Read if you: Are a Disney fan, interested in entertainment history, or just want a fabulous read about incredible women..

For many of us, no matter our nationality, age, or ethnicity, Disney movies were a staple in our childhood and can serve as a connection between the generations. From 1937's Snow White, 1950's Cinderella, 1991's Beauty and the Beast, and 2013's Frozen, Disney's animated feature films have been loved, criticized, analyzed, and reintroduced to new audiences over the years. And is any first-time trip to Disney complete without enduring the dreaded earworm that is "It's a Small World?" These movies (and attraction) would not have been possible without the groundbreaking work of female Disney animators, art directors, screenwriters, and visionaries. Their little known stories are brought to life through the brilliant writing of Nathalia Holt, who tells of their dreams, accomplishments, heartbreaks, struggles, and triumphs in this extraordinary read. After learning of the astonishing Mary Blair's anguish poured out in the "Baby Mine" scene from Dumbo, Ellen Woodbury's hilarious creation of Zazu in The Lion King, Brenda Chapman becoming the first woman to win the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar for Brave (and dedicating her win to her daughter), and Jennifer Lee organizing a women's only "Sister Summit" for Disney employees to discuss the bonds and difficulties of sisterhood during the creation of Frozen, you will be tempted to run through the highlights of the Disney canon in order to see these movies with fresh eyes (even the ones you might view as problematic, like Cinderella, or emotionally fraught, like Bambi). Holt does not shy away from discussing racial stereotypes in Song of the South and Peter Pan, so this is definitely not fan service. It is filled with stories of fascinating women who broke down barriers, overcame obstacles, and made their marks on entertainment history.


Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Netgalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am in awe of the work that women have put into the Disney films since the very beginning. This book laid out such an interesting story of how women shaped animation and how tirelessly they worked for such little recognition.

At times I found the timeline hard to follow as sections tended to follow certain projects or women to the end and then would jump many years back to do the same with something else. I absolutely loved learning about the women that shaped animation though and I can't wait to go back and rewatch the classic Disney movies to see the scenes that so many women once worked on.

I always find it so inspiring to learn about the women that paved the way for so many others in the world and this book had so many interesting stories to learn about.

I think this story needed to be told before those who know about these events are no longer able to tell about them. It was definitely a difficult story to hear but I am glad I read it.

I was interested in the biography aspects of lesser known employees at Walt Disney Studio in the early years. But what we have here is a book with an agenda so thick, that this isn't a biography so much as a platform to scream "white men are pigs." The women (and non white-males) are made out to be god's gift to the world (read: angelic and perfect and supremely talented) while the (obviously Caucasian) men either refuse to do work, jeer at everyone, go to parties, create the worst aspects of Disney films, or have special 'club' areas that no one else can attain so they can lounge/do nothing. The irony to me is that this book is the exact same thing is purports to abhor: it's just as one dimensional in its thinking at the misogynistic/racist men its lambasting. I want a biography, not a soap box that overglorifies its subjects into absolute sainthood and turns every one else into cartoonish oafs.

Kudos to the women and non-white males who had to work in the Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s-1960s and deal with so many obstacles. I would have liked to have read their stories but the focus in this book is solely on misogyny and racism aspects of the Walt Disney Studios. The 'biographies' here are just props and so over-exaggerated as to be non believable. The irony for me is that I consider myself a liberal female and even I could not stop rolling my eyes through it all.

“The rise of women in the workplace, no matter what side of the world it occurred on, was frightening to some men, and they approached the perceived threat much as toddlers would a monster under the bed — by crying about it.”

Nathalia Holt’s book tells the story of the women who helped shape the early days of Disney Studios and its projects. Before reading this, I only knew about Mary Blair, but was very excited to learn about other women, including Bianca Majolie, Sylvia Holland, and Retta Scott. Their stories were eye-opening, to say the least. Their contributions to Disney films such as Snow White, Bambi, Cinderella, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Peter Pan and even Saludos Amigos are criminally understated and unknown. I would go so far as to say that these works wouldn’t have existed without the talent and creativity of these women. These queens of animation had incredible hurdles to overcome, including pay inequity and their male coworkers stealing their ideas, but they persisted and helped make the studio into what it is.

Reading about the horrors of sexism and misogyny that they had to endure was especially harrowing. One incident that stood out was when Holt detailed at time that Majolie brought up one of her ideas at a storyboarding meeting, and Disney disliked the idea so much that he ripped up her sketches. The other men in the meeting began jeering at her, and Majolie ran out of the room and locked herself in her office. The men followed, eager to hurl further abuse at her, and actually broke down her wooden office door to yell at her some more. Disney reportedly said of the incident that it was one of the reasons that the studio shouldn’t hire women, as they couldn’t take ‘a little criticism.’

The Queens of Animation is an ambitious, engrossing book, covering aspects of Disney Studios history that many, including myself, would be unaware of. World and domestic politics, World War II, efforts to unionize, the shifting role of women in society and the workforce, money, segregation and racism… So much contributed to the path that Disney Studios took with its early work.

Holt also forces the reader to confront uncomfortable truths about many of those involved with Disney Studios, from artists and animators complacency in the face of racism and misogyny to Walt Disney himself. A moment that resonated with me was when Holt questions whether Mary Blair, a favorite of Disney’s, could have utilized her privilege to speak out more on the racism inherent in Song of the South, one of if not the most controversial Disney pieces. This made for compelling if tough reading, and I’m thankful for Holt bringing attention to social justice issues as well as the women who helped shape Disney Studios and its classics.

The Queens of Animation will be released on October 22, 2019.

Not only is this an interesting book, I think it's a very important one. These are histories that I have not been able to read in any other book I have read about the history of animation, Walt Disney, or film more generally. I think Nathalia Holt does a wonderful job at bringing these women to life and highlighting their skills that have made some of the most well-known animated films possible.