Forgotten Disney

This work demonstrates that not everything that Disney touched turned to gold. In its first 100 years, the company had major successes that transformed filmmaking and culture, but it also had its share of unfinished projects, unmet expectations, and box-office misses. Some works failed but nevertheless led to other more stunning and lucrative ones; others shed light on periods when the Disney Company was struggling to establish or re-establish its brand. In addition, many Disney properties, popular in their time but lost to modern audiences, emerge as forgotten gems. By exploring the studio's missteps, this book provides a more complex portrayal of the history of the company than one would gain from a simple recounting of its many hits. With essays by writers from across the globe, it also asserts that what endures or is forgotten varies from person to person, place to place, or generation to generation. What one dismisses, someone else recalls with deep fondness as a magical Disney memory.

Long before David Letterman made it a nightly ritual, groupings of ten seemed to be the most common form of list making (commandments, amendments, FBI most wanted, etc.) Top 10 lists abound for everything today, from movies and music to sports and politics. There is so much Disney history to cover, however, that it can’t be contained in one simple list, thus “The Top 100 Top Ten of Disney.” There is not a person on Earth who hasn’t come into contact with Disney in some way. Whether seeing a Disney film, hearing a Disney song, recognizing a Disney character or visiting a Disney park, the company’s reach is global. The Top 100 Top Ten of Disney will collect the best of the best of Disney in a book of lists. From Walt himself and the beginning of his company, to his successors who have broadened the reach of the Disney brand well beyond where even Walt could have imagined it, this book will cover every aspect of the 93 years of history that Disney has to offer. In it you will find information on everything from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Queen Elsa, to the billion dollar acquisitions of Marvel and Lucasfilm. Written for casual and die-hard fans alike, The Top 100 Top Ten of Disney will revisit some familiar characters, films, songs, rides, and personalities associated with Disney but will also uncover some forgotten, obscure and overlooked parts of the company as well, such as the unlikely Disney films Victory Through Air Power (1943) and The Story of Menstruation (1946). The book will be laid out in easy to read “bite size” pieces. It will be one of those books that the whole family can enjoy and can be picked up and referred to again and again. Author Bio: Christopher Lucas is a lifelong fan of all things Disney. His admiration for Walt, and the company he built, led Chris to create a one person show called “Of Mouse and Man” which has been performed in several colleges, theaters and civic centers. He is also the co‐author of Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story, the critically acclaimed book released by Simon & Schuster and Derek Jeter Publishing in April 2015. Christopher lives in suburban New Jersey with his two young sons. His goal someday is to take a vacation somewhere that doesn’t involve a visit to a Disney theme park.

In Dreams That Built America, Alan Elliott shares an inspiring and uplifting view of the American spirit. This newly revised and modernized edition showcases the vision, accountability, faith, and essential values that are the essence of real American success, highlighting the dreams that have made America and its people great. With 365 short daily readings, Dreams That Built America offers inspiring stories meant to motivate, encourage, and uplift you. It covers topics ranging from inventions and exploration to politics, pop culture, and art, and features a wide variety of people, such as: Beyoncé Irving Berlin Thomas Edison Steven Spielberg and many, many more! Celebrating the American spirit, Dreams That Built America will help you start your day on a positive note with inspirational messages and stories of purpose and triumph that will carry you throughout the year.

Since the 1930s the Walt Disney Company has produced characters, images, and stories which have captivated audiences around the world. How can we understand the appeal of Disney products? What is it about the Disney phenomenon that attracts so many children as well as adults? In this major new book, Janet Wasko examines the processes by which the Disney company - one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world - manufactures the fantasies which enthrall millions. She analyses the historical expansion of the Disney empire, examines the content of Disney's classic films, cartoons and TV programs and shows how they are produced, considering how some of the same techniques have been applied to the Disney theme parks. She also discusses the reception of Disney products by different kinds of audiences. By looking at the Disney phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, she provides a fresh and comprehensive account of one of the most significant media and cultural institutions of our time. This important book by a leading scholar of the entertainment industries will be of great interest to students in media and cultural studies and will appeal to a wide readership.

Featuring interviews with the creators of 31 popular video games--including Grand Theft Auto, Strider, Maximum Carnage and Pitfall--this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the origins of some of the most enjoyable and iconic adventure games of all time. Interviewees recount the endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega-publishers, the growth of the adventure genre, and reveal the creative processes that produced some of the industry's biggest hits, cult classics and indie successes.

In this edited collection exploring Disney’s dark side, attention to Disney’s Gothic reveals the ways through which Disney productions construct and reinforce conceptions of normalcy and deviance in relation to shifting understandings of morality, social roles, and identity categories.

"In the fifth book in the Finding Tinker Bell early chapter book series, the Never Girls' quest for Tink leads them to an enchanted castle where things aren't quite what they seem. Will the castle help the Never Girls, Silvermist, Fawn, Rosetta, and Iridessa unlock the secrets of Shadow Island and track down Tink before she is lost forever?"--

When Tinker Bell takes Gabby's great-grandfather's model ship, sets sail for Shadow Island, and disappears, it is up to Gabby and the other Never Girls to search for their missing fairy friend.