Maltin, Leonard. (1973). The Disney Films. New York: Bonanza Books. 300 Pages,
This book examines Disney feature films, Disney TV shows, and Disney TV shorts.
It includes background (history) material, and when possible, interviews with individuals
who assisted with the producing, directing, or acting in the particular film being
reviewed. The author did not want to merely reprint previous reviews of the films.
Therefore, he compiled his own critiques and balanced them with references to previous
reviews. He also included public responses to the films being critiqued, as demonstrated
by their box office popularity. The combination of all of this information gives the
reader a complete examination of each film. This book gives an in-depth examination
into the world of Walt Disney films. Maltin demonstrates how various values
emphasized in these films at the time of their original release are still part of a dominate
Leonard Maltin is a writer who wanted to compile and review a list of Disney films.
He assembled a list and published it in his own magazine called the "Film Fan Monthly".
Maltin expanded the list thus, creating this book as a study and critique of the Disney
Films. Other publications by this author include TV Movies, Movie Comedy Teams,
Behind the Camera: The Cinematographer's Art, and The Great Movie Shorts. Maltin
was editor of The Real Stars. He also contributed to production of The Real Stars, A
Concise History of Motion Pictures, The American Film Heritage, The Compleat Guide
to Film Study, and Directors in Action.
Maltin believes previous reviews of the Disney films fall into several extreme
categories. Previous reviews ranged from extreme praise to extreme criticism. He also
believed many of the reviews were outdated and not relevant to today's standards of
films. Thus, Maltin decided to create his own reviews of the films. L
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