Last Minute Gift Idea — “The Wonder of Disney: 80 Years of Animation”

Christmas can be a rush, and sometimes when you are searching for a gift for someone who just happens to be a Disney fan, you’re left wondering what to get them. Sometimes a neat little present can come from anywhere, including the magazine aisle at the grocery store. That’s where my wife Laura found the magazine The Wonder of Disney. Fans of Disney animation, theme parks, and even colorful Disney pictures will want this magazine for Christmas.

At 94 pages, The Wonder of Disney attempts to tell the story of Disney animation starting with Snow White. The magazine does start with a brief history of Walt Disney. It makes sense that he would get the first section of the magazine. After all, Walt Disney and animated films are now one and the same. What is unique about the Walt Disney section are the images that readers get. From Walt staring at a sketch of Pinocchio to a full-color picture of Walt driving guests at his house on his model train, The Carolwood Pacific.

As fun as it is to look at pictures of Walt, the movies are what this magazine is all about. From Snow White, we begin our journey of learning about how Walt was inspired by and used the Brothers Grimm fairy tales for his films.

Snow White is just the beginning of the Big 5, which include Bambi, Dumbo, Fantasia, and Pinocchio. These five films are given the distinctive ranking since they were the early films and the ones that Walt has such a major role in the development of.

From World War II, the magazine examines all forms of animation that the Walt Disney Company made from short training films to the historic Victory Through Air Power. Out of the war years to the fifties, sixties, seventies, and all the way to the present day we gain insight into the animated masterpieces and misses that Walt Disney Animation created. Even Chicken Little and Brother Bear get a mention, but somehow The Rescuers Down Under and Home on the Range are absent.

While much of the magazine uses stunning images to complement the text, I think The Wonder of Disney makes an excellent gift for the Disney fan because it does go beyond just a recitation or listing of all Disney animated films.

The Wonder of Disney offers a sneak peek at upcoming films like Wreck-It Ralph 2 and how the animated films have played a major part in the development of the Disney Parks. The section about the Disney Parks is what makes this gift a must for all Disney fans. Whereas most of the magazine focuses on the history of the movies, the facts and visuals that complement the parks section ties everything together.

It was Walt’s desire to move beyond creating a movie that you watch at the theatres. Disneyland became the living movie that he could always update. Disney Parks are the next generation of storytelling that Walt Disney started with Snow White.

If you have a Disney fan in your family, pick up this magazine. There is sure to be something that will interest them.

Bill Gowsell
Bill Gowsell has loved all things Disney since his first family trip to Walt Disney World in 1984. Since he began writing for Laughing Place in 2014, Bill has specialized in covering the Rick Riordan literary universe, a retrospective of the Touchstone Pictures movie library, and a variety of other Disney related topics. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill can be found at the bottom of a lake . . . scuba diving