I get letters from people all the time. Kids, students, dreamers who ask me: “Jim, how can I become an Imagineer?”
And — up until today — I never had a good answer for these folks. But with the arrival of John Hench’s wonderful new book, “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show” (Disney Editions, August 2003), I now finally have a decent piece of advice to hand these people.
Which is: “Go out and buy a copy of John Hench’s book. Read the thing from cover to cover. Then commit it to heart.” Why for? Because there is more real, practical information to be found in “Designing Disney” about how one actually goes about creating a successful theme park or attraction than can be found anywhere else on the planet.
This book is flat-out amazing. Not just because of its beautiful illustrations (over 200 seldom-seem sketches, paintings and photographs for the WDI vaults) or its wonderful stories. But because — by reading this book — you get to tap into Hench’s 95 years of artistic experience.
I mean, this guy’s had just one hell of a career. Don’t believe me? Okay. Then listen to what renown architect Frank Gehry — as part of his preface to “Designing Disney” — had to say about all that John’s accomplished in his lifetime:
“We’ve all been touched by John Hench. He joined Disney in 1939 and has had his hands on almost everything that we recognize as Disney: “Fantasia,’ ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Peter Pan,’ ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,’ Tomorrowland, the Monorail, Space Mountain and Epcot – the list goes on and on.”
You’d think that a man who had accomplished all that, who had had a hand in the creation of so many amazing things, would be somewhat full of himself. Would at least have a little bit of an attitude. But that’s not what you get from reading “Designing Disney.” In the text that John co-wrote with Peggy Van Pelt, Hench comes across as this incredibly humble guy. Someone who just happened to be lucky enough to work with & befriend artistic giants like Walt Disney and Salvador Dali.
You know the best part of this book? It takes all of the somewhat mysterious and abstract formulas that the Imagineers use when they’re creating brand new theme parks and attractions for the Walt Disney Company and boils them down into concepts that even the dimmest of Disney dweeb can understand. It’s like standing backstage as a masterful magician works, so you can see how the illusions are really created.
I guarantee that — once you read “Designing Disney” — you’ll never be able to look at a Disney theme park the same way again. As you walk through Disneyland, you’ll see how the “Art of the Show” informs every design decision. And — when you stroll through Future World at Epcot — well … let’s just say that you’re finally going to be able to identify the color that predominates this part of the park (John Hench Purple!)
And the stories! There are so many great yarns to found in this book. Like this one from Marty Sklar’s foreword from “Designing Disney.” Where Marty described how Walt would take advantage of Hench’s likeness to the “Old Mousetro” to throw off autograph hounds:
“… At Disneyland in the mid-1960s, John was often mistaken for Walt Disney during walk-throughs with Walt Disney. One day, a father proudly pointed Walt out to his young son, and Walt pointed right at John and said, “No – that’s him over there!”
All this, plus a full range of concept drawings and paintings which show how Space Mountain evolves from a simple pencil sketch to a state-of-the-art thrill ride. Plus reproductions of all six of the official portraits that John has painted of Mickey Mouse over the years. There’s treasure to be found on virtually every page of this book.
So — if you’re a would-be Imagineer or just a theme park enthusiasts who’d like to learn more about how the Disney parks are actually created — I can think of no better book for you to pick up than John Hench’s “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show.”
Yes. It really is THAT good. So go pick up a copy today.
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If you’re planning on picking up a copy of “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show” (and you should be!) you can help support JimHillMedia.com by ordering your copy from Amazon.com by clicking the link to the right. Your cost will (unfortunately) remain the same (though it is currently 30% off!) But – if you go there through us – we get a tiny cut of what you spend. So help keep Jim Hill behind the computer where he belongs and and pick up your copy of “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show” through the link to the right. |
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