Going to Comic-Con 2005? Look for Floyd Norman and his new book, How the Grinch Stole Disney

Published July 11, 2005

By C. W. Oberleitner

Christmas has come early this year in the form of a hilarious new book by former Disney artist and animator Floyd Norman. How the Grinch Stole Disney is a hilarious look inside America's most dysfunctional multimedia conglomerate. Even casual fans of Disney and what the name Disney once meant to original, quality entertainment will get a kick out of this insider's look at the rise, fall, rise, and slide of the House of Mouse.

Few artists and animators can claim to have worked for a more diverse collection of bosses than Floyd Norman. From Walt and Roy O. Disney to Card Walker and Ron Miller, Frank Wells, Michael Eisner, Robert Iger, and even a brief stint at Pixar working with and for John Lassiter and Steve Jobs, Floyd has lent his considerable talents to them all.

Fortunately for all of us, like any good artist, Floyd kept his sketchbook by his side throughout all those years. More to the point, he also kept his wits and razor sharp wit with him as well—a fact that readers of his two previous collections of wry observations from inside the Mouse House, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side to the Art of Animation and Son of Faster! Cheaper!, can readily attest to.

Now just in time for Comic-Con 2005, which kicks off this coming Thursday, July 14 at the San Diego Convention Center, Floyd is back with his latest, angriest, and funniest look yet inside the company once known as the trendsetting world leader in the field of animation.

How the Grinch Stole Disney, subtitled Making money and mayhem inside the Magic Kingdom, moves out of Disney's once-fabled animation studios and into the corridors of power and behind the closed doors of the Disney Company's executive suites. In many ways, the slim 128-page book is like an illustrated companion piece to James B. Stuart's earlier scathing look at the Mouse House, DisneyWar.

Soon to retire Disney CEO Michael Eisner has called DisneyWar a complete "fantasy" and accused its author of dreaming up most of the book's contents. If that's true, then Floyd Norman has been having some of the same dreams. How the Grinch Stole Disney is full of laugh-out-loud sight gags illustrating many of same "horror stories" from the past decade of the Disney Company's often unique style of management.

When asked if perhaps he and Stuart had crossed paths and compared notes during Stuart's time inside the company researching DisneyWar, Norman said, "No, I never met the author of DisneyWar, though the book was an interesting read. I found much of what was in the book dead on."

As you might imagine, Eisner, just as he does in Stuart's book, does not come off very well in Grinch. This time, though, his exploits and foibles are a lot funnier. "I'm amazed at how he (Floyd Norman) captures that often vacant and far-off look in Michael's eyes," said one former Disney employee. "So often he (Eisner) speaks, and you get the feeling he's someplace else entirely. This book really captures that."

You would be wrong, however, to assume that this book is a disgruntled ex-animator's way of getting back at the boss.

Like Stuart, Norman gives Eisner his due, acknowledging the amazing transformation of Disney from minor league player worth $2 billion to today's mega-major media powerhouse estimated to be worth nearly $65 billion.

"I had a front row seat during Eisner's reign at Disney," said Norman. "From the day he arrived—until now. In many ways he was good for the company—and in many ways he was bad.

Norman goes on to say, "I sure don't dislike the guy as a man—although toward the end he sure annoyed me. What he did to Disney animation was horrible, and I'll never forgive him for that. But to be balanced, he's not the devil, even though I sometimes portray him that way."

If there's anything wrong with How the Grinch Stole Disney, it's that it won't be that easy to get your hands on a copy of it.

"I usually leave the book-selling to my partner, Leo Sullivan," Norman said. "I really hate that part of publishing anyway. Once the book is done, I turn the whole thing over to Leo."

Norman just missed having Grinch ready in time to secure his own both at Comic-Con 2005. His plan now is to join Stuart Ng Booksellers at this week's Comic-Con in San Diego (booth 5013). He said if you catch him there, he'd be glad to give out autographs with each copy of the book.

If you can't make it to Comic-Con, you can order a copy of How the Grinch Stole Disney, along with Floyd's two previous books, from Afrokids.com.

[Links appear at the end of this column.—Editor]

Floyd Norman began his cartooning career while still in high school as an assistant to the artists of Archie Comics. He attended the Art Center College of Design as an illustration major. He began his career at the Walt Disney studio as an animation artist on Sleeping Beauty. After joining the story department at Disney animation, he did story sketch work on The Jungle Book, the last animated film personally supervised by Walt Disney.

During his career, Floyd was also a writer-director in the production of educational media at Vignette Films, Inc., one of the first companies to produce films on the subject of African-American history. He has also produced animated segments for PBS's Sesame Street and Villa Alegre. As a supervising animator, he also worked for Hanna-Barbera Productions on such shows as The Flintstones, Smurfs, and Scooby Doo.

Floyd returned to Disney in the '80s to join the Disney Publishing Group. There he wrote the syndicated Mickey Mouse comic strip and contributed stories to Disney comics. He returned to Walt Disney Feature Animation (WDFA) to story board The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Dinosaur, and The Tigger Movie. In 1997, he was asked to join the story crews working on Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California.

Despite being "retired," Floyd Norman's knowledge and expertise is still much in demand. He has answered the call to consult and work on projects such as Imagine Entertainment and NBC Universal Studios' upcoming animated feature film Curious George and WDFA's ToyStory 3.

All illustrations courtesy and copyright Floyd Norman from his new book
How the Grinch Stole Disney
Making money and mayhem inside the Magic Kingdom.

Referenced Sites:

Comic-Con 2005

Stuart Ng Booksellers

Afrokids.com

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