Animation-Books.com, in association with ANiMATO!, the animation magazine,
has announced the results of an internet poll of the best animation books
of all time, and THE ILLUSION OF LIFE: DISNEY ANIMATION by Frank Thomas and
Ollie Johnston tops the list. While the list may be biased toward more
recent, easily available English publications, few would argue that this,
for once, is a solid list, and every title belongs in one's animation
library. According to Animation-Books.com, "Polling for the
Animation-Books/ANiMATO list of the 10 Greatest Animation Books was
conducted via email votes during the summer of 1999. Voters included
animators, animation historians, authors, professors, and booksellers, with
many of these same voters recognized as members of the Society for
Animation Studies (SAS) or ASIFA. Votes were received from North America,
South America, Europe and Australia. A majority of the voters speak English
as their first language or are residents of the United States, certainly a
factor in the prevalence of American titles in the top ten, though a great
deal of votes from outside the US were, in fact, cast for American books,
reflecting a bias that is apparently not exclusively American. Voters were
asked to submit ten votes in ranked order. Poll results were tabulated by
Tom Klein, editor of Animation-Books.com, and Patrick Duquette, editor of ANiMATO magazine." The
results follow. For more information, including a list of all the books
mentioned by pollsters, visit
www.animation-books.com .
1. THE ILLUSION OF LIFE: DISNEY ANIMATION (1981) by Frank Thomas and Ollie
Johnston
2. OF MICE AND MAGIC (1980) by Leonard Maltin
3. HOLLYWOOD CARTOONS (1999) by Michael Barrier
4. CARTOONS: 100 YEARS OF CINEMA ANIMATION (1994) by Giannalberto Bendazzi
5. BEFORE MICKEY (1982) by Donald Crafton
6. CARTOON ANIMATION (1994) by Preston Blair
7. TALKING ANIMALS AND OTHER PEOPLE (1986) by Shamus Culhane
8. WALT IN WONDERLAND (1992) by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman
9. WINSOR MCCAY: HIS LIFE AND ART (1987) by John Canemaker
10. TEX AVERY: KING OF CARTOONS (1975) by Joe Adamson
RUNNERS UP:
ANIMATED CARTOONS (1920) by Edwin G. Lutz
THE ANIMATION BOOK (1979) by Kit Laybourne
ART IN MOTION: ANIMATION AESTHETICS (1998) by Maureen Furniss
THE ART OF WALT DISNEY (1942) by Robert D. Feild
BEFORE THE ANIMATION BEGINS (1996) by John Canemaker
EMILE COHL, CARICATURE, AND FILM (1990) by Donald Crafton
EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION: ORIGINS OF A NEW ART (1976) by Robert Russett and
Cecile Starr
FELIX: THE TWISTED TALE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS CAT (1991) by John Canemaker
THE FLEISCHER STORY (1976) by Leslie Cabarga
LOONEY TUNES & MERRIE MELODIES (1989) by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald
Most of these as well as other animation-related texts are available in the
AWN Store .
