Walt Disney's Cinderella (Reissue) (Walt Disney's Classic Fairytale) Hardcover – Picture Book, January 27, 2015

This unexpectedly powerful version of the Disney Cinderella story may simply amaze you. Visually, it adapts concept art by Mary Blair--who was central to the look of Disney's feature films of Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, and of his Small World exhibit.These are not the final images as seen in Disney's film, but more expressionistic and primitive, freer, moodier, rougher, more startling. As art, they stand firmly on their own: extreme contrasts, dramatic compositions, surprising color combinations. (I think these pages would be fascinating to very young artists working with their own very free hands and their own exuberant experiments with color.) Blair's paintings capture and freeze moments of heightened feeling and thought and movement as only a brilliant artist can.It's so interesting to play these images against those we have in memory from the film and to note how the concept paintings set the image and tone, but also how very powerful they are alone: a small square of bright sunlight warms the wall of a cold dark hallway where a young girl stands waiting--a lesson in mood, color, composition, and visual storytelling. And so is every page.The storytelling itself is equally fine--a sublime, wise, rich, moving text by Cynthia Rylant. Beautiful unexpected turns of phrase surprise again and again. This is writing of the highest order. And it is perfectly IN place here--in this ageless work of art to which children and adults will return again and again."This is a book about Love." It is also clearly a labor of love for all concerned: note the interplay of text printed always against perfectly chosen colors that coordinate with the facing art (Make a game of this after the tenth rereading: "Why do you think they chose THIS color here?"), and the back dust jacket which hides (don't forget to peek) a different illustration altogether.This is a beautiful book--one that might lead parents at some point to talk to children about editors, and artists, and designers, and poets, and about how great books are made.

Love this book-the art work is beautiful. Perfect for my collection.

This is a lovely book, filled with beautiful illustrations. We all know the story - we're here for Mary Blair, who is finally receiving the recognition / renaissance she deserves for her distinctive skills as a designer and innovator at the Walt Disney Studios.One wonders who else worked for years without glory or suitable pay that the Disney Studios will bring to our attention in the future. We're fortunate that Disney has produced an entire book out of concept drawings - rather than simply including a few in "the making of Cinderella" or some other publication. This is truly a work of art. I can't wait to see if there is more in the Mary Blair vault.As such, although this may be a difficult book for younger children to handle (the pages are large and tear easily) this is a book I think all will treasure.

There's something about Cinderella that makes it a story people want to tell over and over again. And even though it's not the greatest story ever told (in my humble opinion) I still feel drawn to it and have collected a dozen different versions of it in print or on film. I can honestly say that this is one of the best - even better than the film that the artwork was made for. The pictures are simply stunning. Mary Blair was a genius, and her art is delightful. Even if her illustrations were the only thing to recommend this book (as it can be with many gorgeously illustrated fairy tales), they would be enough to put this version at the top of my list. But they're not! Cynthia Rylant's prose is so heart-wrenchingly simple and lovely that I can't help but get misty eyed when I read it. This is definitely not your average Cinderella adaptation. Perfect for collectors and children alike.

Wow! I have never seen a kids' picture book with this much sophistication. Though it's published by Disney, it does not have the typical Disney text or use the company's well-known Cinderella artwork. Instead, it retells the famous fairy tale in a spare, evocative style, and illustrates it with the 1950s watercolors that artist Mary Blair created as conceptual pieces for the animators of the classic film.Here's how it describes when Cinderella meets the Prince at the ball: "How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He finds her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows."The artwork is remarkable. Blair was Disney's best artist, known for her abstract interpretations that used white as their focal points. These paintings, each understated yet dramatic, represent some of her best work. I can't do them justice with words.A good companion book, by the way, is .

Love Mary Blair, love Cinderella, it's a whimsical dream of a book that is just so beautiful - especially with the art on the bigger pages

The best thing about this book is that it is full of concept art for Disney's CINDERELLA by Mary Blair. Mary Blair is perhaps best known as the designer of the IT'S A SMALL WORLD ride at Disneyland theme parks, but she was a key concept artist at Disney for all of the 1940s. She came back from time to time to work on certain projects including various duties with the theme parks. Here concept art helped to inspire the animators and her greatest influence is in the films ALICE IN WONDERLAND, PETER PAN and CINDERELLA. Her art work is so delightful and having a collection of Mary Blair's work all in one book is a treasure. The text of the story is simplistic and designed for a pre-school level of understanding. Buy it for the art of Mary Blair.

I'm not a HUGE fan of princess books BUT, this version of Cinderella is beautifully and simply retold as a story about love and belonging. But the real magic here are Mary Blair's gorgeous concept drawings. She worked for Disney and did all the original art for the movie. So if you are raising little feminists, it's a great way to satisfy their cravings for fantasy, while teaching them they can grow up to be so much more than a Princess.

This is a book with gorgeous images! I love the cover and it will make a great decor piece, I may even cut a few images out of the book and frame them.

beautiful illustrations!

Il libro è arrivato nei tempi previsti e in perfette condizioni. La descrizione corrisponde ottimamente all'articolo, che ha soddisfatto pienamente le mie aspettative.

Es una edición muy delicada con ilustraciones preciosas. Apta para niños pero también para adultos coleccionistas que amen el mundo de los cuentos de hadas y la ilustración.

The pictures are very beautiful and very much what I wished for. It was a gift for a friend of mine who is a collector of Cinderella, and even he was surprised by the quality of the pictures.