Rating: 
Summary: One of the BEST...
Review: Along with Shamus Culhane's "Talking Animals and Other People," the best book on the history of the HOLLYWOOD CARTOON (OK, ok--Fleischer was in New York--and Miami--but you get the idea). The book returns to Disney again and again as the standard (not the axis) of how these films were made and marketed. One of the best things about this book is something a lot of books seem to talk about, but few show as clearly: Disney's genius was the idea that CHARACTER and PERSONALITY go a lot further than slapstick, no matter how good. It's almost taken for granted nowadays--but the very idea was revolutionary at the time. Someone else may have eventually figured this out (and silence those who call this book "Disney-centric"), but Disney's was THE place to be in the early days of cartoon animation. I wish Mike Barrier would provide a companion book with illustrations cross referenced with this current book. And who's to say it's not in the works... (btw, stay away from Stephen Kanter's "Serious Business," another book on animation. Riddled with historic and contemporary innaccuracies, it's quite silly altogether...)
Rating:
Summary: The most authoritative book on the subject
Review: As an animator with more than a mild interest in the subject, I found the book to go beyond the history. It's the first book about animation to really delve into the ART of the medium. We see how the inventors of the medium are overtaken by the artists who are overtaken by the financiers. It's a magnificent book with absolute precision in its source material backed up by more than the usual number of interviews. It's not another promotional book for ANY studio. The coverage of Disney is greater because the focus is on the period when Disney built the medium. Anyone interested in the medium should read this.
Rating: 
Summary: In-depth, but a little Disney-centric
Review: As some of the previous reviews have stated, Barrier obviously feels that Disney was the most important thing to ever happen to animation. While that may be true, I would have liked to have seen a bit more coverage of the other studios. That being said, this is a great work which seems to present an objective view of all the big names in animation's golden age. Despite his focus on Disney, the author in no way glosses over his mistakes and personality faults. The one serious problem I have though, is the lack of pictures. There are many references to character design, layout, etc. which certainly call for an illustration. The absence of visual aids in a book about animation sticks out like a sore thumb. The one other complaint I have is the lack of a glossary. While someone knowledgeable in animation may have understood the more technical terms, there were several things talked about throughout the book which I didn't really have a good grasp on. I may have just missed the definitions in the text, but a glossary would certainly have been helpful. The inclusion of these two missing peices would have made this a five star book. As it is, I'll never be able to watch cartoons again without thinking a bit about the technical aspect.
Rating:
Summary: In-depth, but a little Disney-centric
Review: As some of the previous reviews have stated, Barrier obviously feels that Disney was the most important thing to ever happen to animation. While that may be true, I would have liked to have seen a bit more coverage of the other studios. That being said, this is a great work which seems to present an objective view of all the big names in animation's golden age. Despite his focus on Disney, the author in no way glosses over his mistakes and personality faults. The one serious problem I have though, is the lack of pictures. There are many references to character design, layout, etc. which certainly call for an illustration. The absence of visual aids in a book about animation sticks out like a sore thumb. The one other complaint I have is the lack of a glossary. While someone knowledgeable in animation may have understood the more technical terms, there were several things talked about throughout the book which I didn't really have a good grasp on. I may have just missed the definitions in the text, but a glossary would certainly have been helpful. The inclusion of these two missing peices would have made this a five star book. As it is, I'll never be able to watch cartoons again without thinking a bit about the technical aspect.
Rating:
Summary: Indepth and scholarly. This book is well researched
Review: Barrier gets about as close to the subject matter as possible. I enjoyed his FunnyWorld publication in the 1970's and he still does a fascinating job of getting to the details of the great animators in an easy to read style.
