The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney

by Michael Barrier

Book Overview

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was one of the most significant creative forces of the twentieth century, a man who made a lasting impact on the art of the animated film, the history of American business, and the evolution of twentieth-century American culture. He was both a creative visionary and a dynamic entrepreneur, roles whose demands he often could not reconcile.

In his compelling new biography, noted animation historian Michael Barrier avoids...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520256190
• ISBN13: 9780520256194
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 414 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The Best Independent Bio of Walt Disney...

...if not the best, period! Though Bob Thomas' official bio has been the established source of info on Walt Disney since it came out, Michael Barrier's book gives us an insight in what drove Walt in his search of excellence. It shows that Walt was a real person with real ideals and dreams, and the personal make-up to make these come true. Barrier is an animation scholar of highest degree, and one of the few who personally interviewed many of the key artists that worked for Walt. He has justly found Walt to be intensely interested in whatever he got involved in, be it animation, theme parks, trains or his Gulfstream airplane. We learn to like Walt, and I do feel closer to him after having read this book. A lot of effort has been put into marketing Neil Gabler's bio, but I must say I found Barrier's book much more readable and enjoyable. Gabler gives dry facts (often wrong!) and clearly despises his subject (Disney's daughter Diane was outraged by Gabler's making Walt sound like a nutcase), while Barrier is truly interested in him - and we feel this, too! My advise is to FIRST read Barrier's book for the continuity and insight he gives us, THEN, if you must, read Gabler for the dry facts - after getting seven pages of errata on Gabler's book from Barrier's website. Note that the quote by a negative reviewer here does not appear in Barrier's book and is clearly only given to put the book in a bad light. This book deserves the opposite: it should be read by all Disney-interested readers! They will enjoy it!

An Excellent Biography

I'm in full agreement with other reviewers that this is one of if not the best Biography of Walt Disney ever written. The recent Neil Gabler biography has received more publicity (and it not bad) and is the most obvious book to compare to, I found Michael Barrier's "The Animated Man" much better in terms of the insight into the life of Walt Disney. I read Barrier's biography about 2 months after Gable's and found Mr. Gabler delved way to much into speculation where Barrier seemed to give insight into Walt. I don't often write a review, but I thought this book was worth giving the positive review. Mr. Barrier tells the life of Walt Disney, warts and all. Walt comes off a real person with real problems while doing great things. I have over 100 books on Walt Disney and the things he helped to create including many books and articles by those that new Walt first hand, and Barrier's book seems to give the most accurate and unbiased view of Walt of any biography I have ever read. It seems to give an accurate picture of Walt behind the scenes.

The Best Biography of Disney yet

This is an extraordinarily good book. After giving up on the Neal Gabler book (too many words and not enough understanding, really, of who the man was), I love the approach of this book. Barrier knows animation inside and out, and he uses his knowledge to give us a picture of a real man and boss who tried to make animation great. The nitty gritty of those details make a real life comprehensible. The immense research is felt even though Barrier doesn't try to impress us with it; the book is a captivating read that propels you along. Highly recommended.

The Animated Man: A Triumph for Michael Barrier

If you were thinking of passing by The Animated Man in favor of Neal Gabler's biography of Walt Disney, think again. "...Complete access to the Disney archives..." notwithstanding, Gabler couldn't in many, many cases, figure out just what exactly to do with all the information he was supposedly buried in for five+ years. And as such, the reader comes away at times with more questions than answers about just who Walt Disney was. This is not the case in Michael Barrier's fine biography of Walt Disney, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. Although he may not have had the unfettered access to the Disney archives accorded Neal Gabler, one would hardly be aware of that particular handicap. He was able to utilize a great deal of information housed there, which along with interview after interview makes for a mighty informative read. And since many of the interviews utilized throughout the book date back over 30 years, Barrier was able to talk with many Disney employees who "were there" at or near the start of Walt Disney's impact on the world. So many of the interviews captured by Barrier provide an insight into what made Walt Disney `tick' that simply don't exist from the materials Gabler was able to unearth. More than once while reading through The Animated Man did I stop to re-read a paragraph as a particular tidbit of information provided an "a-ha" moment, helping to fill in some blanks pertaining to either Walt Disney himself or the legacy he left behind. Also, Michael Barrier was able to weave his knowledge of animation throughout the text, providing additional insights not available to authors with less refined skills in that area. In spite of it being half the length of Gabler's tome, I feel most readers will come away feeling more than fulfilled with few asking for more as Barrier's raison d'être of the book is his pinpoint focus on Walt Disney and what really made him tick. As has been stated many times, and is still true today: the definitive Disney biography has yet (if ever) to be written, but Barrier comes as close as anyone has to date. There are plenty of books about Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company to keep most of us glued to our reading glasses for some time to come. And one could round out one's knowledge by continuing on to Gabler's bio or even Bob Thomas' and certainly The "E" Ticket fanzine for very insightful and unique interviews with those who worked with Walt (primarily on the parks) - to name but a few. But I strongly feel the best starting point would be to grab a copy of Michael Barrier's biography and be prepared to be wowed.

A rich account

This book is so rich with detail! You can picture yourself there when a young Walt is growing up as a farm kid in Marceline, Missouri, or later when he's struggling to make a living. The endless first-person accounts and interviews really bring Disney's world -- indeed, much of a whole bygone American world -- to life. At times it reads almost like an oral history. It's a great complement to Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. The book is not published by the Disney company, and the author is no corporate flack. But he's also no muckraker. You'll come away with a definite opinion of Walt Disney the person, but it's one you'll form yourself.