The Animated Movies 1921–1968 is TASCHEN’s first volume in an expansive illustrated publication on Disney animation, presented as a large coffee table edition. It explores the studio’s “Golden Age of Animation” through essays by Disney experts and around 1,500 images.

Edited by Daniel Kothenschulte, the book draws on research from the historical collections of the Walt Disney Company and private collections. It brings together concept paintings, storyboards and detailed cel set-ups, alongside rare photographs by Disney photographers and excerpts from story conferences between Walt and his staff, offering insight into how the films were developed.

Key details

• Large coffee table edition
• First volume of an expansive illustrated publication on Disney animation
• Approximately 1,500 images
• Includes essays by Disney experts
• Edited by Daniel Kothenschulte

Synopsis

This landmark volume traces Disney’s animation journey from the silent film era to his final masterpieces, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Fantasia (1940), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and The Jungle Book (1967). Major animated features made during Walt’s lifetime are each given a dedicated chapter, alongside lesser-known works such as the Silly Symphonies shorts and episodic musical films including Make Mine Music and Melody Time.

It also highlights unfinished projects, including proposed Fantasia sequels and a planned homage to Davy Crockett by painter Thomas Hart Benton, illustrated with rarely seen artworks, many previously unpublished. The book acknowledges the wider creative team, naming influential animators and designers such as Albert Hurter, Gustaf Tenggren, Kay Nielsen, Carl Barks, Mary Blair, Sylvia Holland, Tyrus Wong, Ken Anderson, Eyvind Earle and Walt Peregoy.