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Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana

Tales of a Disney Animation Director

Part of Disney Editions Deluxe

Author Ron Clements
Foreword by John Musker
Hardcover
$45.00 US
Random House Worlds | Disney Editions
On sale Aug 18, 2026 | 496 Pages | 9781368023474
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From Ariel to Moana, discover the visionary filmmaker behind 45 magical years of Disney animation, featuring more than 1,000 pieces of full-color archival artwork and photos.

Ron Clements is a key filmmaker (along with co-writer and co-director John Musker) responsible for some of the most beloved animated Disney movies, including The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog, among others. 

Now he shares behind-the-scenes stories, animation Easter eggs, and fun facts from his 45 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including: 
  • People who directly worked on & influenced the films
  • Research trips and selection of artists, voice cast and songwriters in preparation for the films
  • Screenwriting, character development and world-building processes
  • From storyboards, technical innovations, voice recording and animation to final frames
  • Early screenings (reaction to feedback and resulting changes)
  • Press tours, debuts, receptions, awards seasons and growing the Disney legacy

The corners of this coffee table book also serve as an animation flip-book, celebrating Disney characters from the 1970s–2010s. Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana is a fun and magical art-packed memoir sure to delight every Disney fan!
  • i: "The Evening Star"
  • viii: Foreword by John Musker
  • x: Introduction
  • xii: December 15, 1966
  • 001: Act 1: When You Wish . . .
  • 003: Chapter 1: It’s A Small World
  • 019: Chapter 2: A Whole New World
  • 047: Chapter 3: Digging a Little Deeper
  • 077: Chapter 4: Almost There
  • 113: Chapter 5: Under the Sea
  • 165: Act 2: Keeping on Believing . . .
  • 167: Chapter 6 Arabian Nights
  • 223: Chapter 7: A Star is Reborn
  • 267: Chapter 8: Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)
  • 315: Chapter 9: Poor Unfortunate Souls
  • 331: Act 3: Going the Distance . . .
  • 333: Chapter 10: Down in New Orleans
  • 391: Chapter 11: How Far We’ll Go
  • 465: Chapter 12: I’m Still Here
  • 470: Acknowledgments
  • 472: Index
  • 478: Bibloagrapy & Sources
  • 479: Image Credits
  • 480: "Made You Look"
Ron Clements decided he wanted to be a Disney animator at the age of nine after seeing a rerelease of Pinocchio (1940) at a local theater in his hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. In 1974, at the age of twenty, he was accepted into the recently established Walt Disney Animation Studios Talent Development program, working under the tutelage of some of Disney’s top animators. He went on to become an animator on The Rescuers (1977), Pete’s Dragon (1977), and The Fox and the Hound (1981); a storyboard artist on The Black Cauldron (1985); codirector on The Great Mouse Detective (1986); and in creative partnership with longtime collaborator John Musker, he cowrote and codirected The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Moana (2016).
Ron Clements View titles by Ron Clements

About

From Ariel to Moana, discover the visionary filmmaker behind 45 magical years of Disney animation, featuring more than 1,000 pieces of full-color archival artwork and photos.

Ron Clements is a key filmmaker (along with co-writer and co-director John Musker) responsible for some of the most beloved animated Disney movies, including The Fox and the Hound, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog, among others. 

Now he shares behind-the-scenes stories, animation Easter eggs, and fun facts from his 45 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, including: 
  • People who directly worked on & influenced the films
  • Research trips and selection of artists, voice cast and songwriters in preparation for the films
  • Screenwriting, character development and world-building processes
  • From storyboards, technical innovations, voice recording and animation to final frames
  • Early screenings (reaction to feedback and resulting changes)
  • Press tours, debuts, receptions, awards seasons and growing the Disney legacy

The corners of this coffee table book also serve as an animation flip-book, celebrating Disney characters from the 1970s–2010s. Making Disney Magic . . . from a Mermaid to Moana is a fun and magical art-packed memoir sure to delight every Disney fan!

Table of Contents

  • i: "The Evening Star"
  • viii: Foreword by John Musker
  • x: Introduction
  • xii: December 15, 1966
  • 001: Act 1: When You Wish . . .
  • 003: Chapter 1: It’s A Small World
  • 019: Chapter 2: A Whole New World
  • 047: Chapter 3: Digging a Little Deeper
  • 077: Chapter 4: Almost There
  • 113: Chapter 5: Under the Sea
  • 165: Act 2: Keeping on Believing . . .
  • 167: Chapter 6 Arabian Nights
  • 223: Chapter 7: A Star is Reborn
  • 267: Chapter 8: Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)
  • 315: Chapter 9: Poor Unfortunate Souls
  • 331: Act 3: Going the Distance . . .
  • 333: Chapter 10: Down in New Orleans
  • 391: Chapter 11: How Far We’ll Go
  • 465: Chapter 12: I’m Still Here
  • 470: Acknowledgments
  • 472: Index
  • 478: Bibloagrapy & Sources
  • 479: Image Credits
  • 480: "Made You Look"

Author

Ron Clements decided he wanted to be a Disney animator at the age of nine after seeing a rerelease of Pinocchio (1940) at a local theater in his hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. In 1974, at the age of twenty, he was accepted into the recently established Walt Disney Animation Studios Talent Development program, working under the tutelage of some of Disney’s top animators. He went on to become an animator on The Rescuers (1977), Pete’s Dragon (1977), and The Fox and the Hound (1981); a storyboard artist on The Black Cauldron (1985); codirector on The Great Mouse Detective (1986); and in creative partnership with longtime collaborator John Musker, he cowrote and codirected The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Moana (2016).
Ron Clements View titles by Ron Clements

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