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Hippo in a Tutu: Dancing in Disney Animation

General Information:

Media Type: Book
Type: Other
Release Date: 2008-02-17

Geek's Thoughts: This book takes an in depth look at the art of dance in Disney animation. It covers many shorts, including the Silly Symphonies, as well as Feature Films such as the Jungle Book, Snow White, and Fantasia. The first section of the book is an overview/history of the intersection of Disney and dance. Later sections look at choreography, animation, and live-action references.

 

Shown below in this first image is a sample page showing these live-action references and a scene from Snow White. The second image, further down the page walks through a series of images from a film.

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Copyright c 2008 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Editions, an imprint of Disney Book Group.


I found this Disney Editions release by Mindy Aloff to be a challenging read. Not because of anything the author has done but because of my own interests. I am not that well versed in dance and its not something that can hold my interest. So for much of the book I had to really work to stay within it. I did enjoy seeing the reference sheets, artwork, and photographs showing how the scenes come to life. I also really enjoyed the interviews and insets talking with the animators and others that brought the films to life. I especially found the extended interview with Marge Champion interesting. Marge worked for Disney as a teenage back in the 1930s and was a model/dancer for the live action references. It was really interesting to read her impression and take on the studios in those early days and how those early sequences came to be.
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Copyright c 2008 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Editions, an imprint of Disney Book Group.


One chart I found especially thought provoking is in the first chapter and it is a list of Disney animated films that include dancing. This list includes shorts, Silly Symphonies, and Features. It surprised me that I had a decent recollection of each of those films when reading the title and how the features seem to be among the best Disney features over the years. Wonder if there is any correlation.

If you are a dancer or into dancing I would venture to bet you would find this book a more pleasant overall read than I and would gain more from it. Or if you are one who likes to study the details of animation influences you may find it fascinating. If you are more of a general disneygeek, like myself, then I would have a hard time recommending it on a buy list, but it may be a good read (from a library or to borrow).


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