Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in its Golden Age (Michael Barrier, 1999, Oxford University Press)
For years the definitive history of
the American
animated film was Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic.
Barrier's volume may have supplanted it, although in truth each book
has
its own virtues: Maltin offers wider breadth and a more neutral,
detached
view; Barrier digs deeper, is more opinionated, but neglects some
areas.
Hollywood Cartoons is strongest in its coverage of the Disney
studio,
where Barrier's incredibly detailed research (including interviewing
many
major participants over several decades) is further complemented by the
Disney studio's devotion to archival material: Barrier is able to offer
an account of the making of Snow White that at times gets down
to individual meetings. Barrier is a critical writer, and as with
anyone
who is highly intelligent and strongly opinionated, this occasionally
gets
infuriating. Yet there is no doubt that Barrier's incisive,
intellectual
and empirical approach has raised the bar for writing on animation.
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