PREFACE ON OCTOBER 16, 1923, A YOUNG MAN FROM the American Midwest signed a contract at his uncle’s modest Hollywood home. That contract launched the immediate production of a silent film cartoon series—and a new animation studio. More importantly, it became the foundation of one of the world’s most beloved companies—an entertainment powerhouse that has produced incomparable tales of adventure and discovery, magic, music, and the wonders of history and nature all over the globe. It was the beginning of what we know today as The Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney’s passion and vision continue to inspire creativity across the company and for generations of fans. The very concept of what “creativity” is—or what it can be—amounts to a great many things to each of us. Colors. Patterns. Mediums. Each is a tool at the behest of the artist within, ready to help employ perhaps the most precious of humanity’s gifts—imagination. When confronted with a blank canvas, sheet of paper, sidewalk, bedroom wall—or any surface, really—one thing unites us in our artistic journey: the decision to adventure forward and make our first mark.
Many of us at the Walt Disney Archives came to work for The Walt Disney Company because its stories, characters, and magical realms have been inspirational sources in each of our own lives. They have helped us make sense of the world around us. And they have driven us to be creative in ways professional and personal.
In honor of the company’s first one hundred years, we are thrilled to share a unique look at our history and Walt Disney’s legacy, whether it be through Disney100: The Exhibition or a variety of commemorative books, including this one. In pulling these coloring pages together, we looked at thousands of historical sources, such as vintage press kits, posters, and coloring publications that many of us remember from our own childhoods. We quickly realized that a purely chronological history just would not explain the magic that is “Disney.” We felt the best way to approach this book was to share why Walt did what he did. What his own philosophies were and how they inspired him to create such wondrous entertainment.
The line art in this book is organized to support the simple philosophies that Walt shared during his amazing career: the importance of storytelling, the addition of personality to beloved characters, the spirit of adventure and discovery, the wonders of the world around us, the magic in beautiful music, and the excitement of experimentation and innovation. These concepts are what made Walt’s creations so very unique and special, and they are still the heart and soul of the stories and experiences that The Walt Disney Company produces today.
We hope this collection inspires you to expand your own creative limits and propels you forward on many artistic adventures. Use pencils, crayons, paint; you name it. Make the following pages yours. There’s nothing holding you back from covering them with the wildest and most remarkable creations yet as we all celebrate a hundred years of wonder with the company that has been—and will forever be—our favorite wishing star.
—The Staff of the Walt Disney Archives
February 2023
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” —Walt Disney The creations of Walt Disney—entrepreneur, innovator, and visionary futurist—would impact the ensuing generations of American popular culture in ways he likely never would have predicted. Several of his key creative philosophies—including the importance of storytelling, creating believable characters, appreciating, and reflecting on the world around us, and constant reinvention—would become touchstones throughout his life’s work, generating a creative model that Disney still draws from today. Imagination, invention, inspiration—tenets all that help to understand and describe the drive and growth of Walt’s impressive journey from his early life to the establishment of The Walt Disney Company and beyond. From his earliest silent films—including the Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts—to the origin of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and their pals, the elevation and innovation of cartoons as an art form rests not only at the foundation of the entire Disney enterprise, but as benchmarks across an impressive hundred-year journey.
WHERE DO THE STORIES COME FROM? “Sheer animated fantasy is still my first and deepest production impulse. The fable is the best storytelling device ever conceived, and the screen is its best medium.” —Walt Disney “Once upon a time . . .”—these magical words have enthralled listeners for centuries, whether sung by traveling bards or said to children at bedtime. Since Walt’s time, creative teams at The Walt Disney Company have taken inspiration from tales both imagined and real from around the world to create completely new characters and experiences that forge emotional connections with audiences of almost every age. Building upon an ongoing legacy of advancing the art of storytelling through believable characters and novel visual worlds, artists create lush environments where the stories come to life. Over the decades, the company has explored numerous sources for its storytelling, from myths, fairy tales, fables, and legends to literary classics and even the much-loved graphic literature of today: comic books. There’s almost always a new page to turn, setting our course for the next great adventure.
THE ILLUSION OF LIFE “Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoon’s unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals.” —Walt Disney Through all Disney stories and experiences, whether in animation, live-action, or theme park attractions, it is the characters who capture our hearts. While a story is a journey, the characters who inhabit that story are what we as the audience care most about. We relate to these characters; we laugh and cry and love with them. They become as real to us as the people in our lives. From their designs by Disney artists to how Disney storytellers explore and develop aspects of their personalities—strengths and weaknesses, hopes and dreams—they are fine-tuned so we the viewers can understand exactly how they think, and why they behave as they do. This magical alchemy is no trick; it’s artistry that simulates the very illusion of life.
Copyright © 2023 by Disney. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
