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

Product Description

From the bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, the untold, “richly detailed” story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations (Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures).

From
Snow White to
Moana, from
Pinocchio to
Frozen, the animated films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions. But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under the radar for decades. 

In
The Queens of Animation, bestselling author Nathalia Holt tells their dramatic stories for the first time, showing how these women infiltrated the boys’ club of Disney’s story and animation departments and used early technologies to create the rich artwork and unforgettable narratives that have become part of the American canon. As the influence of Walt Disney Studios grew — and while battling sexism, domestic abuse, and workplace intimidation — these women also fought to transform the way female characters are depicted to young audiences.

With gripping storytelling, and based on extensive interviews and exclusive access to archival and personal documents,
The Queens of Animation reveals the vital contributions these women made to Disney’s Golden Age and their continued impact on animated filmmaking, culminating in the record-shattering
Frozen, Disney’s first female-directed full-length feature film.

A Best Book of 2019: Library Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and Financial Times

Review

“Nathalia Holt’s
richly detailed group biography
shines a welcome light on Disney’s true heroines–not the princesses on the screen, but the
talented female artists and writers working hard behind the scenes.
The Queens of Animation is also a crisp reflection on Hollywood’s charged and changing relationship with beauty, race and fame.”―
Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures

“Nathalia Holt has a deeper, more important motive for revisiting classics…Marshaling scrupulous research, the author makes the case for the role played by female studio employees in bringing to life those classic films…This book scores for telling us something new about the films we thought we knew so well.”
―
Peter Tonguette, Wall Street Journal

“Gripping, galvanizing reading… A beautifully sculpted narrative of hurtlingly fast pace… A bolt of pure reading delight that outdoes even Holt’s utterly winning earlier book
Rise of the Rocket Girls.”―
Steve Donoghue, Christian Science Monitor

“A gripping corrective… Few know of the company’s female virtuosi, who from the 1930s on injected nuance into characters from Bambi to a panoply of princesses.”
―
Barbara Kiser, Nature

“A
remarkable true story, unforgettably told…Holt has unearthed a
vivid, soaring, vitally important untold story of women’s contribution to technology, entertainment, and art.”―
Lisa Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls

“Sprightly…Holt, a science journalist and a popular historian, introduces us to a handful of women who worked on some of the classic Disney Studios films, spins them around, sprinkles some pixie dust, and has them take a bow.”
―
Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker

“Holt’s dedication to telling these women’s stories is palpable, narrating their personal histories as if the animators were characters themselves… if it weren’t for this book, their work might have gone ignored and overlooked forever.”
―
Rachel King, Fortune

“Readers who loved Nathalia Holt’s
Rise of the Rocket Girls will find so much to enjoy in this
deeply researched, loving celebration of Disney’s long-overlooked female pioneers. Holt evocatively blends social history, technological advances and the personal lives
of these forgotten artists to champion their achievements and their extraordinary