You know, they say that good things come in small packages. And — in the case of Robert Tieman’s “Quintessential Disney: A Pop-Up Gallery of Classic Disney Moments” (Disney Editions, June 2005) — they’d be right.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
I mean, all told, this book really only has five pages. But they’re five really beautiful pages, with Toby Bluth’s amazing illustrations (Which recreate memorable moments from classic Disney animated films like “Snow White,” “Pinocchio,” “Bambi,” “Peter Pan” and “Lady & the Tramp“) cleverly rendered in three dimension by noted pop-up book author, David A. Carter.
And — given that Mr. Tieman is the manager of Disney Archives — he manages to work some fun little factoids in as part of the book’s text.
Take — for example — the incident in Walt Disney’s own life that eventually inspired the opening of “Lady & the Tramp.” Back in 1925, Walt forgot that he was supposed to have dinner with Lily one night. So — when the fledgling film-maker came home, his new bride was hopping mad.
So, in an effort to make amends to Lily, that very next night, Walt comes home with a hat box. Of course, there was no hat inside of that hat box. Just a puppy. But — still — this puppy was so cute that Disney’s wife eventually forgave him for his dinnertime faux-pas.
Now jump ahead 25 years or so. The animators at Disney Studios are struggling to come up with a cute way to introduce one of the title characters of “Lady & the Tramp.” But none of their ideas seem to fly with Walt.
So later they’re all in a story session. Everyone’s trying to come up with a memorable way to intro Lady. And Walt chimes in with “You know, back in 1925, I gave Lily a puppy in a hatbox. And she thought it was pretty cute.” And the rest of the story … you know.
In this pop-up book, Robert tries to pay tribute to what he feels are the key elements of classic Disney animated films. These elements are:
- adventure
- fantasy
- lifelong friendship
- music
- old-fashioned romance
“Peter Pan” — via a recreation of a daring sword fight between Peter & Capt. Hook — is used to illustrate adventure …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
While a recreation of the Butterfly scene from “Bambi” is used to illustrate friendship.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Me personally, what I liked best about “Quintessential Disney” was its attention to detail. Take — for example — the bits of string that Carter would work into each pop-up section in the book. In the “Lady & the Tramp” scene, it’s used to recreate the spaghetti that the two dogs slurp on their date. In the “Pinocchio” scene, it’s used for the strings that keep Gepetto’s newest creation upright.
Speaking of “Pinocchio,” again I enjoyed how Tieman took the opportunity to cram intriguing stories into this thin volume. Like the tale he tells about the noted children’s book illustrator Gustaf Tenngren. Who Walt hired to do a dozen inspirational paintings for the picture. And Tenngren’s distinct European style really helped artistically define this 1940 Walt Disney Productions release.
You see? This is the sort of info that you don’t typically find in a pop-up book. Which is why you might want to add “Quintessential Disney” to your library. For its beautiful, three dimensional illustrations as well as Robert’s stories.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
While decidedly not for children (They will probably be put off by the book’s small type as well as by how fragile Carter’s three dimensional versions of Bluth’s illustrations are), “Quintessential Disney” is still a volume that most every serious Disney-based bibliophile should have in their collection. So pop around to your local bookstore and take a peek at this new pop-up book from Disney Editions.