Photoplay Editions & Movie Tie-Ins
The Golden Years [1912-1969] ... Disney Films

In today’s world of high technology and Computer Generated  Imaging (CGI), animated films have evolved to the point of making it difficult to determine what is real on film or the result of a computer software product.

The Walt Disney Company has become a gargantuan factor in the movie industry, actually buying older established studios.  Let’s go back to a time for a few moments when Walt and Roy Disney ran the company and artists used their handiwork (actual hands at work) to produce classic animated films.

The production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the harbinger of numerous feature films and not the only title to borrow from the Brothers Grimm for story development.  Patrons leaving the theater found themselves singing “Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it’s home from work we go”.  The first publishers of this title Random House and British Collins are actively sought by collectors. These books are quite oversized with some color interior artwork.  There are some 45 film books for this film alone.  Disney had now moved from shorts with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the gang, to gain an audience share that appears to be exponential.

Pinocchio from the novel by Carlo Collodi, Fantasia (both 1940), and The Reluctant Dragon (1941 Dream Days) by Kenneth Grahame followed in short order with deluxe movie books.  The Reluctant Dragon animation is only a segment of this film with the remainder being a live-action tour of the Disney Studios.  Who can not be impressed with the wisdom of Jiminy Cricket?  Several Pinocchio tie-ins were published in 1939 preceding the film release and some 35 editions are available for this feature.  Pinocchio was the first animated feature to win an Academy Award despite being a financial bomb (due in part to a pending WW2).  A profit was cleared with the 1945 re-release and it’s been gravy ever since.  Classical music was a focus in Fantasia, with tie-ins providing the musical scores.  The oversized edition of Fantasia by Simon and Schuster is truly what some would call a ‘coffee table book’.  Walt was quick to capitalize on the paraphernalia for his films.  Toys, dolls, puzzles, books, clothing, etc. proliferated with most films.

Dumbo (1941) is the first of the early feature films to be remade being filmed in 2019 with a combination of live-action and CGI.  The original movie provided us with at least 12 film editions to read and enjoy.

Bambi in 1942 was another big hit for the studio and likely gave rise to some animal rights groups.  Bambi was also a big hit with book publishers with some 25 film editions out there for collectors today.

Disney had a film in production in 1943 that was never released to theaters but did see a film tie-in.  The Gremlins was a wartime propaganda effort and the story was the first published work by author Lt. Roald Dahl, who went on years later to give us Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  First Editions by Random House, Collins (UK), and Ayre & James (Australia) are expensive and prized by collectors of Disney or Dahl.

Song of the South (1946) gave us stories from Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris, that explored African-American folktales.  Br’er Fox and the Tar Baby created some controversy which has added to the collectability aspects.

The first film to be entirely live-action was Treasure Island in 1950, which ushered in numerous new ‘live’ films in addition to continuing animation.

Many early Disney film books in the United States were published by Simon and Schuster in their lines of Little Golden Books and Big Golden Books.  In the late 1950s, this publisher's emphasis was shifted to Golden Press.  They acquired reprint privileges and continue to this day in presenting new items.  Watch for the first Little Golden Book for Dumbo with a dust jacket!

Other Disney films of merit which spawned many movie tie-ins include Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Old Yeller (1957), Sleeping Beauty (1959), Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), Pollyanna (1960), 101 Dalmatians (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967).  Mary and Mowgli have each generated some 15 or more different movie editions.

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Last Revision:  May 6, 2021 10:53 AM