Jeff Heimbuch

IT'S KIND OF A CUTE STORY is a very appropriate title for this book. It is rather a cute story. Several of them, in fact.

Rolly Crump is a Disney Legend and very talented artist who worked with Disney at various times in his career. In this book, he tells stories about what it was like to work with Walt, as well as his experiences with other Disney Legends, Marion Knott (of Knott's Berry Farm), the Cousteau Society, and even the sultan of Oman!

It is fascinating to read about Rolly's experiences in this book. (There's also an audio companion,More Cute Stories, Volume 1, where you can listen to Rolly tell even more stories. I haven't listened to this yet, but I own the CD and will be enjoying it soon.) My favorite part, though, is reading the story and seeing the artwork that he's talking about side by side. He is an amazing artist. His work spans a variety of styles (and not all of it will appeal to everyone, to be sure), but if you've been to Disneyland then I can assure you that you've seen Rolly's work. Heck, if you've even SEEN pictures of Disneyland there's a 90% chance that some of what you saw was Rolly's. (The Enchanted Tiki Room and it's a small world are some of his most well-known collaborations.)

Because of the artwork, I would recommend getting a physical book. In addition to the book version, I have also purchased the Kindle version. I was having trouble actually reading the book, because every time I picked it up I would get distracted by the art and not read the text. The pictures were less distracting on the eBook version. However -- they look so much better in print than on the screen. Having the two together makes a nice pairing. I can focus on the text with the one version, and get absorbed in the pictures with the other.

Of the stories themselves, it should be no surprise that my favorites are those featuring Walt Disney. It is a true pleasure to hear stories about Walt-the-man instead of Walt-the-myth. Walt Disney was a great man, but he was a man and I love hearing stories from one of the men who worked with him about what that was like. I hope Rolly tells even more cute stories. It has been a wonderful experience to read the stories he's told so far.… (mehr)