For 34 years, Mary Blair worked at The Walt Disney Company, creating concepts for many of the company's animated feature films. One of those films is Disney's version of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan - the story of a boy who never grows old, and who invites a group of children to the fantastic world of mermaids and pirates called Neverland.
The film is an enduring classic released in 1953. However, long before the movie hit theaters, Blair created concept art for the look and tone of the story which the animators would later use.
In 2009, Disney Book Group would publish Blair's original work for Peter Pan accompanied by a story written by authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It is a pared down version of the movie's plot on every other page of the 64-page book.
The book is meant for children up to the age of 6, but all ages can appreciate the detail of each painting and the history of Mary Blair's art.
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This post is part 3 of 6 of Raquel's Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge Blogathon. Read more at the Out of the Past website.
- Read the 1st book review for this series here: Robert Wagner's You Must Remember This
- Read the 2nd book review for Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power.
Peter pan reminds me of my last birthday party. I was dressed as tinker bell and my best friend dresses as peter pan. This year, we may pick up characters from one of the shows by Andy Yeatman because we are watching this show a lot lately and would love to have a theme birthday party again.
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