The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
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The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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Premiering in 1928, Steamboat Willie was the first of Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons to feature sound, which helped to launch the character's phenomenal career. Unlike other cartoons of the time where sound served simply as a background to the action, both music and sound effects were essential to the film's structure and visual rhythm. The clever animal concert (in which Mickey plays a cow's teeth like a xylophone and transforms a nursing sow into a bagpipe) illustrates Disney's ability to successfully blend sight and sound, so that neither element dominates the other. It also anticipates the complex musical sequences, featured in later films like Fantasia, which transformed the art of animation and became key to Disney's financial success.
Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York, McGraw-Hill Company, 1980.
Schickel, Richard. The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney. New York, Simon and Schuster: 1968.
Watts, Steven. The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.