Serious Business: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story

Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag...
Review: "Serious Business" is generally a good book, though with a few major flaws. It distinguishes itself by providing not only an overview of the history of cinematic animation in the US, but also places the rise and fall of animation in a historical and cultural context. It gives a clearer picture of how the politics and economics of the times influenced and steered not only the creation and content of animated pictures, but also the business aspects as well.

On the plus side, Kanfer does indeed delve beyond the standard name-and-dates syndrome of other animation histories. He attempts to provide a broad overview of the early years of animation and how non-Disney studios were to eventually fall to the Mouse. When focused, Kanfer's writing is extremely engaging and his accounts of the various political maneuverings are facsinating.

Unfortunately, Kanfer attempts to squeeze too much into to little space. One could easily see this book being twice the size it is now. As such, the very aspects one wants to explore most - how such things as economics, war, race and politics in America effected animation - are never really fleshed out for any given studio/cartoon beyond a few pages, or paragraphs. Significant space is given to Disney's story (perhaps deservedly so), but I would've liked to learn more about 'outsider' studios as well.

Kanfer also has a habit of not staying focused in his chapters and bouncing suddenly from place to place. It doesn't make the book unreadable by any means, but it does distract from the over-all flow of the narritave.

All in all though, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a general historical overview of animation.

Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag...
Review: "Serious Business" is generally a good book, though with a few major flaws. It distinguishes itself by providing not only an overview of the history of cinematic animation in the US, but also places the rise and fall of animation in a historical and cultural context. It gives a clearer picture of how the politics and economics of the times influenced and steered not only the creation and content of animated pictures, but also the business aspects as well.

On the plus side, Kanfer does indeed delve beyond the standard name-and-dates syndrome of other animation histories. He attempts to provide a broad overview of the early years of animation and how non-Disney studios were to eventually fall to the Mouse. When focused, Kanfer's writing is extremely engaging and his accounts of the various political maneuverings are facsinating.

Unfortunately, Kanfer attempts to squeeze too much into to little space. One could easily see this book being twice the size it is now. As such, the very aspects one wants to explore most - how such things as economics, war, race and politics in America effected animation - are never really fleshed out for any given studio/cartoon beyond a few pages, or paragraphs. Significant space is given to Disney's story (perhaps deservedly so), but I would've liked to learn more about 'outsider' studios as well.

Kanfer also has a habit of not staying focused in his chapters and bouncing suddenly from place to place. It doesn't make the book unreadable by any means, but it does distract from the over-all flow of the narritave.

All in all though, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a general historical overview of animation.

Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag...
Review: "Serious Business" is generally a good book, though with a few major flaws. It distinguishes itself by providing not only an overview of the history of cinematic animation in the US, but also places the rise and fall of animation in a historical and cultural context. It gives a clearer picture of how the politics and economics of the times influenced and steered not only the creation and content of animated pictures, but also the business aspects as well.

On the plus side, Kanfer does indeed delve beyond the standard name-and-dates syndrome of other animation histories. He attempts to provide a broad overview of the early years of animation and how non-Disney studios were to eventually fall to the Mouse. When focused, Kanfer's writing is extremely engaging and his accounts of the various political maneuverings are facsinating.

Unfortunately, Kanfer attempts to squeeze too much into to little space. One could easily see this book being twice the size it is now. As such, the very aspects one wants to explore most - how such things as economics, war, race and politics in America effected animation - are never really fleshed out for any given studio/cartoon beyond a few pages, or paragraphs. Significant space is given to Disney's story (perhaps deservedly so), but I would've liked to learn more about 'outsider' studios as well.

Kanfer also has a habit of not staying focused in his chapters and bouncing suddenly from place to place. It doesn't make the book unreadable by any means, but it does distract from the over-all flow of the narritave.

All in all though, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a general historical overview of animation.

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not a great one.
Review: A good read, but not the great book it could have been. It could easily have been twice as long. Early chapters are strongest. Strong on Disney. Would like to have seen more on Looney Tunes

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not a great one.
Review: A good read, but not the great book it could have been. It could easily have been twice as long. Early chapters are strongest. Strong on Disney. Would like to have seen more on Looney Tunes

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and stunning!
Review: I believe in the every growing rate of sophistication in our country and I'm sure with books like this we can take our government more seriously

Rating:
Summary: Great intro to American animation history!
Review: Well written, concise survey of American animation history. The only slights are that he doesn't have much to say on non-Disney animated efforts of the past decade, especially television animation, and that too many pages praise the horrendous UPA 'toons. Otherwise, this is a great intro to a neglected sector of American culture. If you want to learn about cartoons without buying a separate book on each major company, this should be your choice