Introduction

I first became hooked on Disney when I was very young, visiting my grandparents who lived in what to me was the “Big City” while Mum was ill. They always encouraged me to look at the local paper and choose a film I’d like to watch at one of the many cinemas.. Disney seemed to feature very regularly, and as a result I started collecting British Disney comics with my pocket money.

At the age of 15, devastation! I received the ultimatum that my comic collection was too big and had to go. I cut out any film information and articles on Disneyland, etc., and began a scrapbook, which grew into my collection.

At college I needed to choose a subject for my history thesis and managed somehow to convince the history department that my title Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Story of a Revolution would be worth writing. It certainly was for me: when other students emerged sweating and drained from interviews with a renowned English historian, my own interview consisted of his memories of going to see the film on its first release in England. I was asked no questions about the subject, and passed with flying colors!

As a primary school teacher I loved mathematics and puzzles and so combined my interests when part of a British Disney enthusiasts club, creating the competition pages, and this book has really stemmed (25 years later) from that experience. Puzzles have always gone well during my talks on Disney history.

The films and themes chosen are primarily for my own enjoyment, but I have tried to find some things that help tell at least a little of the history of Disney as you work through the book. My apologies if I have left out your own particular favorite.

My thanks go to my fellow Bob at Theme Park Press for believing in the book idea, to fellow Disney enthusiast and historian Brian Sibley for spending some not inconsiderable time letting me know when my trivia may be urban myth rather than fact, and especially to my wonderful, long-suffering wife Pat, who indulged my spending hours in my office creating this, rather than spending it with her.