J. P. Telotte

In order for an in-depth analysis of any subject to have credibility, it must get its fact and/or its assumptions correct. On this count, I immediately had trouble with this book. To make the point, let’s explore the introduction. In the first paragraph, things look very good. Rather than espousing the comment that Main Street is modeled after Walt’s home town of Marceline, Missouri, it qualifies this with “supposedly modeled.” It is a fair point because Marceline is only part of the model (a long story – you can look it up) and it bodes well for the research that was conducted. But the book soon falls into other traps. In supporting a thesis on how Disney has helped us deal with the difficulties of the world, it used Monster’s Inc. The fallacy here is seen throughout the book. Equating any Pixar output (prior to the sale/merger with Disney) with Disney’s technological advances/philosophies/direction is an unfair treatment. Disney was merely riding Pixar’s successful coattails, and had nothing to do with innovation within or direction of their product. Next, we stumble upon a plain, ordinary, “googleable” fact which the book gets wrong. It quotes the song from Carousel of Progress as “there’s a brave new beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away.” The most basic Disney fan knows this is “there’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow…” A simple fact that is very wrong. Later in the introduction, the author states “Obviously, Main Street leads into Disney’s own geography, that of Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Adventureland, all preexisting in the imaginary of the original Disneyland show.” This, to me, indicates the author thinks the segments were developed first, then Disneyland. Nothing could be further from the truth. Disneyland was designed, and then Walt set the show up to focus on the lands that would exist (using television to build excitement for the park.) There are more points that might be quibbled (particularly with the conclusions that are being drawn), but it gives you a taste.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the book is rife with mistakes – the author does seem to have good control of the subject. It just brings to question some of the research and means that, the minute I found an interesting fact I was not aware of, I began to question if it was true.

And the next problem relates to the overall arch of the book. It starts with the innovations that were Disney inspired, and it strongly builds on its proposition that innovation is what drove Disney’s success. But there is an existing parallel between Walt’s death and a decline in Disney’s (the company’s) innovative approaches. In fact, while it isn’t stated this way, the last couple of chapters accurately chronicle how Disney was trying to keep up rather than lead the way. But the book doesn’t look at it that way, even extolling (as I mentioned before) Pixar’s work. (Yes, it was innovative. No, it was not Disney.)

So, what that leaves us with is a fairly interesting book – interesting to those who are deeply into Disney – that gets bogged down in too much analysis, too much conjecture, and too much introspection. (As evidence, the introduction is as long as most of the chapters – evidence that the author thinks he has much more to say than he actually does.) And, that means that we have an okay book that will appeal primarily to the deeply ingrained fans – the same ones who will question the content.… (meer)

The Mouse Machine was a book that I was very excited to start reading. With a lot of books, you have a certain notion of what to expect between the covers; at first, this book disappointed the theme park fan inside me. When I really got my teeth into it, I realized that this is a work geared towards two types of people: Walt Disney (Company) enthusiasts and animation/film buffs. The theme parks are covered, but in the audio-animatronics area, mainly. Most of the work is dedicated to covering the advances that the House of Mouse created or stumbled upon during its sojourn into popular culture.

Obviously, several high points in the Company's history take precedence: sound, color, multi-plane and special effects are all covered in great detail. The book takes a while to get going and I was tempted to put it away several times. I am glad that I continued. After the first several chapters, you get used to the academic style and start to enjoy and think about the concepts. Telotte's intent was to create a work that showed how the technological leaps were not only to heighten the art form, but also acted as a link to technology and popular culture.

The aim of this book is to follow the company's lead in this regard, to offer a selective look at some of those, often-unseen--or unconsidered-- technological supports or developments that, in film, television, and the theme parks, have been crucial to the success of the Walt Disney Company and, at times, also a clue to its limitations.
--pp. 2-3.
Ub Iwerks and Walt garner special focus, but Telotte also looks at the other pioneers in the various film departments. A lot of time is spent in looking at the development of the animated shorts--how they changed the industry technologically and artistically. Telotte does seem to have a fondness, not only for technology, but for popular culture. The other major section of the book concerns the development of special effects for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He also looks at the development and similarities between 20,000 Leagues and The Black Hole. He offer his thoughts on why the first was a success and the latter, a failure. When Telotte discusses the major technological advances of the company, he does hit all of the milestones of the animation and film development. In the chapter on the theme parks, the focus is on a few of the modern attractions, like: Dinosaur, Alien Encounter and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Most of the seminal theme park attractions are mentioned in passing or as antecedents with nothing more notable than as technological steps. Telotte tries to show the reader how society accepts the technology of the theme park attractions as part of the show instead of just as technology.

The chapter titles give a good impression of where the title takes us:

Sound Fantasy
Minor Hazards: Disney and the Color Adventure
Three Dimensional Animation and the Illusion of Life
A Monstrous Vision: Disney, Science Fiction, and CinemaScope
Disney in Television Land
The "Inhabitable Text" of the Parks
Course Correction: Of Black Holes and Computer Games
"Better than Real": Digital Disney, Pixar, and Beyond
There is much more to the work than I could cover in a review. Telotte advances many thoughts and concepts that lead to more critical thought about the company. Comparing what Telotte has written to the majority of the Disney literature and you find a competent and exciting work--you just need to get used to the writing style. Most works cover just the people and the art, while we see another side of the company through The Mouse Machine.

Bottom Line: This book is for the animation/film and Disney Company enthusiast. The tone is very heady and academic; most theme park-only fans will not find much of interest. Overall, Telotte adds a very solid work to the body of knowledge on the Walt Disney Company. I am glad I have the book and it adds new perspective to how we think about the monumental progress that the Walt Disney Company is known for.… (meer)