The precedents for this book
go way back for me. Not only is it one in a series of Walt Disney Story Books
that included the fabled Donald Duck Sees South America, but parts of it
were also reprinted in Walt Disney’s Story Land, which was an ancient family
resource in the Long-Ago Days. I only became fully aware of its existence as
its own entity quite recently, and now I have my own copy.
It is in pretty good shape
for a 78-year-old kids’ book. It was printed by the D. C. and Heath Company
long before Disney had its own publishing arm. The illustrations were drawn and
painted as animation cells by the Disney Studios before being printed in the book
and have an unusually clean and crisp (not to mention colorful) appeal. As you
can see from the cover above, this version of Mickey was drawn during the
period when they were experimenting with three-dimensional ears.
The story has Mickey,
Minnie, Donald, and Pluto going on a circuitous trip to ‘see the USA.’ While Mickey
loves to spout facts from his guidebook, Minnie is more concerned with the
domestic arrangements in their camper trailer, and Donald gets up to all sorts
of hijinks while Pluto dashes around and causes complication as any pet on
a trip would. Their trip includes a visit to Washington, D. C., and the President
(who at the time the book was being prepared was almost certainly FDR) is
described vaguely enough to fit any President. Everywhere they go they are
recognized as Hollywood stars, and it is known that they work at Disney
Studios. In fact, the book ends when they are called back as the company wants
to make a film of their adventures.
There are several elements
that would make the book problematic today. There is some subtle American
boosterism, quite necessary as it came out while WWII was still on. There is
some hunting and fishing, which might be viewed as ecologically insensitive.
There are some mild portrayals of Chinese Americans and Native Americans which, though
positive, might be seen as stereotypical in the modern world.
But overall the book is a bright, encouraging look at a nation at a certain period, accentuating the positive and trying to make children more familiar with their sprawling country, its history, and the people in it, and doing it in an amusing way. It’s going right on my shelf next to Donald Duck Sees South America.
No comments:
Post a Comment