J.B. Kaufman's Exhibition Companion Book

With 2012 marking the 75th anniversary of Snow White, author J.B. Kaufman is treating fans to something extra special. In addition to The Fairest One of All, his forthcoming 320-page treatise on the making of the the film, he's also giving us a companion volume entitled Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film.

This second book features over 200 pieces of art from the new exhibition coming in November to the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco...

Both familiar and never-before-seen pieces from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library will walk the reader scene by scene through the movie, accompanied by behind-the-scenes stories about the film’s production. [amazon.com paraphrased description]

Front Dust Jacket

Title Page

I asked JB about this new book...

FILMIC LIGHT: JB, you have not one, but two Snow White books coming out this year. Why two?

JB KAUFMAN: We didn’t originally plan it that way. Believe it or not, when we first started working on The Fairest One of All, I don’t think it occurred to any of us that the film’s 75th anniversary was coming up. But as it turned out,the publishing timetable did coincide neatly with that anniversary, and that led to the idea of a special Snow White exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum, and that led to the idea of a separate, smaller book that would serve as an exhibition catalog. And we tried to put some real substance into it, so it could be published separately in a trade edition; and as a result we wound up with two different books on the same subject at the same time. I’m really happy with the way it worked out, because the two books are very different; each complements the other.

FM: How do they differ and complement each other?

JB: The Fairest One of All is meant to be a definitive history of the film, and it’s driven by the text. I’m very proud of the book’s design (I didn’t design it, so I can brag about that!), and it’s heavily and beautifully illustrated—the illustrations including some exciting rarities—but the images are chosen primarily to illustrate the text. The catalog is just the opposite: the art comes first and the book is sumptuously designed around it. The text is a supplement to that. I should add that the catalog does give a substantial account of the film’s production, and I’m happy to say that we included some drawings and paintings that were used to create specific effects, along with explanatory text to show how they were used. So, even with the same subject, the two books don’t duplicate each other. I’m very happy with the way they work together.

FM: What kinds of specific artwork do we see in the exhibition book?

JB: The works—everything from early concept art and story sketches through layout drawings, background paintings, animation drawings, and painted cels, to the finished cel setups used in the film. As the exhibition catalog, it reflects the exhibition itself, which is designed to illustrate the full range of production art that went into the making of a film as elaborate as Snow White.

Snow White on Stairs, p. 118.

Spell Book, p. 163.

Snow White's Glass Coffin, p. 230-231.

Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film
Approx. Dimensions: 9.5" x 10.75"
Pages: 256

Publisher: The Walt Disney Family Foundation Press
ISBN: 9781616284374
Release Date: October, 16, 2012
List Price: $35.00 (USD)

Rear Dust Jacket

With the completion of his two Snow White books, what's next for JB?

FM: Do you have any other Disney projects in the works?

JB: Yes, as a matter of fact I’m working on a followup book about the making of Pinocchio. As you can imagine, that’s a fascinating subject too! But it will take some time to finish it.