THE DISNEY BROS.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Disney brothers’ rise to success.

This graphic biography begins in 1928 Hollywood, when Walt Disney makes the bold decision that his fledgling studio will deal with distributors directly and retain ownership rights to their creations. Together with creative partner Ub Iwerks, Walt creates the character of Mickey Mouse and adds a soundtrack to their cartoon, an innovative feature at the time. While Walt continues to take creative risks and strive for the highest quality, his brother and business partner, Roy, manages the studio finances. As they gain rapid success during the early 1930s, Iwerks quits out of frustration with the lack of credit given to him as a creator. Progressive chapters reveal the brothers’ troubled childhoods on a farm in Missouri with an abusive father. Brief, rapid-fire vignettes relate Walt’s subsequent successes and innovations as well as professional and personal struggles, including protests by unionized workers and the tragic death of his mother. Less flattering aspects of his dealings with the likes of Nazi filmmakers and J. Edgar Hoover are hastily rendered, and readers who lack knowledge of the historical events may be confused. The cartoonlike illustration style feels suitable to the subject matter, however the choppy pacing and inconclusive attempts to probe the Disneys’ psyches may leave curious readers unsatisfied. Some comments, such as one regarding a Depression-era “job picking oranges that pays so bad even a one-eyed Mexican wouldn’t want it,” are presented without context or analysis.

An uneven ride through Disney history.