I think you’re officially a Disney nerd when you consider park posters “art”. I just think the illustration style and design of these posters give so much personality. The creepy, foreboding color scheme of a Haunted Mansion poster shares almost nothing in common with the cotton candy cheer of a Dumbo poster – yet these two attractions coexist in the exact same park.
But if you’re like me and just running out of wall space to display all the art you love, I’ve got a solution.
PREMISE
Poster Art of the Disney Parks is a collection of posters, including attractions from parks around the world in many different art styles. You’ll see old favorites, new park features, and some classic imagery that will hit your nostalgia hard.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From the publisher:
Danny Handke is a senior creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering, where he is responsible for creating and developing stories and ideas for Disney parks and cruise ships from concept to completion. On the Disney Wish cruise ship project, Danny is leading the creative direction and story development for Worlds of Marvel, AquaMouse, Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure, Disney’s Oceaneer Club, and more. He has worked for The Walt Disney Company for eighteen years. His recent projects include Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! at Disney California Adventure, the integration of Marvel and Star Wars to Disney’s Oceaneer Club across the Disney Cruise Line fleet, and several blue sky projects for Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Hong Kong Disneyland. He is also coauthor of the first edition of Poster Art of the Disney Parks for Disney Editions. Danny was born in Highland Park, Illinois, and is a graduate of the Art Institute of Phoenix with a degree in Media Arts & Animation. He resides in Winter Garden, Florida, with his wife, Sachi, and daughter, Harley.
Vanessa Hunt is a Walt Disney Imagineer and a lifelong Disney aficionado. Her education is in art history, and she is part of the group responsible for the more than 160,000 pieces of original artwork preserved in the Walt Disney Imagineering Art Collection. She has been curator of several Imagineering exhibits featuring many of the works from the Art Library collection, and has consulted for The Walt Disney Family Museum. Vanessa is also the coauthor of the wildly popular Poster Art of the Disney Parks (2012) and Maps of the Disney Parks (2016) as well as the designer on Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (2019).
MY REVIEW
The book’s premise is too basic to offer much commentary – it’s exactly as advertised…a book of posters. It does a good job of grouping imagery together so it flows well flipping through the pages; I particularly like the page with all of Epcot’s country posters side by side.
The only “negative” I would have is that a few pages had a bit of a strange layout with a lot of blank space. But that’s honestly it. Anyone who enjoys Disney parks posters will love this book.
I only have a couple of Captain Eo posters, but really love some of the classic art-style posters of yesteryear, as well as some of the modern ones. Some friends of mine have a couple of beauties framed as works of art on the walls of their house… because ‘art’ is certainly what they are. I will definitely be checking out this book!