City Hall - Disneyland

 I needed a place to put this so I would remember and what better place than my blog :)
***I need to add my pictures

 The faux bookcase is located in City Hall, and can easily be overlooked. Examine each of the book titles and their authors, you will be surprised.
• Alice in Wonderland by The Hatter
• Cinderella by Drusilla / Anastasia
• Mickey Mouse by Disney
• Lillybelle by W. E. Disney
• Wonderful World of Color
• Hunchback of Notre Dame by Quasimodo
• Mary Poppins by The Banks
• Walt and You by Sidejas, Kimbrell (1)
• Pollyana by Polly Harrington
• The Real Little Mermaid by Scuttle
• Lambert the Sheepish Lion
by Peet, Wright & Banta (2)
• Aladdin by Abu
• Hercules by Megara
• Sleeping Beauty by Flora, Fauna and Merryweather
• Jungle Book by Mancub
• Pinocchio by J. Cricket
• 101 Dalmations by DeVille
• Beauty and the Beast by Cogsworth and Lumiere
• Snow White by Seven Authors
• Mulan by Mulan
• Peter Pan by The Lost Boys
• The Sign Painting Course by Matthews (3)

Let's take a look at some of the books you'll find in the bookcase at City Hall and what they might mean!

What's important to notice with these books is the author. In some cases, it might give us an interesting insight into the character and storyline. Imagine if the Hatter had written Alice in Wonderland?

I assume that this version of Cinderella by Drusilla and Anastasia tells quite a different tale.

We've got Mickey Mouse written by Disney and Lillybelle by W.E. Disney. Is Lillybelle a book about his wife or the engine from the Carolwood-Pacific? Could it be a reference to the private car on the Disneyland Railroad?

Lots of great titles in this section! Wonderful World of Color is a reference to the classic television show and by extension, the new fountain show at California Adventure.

Hunchback of Notre Dame by Quasimodo is pretty obvious.

The Banks wrote Mary Poppins. Of course, Mary Poppins is the nanny to the Banks family: George; Winifred; Jane; and Michael. I'd like to read what the different family members thought about the practically perfect Poppins.

Walt and You has two authors: Sidejas and Kimbrell. Ray Sidejas was the former operations manager for custodial services. Bruce Kimbrell is with the Disney Institute and wrote the Disney training program, Walt Disney and You.

Jane Wyman played Polly Harrington in the film (and book) Pollyanna. She was Pollyanna's aunt in the town of Harrington.

 It seems like Scuttle (definitely not a guppy) wrote this version of the Little Mermaid while Abu, the scene-stealing monkey penned Aladdin.

Lambert the Sheepish Lion, was a 1952 animated short that was written by Bill Peet, Ralph Wright and Milt Banta.

Hercules was penned by none other than Megara (hands down, she is my favorite Disney heroine).

Sleeping Beauty was written by Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, also known as the three good fairies.

Mancub wrote the Jungle Book. It's probably safe to assume that his tale is a little different from the published works and the animated feature.

J. Cricket wrote Pinocchio. It's probably safe to assume that he's no fool.

The last book in this section is 101 Dalmatians by DeVille. Her version might be a little spotty, though.

Cogsworth and Lumiere penned Beauty and the Beast. It's probably a tale as old as time, with some great banter.

Snow White was written by Seven Authors. Telling the story from seven different points a view was a spectacular idea; more authors should work together like this.  

The true autobiography on this shelf, Mulan was written by herself. It's a strong tale of heroes, family and love.

The Lost Boys talk about Peter Pan. It's an inspiring tale of never growing up and finding your marbles.

The last book is The Sign Painting Course by Matthews. This is a reference to a real book by author E.C. Matthews, who also wrote other titles about sign painting, animation and illustration in the late 1920s.

Eric Christian Matthews lived from 1892-1977. I would assume that his books were in the studio library and might have influenced the earliest animates shorts (title cards) and, quite possibly, the various windows throughout Disneyland.

The above article is titled "City Hall Reading" written by George Taylor and courtesy of MiceChat

(1) Ray Sidejas, Manager, Disneyland Custodial Guest Services Bruce Kibrell wrote Disney and You in-house Disney training handbook

(2) Lambert the Sheepish Lion - a 1952 Disney animated short, written by Bill Peet, Ralph Wright & Milt Banta. The 8-minute film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Short Subject, Cartoons.

(3) The Sign Painting Course is a real book by E.C. (Eric Christian) Mathews. He also wrote How to Draw Funny Pictures: A Complete Course in Cartooning.