''The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney'' is a 1968 book by

Richard Schickel Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for ''Time'' magazine from 1965–2010, and also w ...

. It is a biography of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. It was one of the first polemical books about Disney that takes a harshly critical view of much of his work.

Reception

Stephen J. Whitfield of

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

wrote that the book was "One of the best studies ever done on American popular culture ... unfailingly, consistently intelligent, and eminently readable" while

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

described it as "a revealing part of American cultural history." However, others perceived a hypocrisy and a dubious reliability mainly due to the fact that the book was written and released after Walt Disney's death. In his 1982 book '' The Hollywood Musical'', critic and author

Ethan Mordden Ethan Mordden (born 1947) is an American author and musical theater researcher. Biography Mordden was born and raised in Pennsylvania, Venice, Italy, and on Long Island, New York. He is a graduate of Friends Academy and the University of Penns ...

wrote that the book "is favored by the cognoscenti", but "Schickel's resentment of Disney's wealth and power" stood out "like a soapbox nut's exhortation - horror of horrors, the genius turned out to be a capitalist." Disney historian Didier Ghez called it "a strange psychological analysis of Walt and his works".DidierGehz.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Disney Version 1968 non-fiction books Books about Disney Works about Walt Disney Simon & Schuster books

Reception

See also

References