The Life and Times of Ward Kimball, Todd James Pierce
The Life and Times of Ward Kimball, Todd James Pierce
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The Life and Times of Ward Kimball
Maverick of Disney Animation

Author: Todd James Pierce

Narrator: Al Kessel

Unabridged: 13 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/28/2019


Synopsis

In this engaging, cradle-to-grave biography, award-winning author Todd James Pierce explores the life of Ward Kimball, a lead Disney animator who worked on characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, and the Mad Hatter. Through unpublished excerpts from Kimball's personal writing, material from unpublished interviews, and new information based on interviews conducted by the author, Pierce defines the life of perhaps the most influential animator of the twentieth century.

As well as contributing to classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, Kimball established a highly graphic, idiosyncratic approach to animation alongside the studio's more recognizable storybook realism. In effect, Ward Kimball became the only animator to run his own in-studio production team largely outside of Walt Disney's direction.

Through Kimball, the studio developed a series of nonfiction animation programs in the 1950s that members of Congress pointed to as paving the way for NASA. The studio also allowed Kimball's work to abandon some ties to conventional animation, looking instead to high art and graphic design as a means of creating new animated forms, which resulted in films that received multiple Academy Award nominations and two awards.


About Todd James Pierce

Todd James Pierce, Orcutt, California, is the author of three books, including Newsworld, which won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. His work has appeared in over seventy magazines and journals, including the Harvard Review and the North American Review. He is a professor of literature at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on July 03, 2019

This is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Disney and the early years of animation and theme parks. Like with his previous novel, Three Years in Wonderland, Todd James Pierce avoids the obvious stories we have read a hundred times, and gives us a unique and forgotten perspective aro......more

Goodreads review by Alan on January 29, 2021

One of the most unique personalities to ever be a part of the Walt Disney Studio, Ward Kimball was a man of many interests. He had a love of art, trains, and music, and he was able to incorporate all of those into his life. Thanks to Todd James Pierce, you get to learn about one of Disney's "Nine Old......more

Goodreads review by Alex on March 04, 2019

This book is a great examination on the life of Ward Kimball. You really begin to appreciate the influence that Ward had on the studio. It is interesting that his hobbies away from work are parts of his life that get equal or even more attention than his animation. It shows how he sometimes did not......more

Goodreads review by Macaela on April 19, 2023

I don't know much about the animators from Disney. And to start with Ward Kimball makes me wonder if they were all a little odd. Ward had a lot of passions and at times was able to merge them together with his work. He became close to Walt Disney, even if they clashed about certain things. For someo......more

Goodreads review by Libbie on February 07, 2022

I really love untold Disney history, and this really enhanced my recent trip to Disney World. This book encouraged me to watch more documentaries on the Nine Old Men, and gave me a greater understanding of how far Disney has come from the past.......more