The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History

The fantastic tales that illuminated theatres across the world for over eighty plus years by Walt Disney Animation are legendary. Characters appearing in luminescent landscapes, occasionally battling ferocious villains or navigating enigmatic wonderlands have been etched firmly in the minds of generations of children. However, the history of the animation has a black hole, specifically the huge role of women artists in their creation. The culture dominating the Disney Animation studios was male and misogynistic. The animation emerging from the studios buoyed downcast audiences suffering under the Great Depression.
Mickey Mouse was the first big draw for the studio with the release of “Steamboat Willie”.The women who labored in the studios under relentless scrutiny would make huge strides in creating Snow White to Fantasia….Bambi to Pinnochio and more. Snow White’s success emboldened Disney, yet follow-ups flopped at the box office, imperiling the future of the business. Women such as Bianca, Grace, Sylvia, Retta kept toiling, creating works of stellar beauty highlighting the screen, receiving scant credit. Passage of time would change this.

The Queens of Domination serves as an ode to pioneers of the pencil. Nathalia Holt relates the intermingling world of scores of women animators and the cross they bore. The work they left for millions to behold can’t be underestimated in assessing the history of Disney. Holt has done a service to those long gone but ultimately not forgotten.