Rating:
Summary: A nice companion piece to OF MICE AND MAGIC
Review: Barrier's book meticulously traces the rise and fall of the medium sarting in its infancy and taking us up to the present... there are many gaps along the way; he obviously had access to practically everything in the Disney archives and has a fondness for the Warner Brothers' shorts, but the lesser-known studios whose remains have all but disapperared over the years aren't dealt with with the same indepth. The book is more like a series of individul essays and is not the definitive history, which still has yet to be written, but this is an ambitious attempt by a very knowledgeable writer. If you are REALLY into cartoons, then this is a must-read.-John Hayes
Rating:
Summary: Barrier's Tome, Decades-Long in the Making--Finally
Review: Beautiful, complete, if Disney-centric (but then again, that's the reality, isn't it?) epic of the much-maligned and still underappreciated Hollywood animated cartoon. Barrier leaves no stone unturned in this definitive scholarly thesis on his subject, as well he shouldn't: this thing has been in the works--on and off--for almost two decades. (Only one minor quibble: not enough stuff on the Jones-Clampett feud and other non-Disney political issues.) Animation scholars rejoice!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but often unfair to brilliant directors
Review: Books on the history of animation, especially the early ones, tend to fall into the trap of Disney-worshipping, which Barrier thankfully avoids. However, in his zeal to prove he is not Disney's lap dog, he unfairly bashes some of the studio's features (including one I consider on a par with the best of them, "Lady and the Tramp.") He gives the same slash-and-burn treatment to the Warner Bros. studio--Clampett, in his view, was apparently nothing more than a second-rate hack, when Clampett in fact hit a period of sheer brilliance in the early to mid forties. "Book Revue", "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery", "The Old Grey Hare" and "Baby Bottleneck" were all Clampett creations, and occupy many of the top slots in Jerry Beck's book "The Fifty Greatest Cartoons Ever." Barrier dismisses them all, as well as Clampett's abilities as a draftsman. I would say he is partial to Jones in his longtime feud with Clampett, but Jones falls victim as well. Still, it is worth reading if you like behind-the-scenes stories of the animation industry.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive look at a dying artform
Review: Covering much of the same ground as Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Magic, Hollywood Cartoons is packed with interesting insights and comments from both the author and those that participated in the creation of an American art form. Michael Barrier's exhaustively researched book covers the Golden Age of Hollywood animation and the movers and shakers that had an impact on the art form.At nearly 650 pages Barrier's book takes a fair balanced look at Disney, Warner Bros., Fleischer and other contributors to this dying art form. It's actually a perfect companion piece to the newely released boxed set of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes classics. Barrier avoids the Disney worship that marred other books of this type and, like Maltin's marvelous but less indepth book, he manages to point out the key contributions of the most important animation directors/producers of the era. While it does overlook or give only a cursory overview of some important figures in the industry, Barrier's scholarly aproach manages to recognize the merits and flaws of each studio, their system and directors. Although not as well illustrated as Maltin's book, the pictures do provide a glimpse of many of the essential classics that impacted the art of animation. Since much of the documentation for the creation of some of the early Warner classics are long gone, Barrier has to rely on many of the same sources and pictures as other authors. The book could have been improved if he had gone more to private collectors for rare animation cels, production photos, model drawings and notes. I also would have liked many of these illustrations to be reproduced in color. Seeing them in dark black and white illustrations does little justice to the artistry of these pioneers. Maltin's book was clearly the work of an informed fan; his approach focused on the creation of many of the important classics but didn't lose track of the fun in the finished product. Barrier's scholarly approach is a bit drier and doesn't quite communicate the excited of Maltin's less authoriative book on the same subject. It's still an important look at the pioneers of animation's Golden Age and, as such, should be read by those who love the shorts from the various eras examined here.
Rating:
Summary: A well written non-fiction story
Review: I bought this book on a whim and regretted it as I walked out of the shop, after all it was £25 and I'd already got the excellent "Of Mice & Magic" by Leonard Maltin. However once I started reading I found that this was a corker of a book. Mr Barrier has researched it very carefully and it is full of stories and vignettes that paint a remarkably colourful picture of life in the 1920s to 1950s when these cartoons were made. It's strongest feature over the Maltin book is that it deals with the story in a roughly chronological way so you get the feel of people moving around the industry in waves and often circles too. The odd thing is that at 600 pages it's too short! I get the feeling that there is a lot more interesting stuff to be told that there just wasn't room for but what is there is an excellent read. This deserves a place on any book shelf that supports good animation books.
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