Uncovering the Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age: A Look Inside the Drawings of They Drew as They Pleased

Mario: Libro interessante e immagini perfette.

Italy on Dec 11, 2022

William: Ouvrage magnifique, avec notamment de nombreux croquis d'Albert Hurter et Gustaf Tenggren.

France on Nov 24, 2022

Michael Brunke: Alle 6 (!!!) Bücher der Reihe sind eine wahre Fundgrube für bisher kaum oder gar nicht veröffentlichte Zeichnungen und Bilder. Dabei stehen die Künstler, ihre Arbeit und ihre Werke im Mittelpunkt. Es wird vor allem "concept art" dargestellt, nicht Abdrucke aus den Filmen oder Kurzfilmen.
Man könnte dies auch als eine Art "Kunstgeschichte der Disney Studios" (in englischer Sprache) verstehen, die die Kunst nach den schöpferischen Künstlern ordnet. So wie z. B. auch das Buch zu den "Nine Old Men". Manchmal könnten die Abbildungen gerne größer sein, aber dann wären die Bücher auch größer und vor allem teurer. Zusammen mit z.B. dem Großband von Taschen zum Disney-Archiv hat man dann eine wirklich gute Disney-Kunstbuchamlung, die auch verdeutlicht, dass Walt Disney ohne seine großartigen Künstler (die er gnadenlos ausbeutete) ein Niemand geblieben wäre...

Germany on May 01, 2021

francesco buzzi: Primo di una serie di sei volumi riccamente illustrati e con un'ottima qualità di stampa, questi libri (che consiglio a tutti gli appassionati di storia del cinema di animazione) raccontano l'evoluzione stilistico/artistica del cinema disneyano attraverso i decenni. Ogni capitolo è dedicato ad un artista che ha saputo più di tutti impostare lo stile grafico e le atmosfere dei tanti e noti capolavori Disney. L'arte nascosta dei creativi (illustratori, concept e character designer che per anni hanno lavorato dietro le quinte sfornando idee a ciclo continuo) fa riferimento a quella fase preliminare di studio di un film a disegni animati nella quale si raccoglie una serie notevole di proposte e idee riguardo a personaggi, situazioni, gag, ambientazioni, colori, ecc. Queste vengono poi visionate e analizzate, vagliate e, in certi casi, scartate prima di giungere alle fasi successive di sviluppo e realizzazione definitive.

Italy on Sep 05, 2020

Ettore D'agostino: Excellent book!

Inspired by the 1948 book “He drew as he pleased” about concept art by Disney artist Albert Hurter, Didier Ghez expanded and developed the original idea that originated that book into a series of books about inspirational art produced at Disney Studios and concept artists who created it. Thanks to the author’s deep and passionate work of research, each volume of this astonishing series is full of never-before-published informations, illustrations and photos. Not only the best known animated shorts and full-length features are covered, but also the unproduced Disney-That-Never-Was projects ; so this books represent a sort of sequels to the Charles Solomon seminal books about disney abandoned concepts.

This first volume “They Drew as They Pleased – The Hidden Art of Disney’s Golden Age – The 1930’s” features biographies, artistic profiles and drawings by Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie, contains many references to Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies unmade shorts and, with its amount of new informations, is a complement to John Canemaker’s “Before Animation Begins”.

United States on Nov 17, 2017

Catherine: This is such a beautiful book! I bought it for a friend, but at such a low price I might even buy another for myself. I bought it for around $8 with free prime shipping, which is kinda incredible for a book of this quality. It's thicker than I thought it would be - around 200 pages, with plenty of informative text and pictures. The drawings are mostly loose concept sketches of characters, with some lavish scenery from major movies like Snow White or Pinocchio. The text is well written and interesting, too - I'm not exceptionally interested in Disney history, but I spent a lot of time reading through the book.
Unfortunately, the corner of the book I received was a little banged up when it arrived - I think it was damaged during shipping, but it's not too bad. Overall, it's a lovely book and I'd really recommend it.

United States on Jun 11, 2016

P. Western: A very reasonably-priced book, very knowlegebly written by the author of a series of books called Walt's People.
As in those books, Mr. Ghez has highlighted the significant contributions made by people who worked for Walt Disney but who usually get only a passing mention in other books about the studio.
Here, he takes as his subject, four amazingly imaginative and gifted artists: Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren and Bianca Majolie.
In the case of the first three artists, they brought a European sensibility to the styling, design and content of the first four feature films: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi and Fantasia. Bianca Majolie made a significant contribution to the film, Fantasia and was the first woman to be promoted into what had been a male-dominated job.
For anybody interested in film art direction and design, this is a marvellous book, lavishly illustrated with the four artists work. It is plain that they heavily influenced the making of four masterpieces in the history of animation.

United Kingdom on Mar 16, 2016

dsnyguy: I have been waiting for the release of Didier Ghez's 'They Drew as They Pleased: The Hidden Art of Disney's Golden Age'. The wait was worth it! Through intelligent text and wonderful illustrations we feel as if we are looking over the shoulders of four of the greatest conceptual artists of Disney's period of its greatest animation - the 1930's! The artists: Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren, Alburt Hurter, and Bionca Majolica! The title refers to what these four were able to do, drawing images that would give the feeling and inspiration to Disney's animators, Layout, and background artists for the short cartoons whether it be Mickey Mouse or Donald or Goofy, the Silly Symphonies, and his feature length films 'Snow White' and 'Pinocchio'! It could be a character or variations on the look of the film. They designed Props that might be seen in the background. Maybe the audience might not notice a cuckoo clock designed by Albert Hurter, but it would add immensley to the look and feel of the film. This books is a treat for the eyes and the imagination. Even if the reader is only has a casual interest in Disney animation, they will find pleasure in the huge numbers of images. This book...

United States on Sep 11, 2015

Vimacone: Finally we have a series of Disney art books devoted to the concept art that was made for the Disney films! The title comes from a collection of Albert Hurter's drawings in book form titled "He Drew As He Pleased" (the Holy Grail of Disney Art Books; let's hope that this can be republished). Expanding on Canemaker's book, Before the Animation Begins, this book goes more in depth on the concept artists who shaped the art style of the Disney films released in the 1930's. Lots of drawings by Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren, and Bianca Majolie. Fortunately too, there are many more previously unpublished anecdotes about these artists where little was previously known about them. There's also some artwork for unfinished projects, which is always a treat to see.
A while ago I thought that there should be a volume 2 to the Design book of the Disney Archives series, but this series of books looks very promising.
I'm definitely looking forward to Volume 2 of this series!

United States on Sep 10, 2015

Jim Korkis: This book is a wonderful balance between informative text and gorgeously reproduced artwork. It is also printed at a physical size that is manageable. Some Disney art books are so oversized that it makes it difficult to enjoy as you fumble with them. It is a beautiful, designed with care package that contains delights and surprises on every page. No matter how knowledgeable you think you are about Disney, this book reveals how
much all of us never knew that we never knew.

While knowledgeable Disney fans may recognize some of the names in this book, Didier truly brings these artists to life and shares why their contributions were so important to the earliest Disney animated cartoons of the 1930s. Didier is a well respected Disney historian whose other books including the amazing Walt's People series have enriched Disney history. By leveraging his connections, Didier was able to find not only artwork that has rarely if ever been seen since it was first produced but also information and insights to four Disney's legendary concept artists that have not been previously documented.

While the book effortlessly guides the reader from page to page, a quick glance at the...

United States on Sep 09, 2015