Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation

Written by Reid Mitenbuler

Narrated by Kevin R. Free

The vivid and untold story of the golden age of classic animation and the often larger-than-life artists who created some of the most iconic cartoon characters of the twentieth century

In 1911, the famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted an animated version of his popular newspaper strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland. Loosely inspired by Sigmund Freud’s research on
dreams, the film was one of the very first of its kind and astonishing for its time. McCay is largely forgotten today, but his work helped unleash the creative energy of animators like Otto Messmer, Max
Fleischer, Walt Disney, and Chuck Jones. Their origin stories, rivalries, and sheer genius, as Reid Mitenbuler skillfully relates, were as colorful and subversive as their creations—from Felix the Cat to
Bugs Bunny to feature films such as Fantasia—which became an integral part of American culture over the next five decades.

Before television, animated cartoons were often “little hand grenades of social and political satire” aimed squarely at adults as preludes to movies. Early Betty Boop cartoons included nudity.
Popeye stories slyly criticized the injustices of unchecked capitalism. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner were used to explore hidden depths of the American psyche. “During its first half-century,”
Mitenbuler writes, “animation was an important part of the culture wars about free speech, censorship, the appropriate boundaries of humor, and the influence of art and media on society.” During WWII
it also played a significant role in propaganda. The golden age of animation ended with the advent of television when cartoons were sanitized to appeal to a growing demographic of children and help advertisers sell sugary breakfast cereals.

Alongside these stories, Mitenbuler incorporates the surprising contributions of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), voice artist Mel Blanc, composer Leopold Stokowski, and many others whose talents
enriched the world of animation. Wild Minds is an ode to our lively past and to the creative energy that would inspire The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705008751

Reid Mitenbuler

Reid Mitenbuler is the author of Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey and Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation. His writing has appeared in Air Mail, The Atlantic, Slate, Saveur, and The Daily Beast, among other publications. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.ily Beast, and Whisky Advocate, among other publications. He lives with his wife and son in Los Angeles.

Reviews for Wild Minds

[Alan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book about animation. This talks about the main animation companies of the 20th century.

[pomo58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation by Reid Mitenbuler is both an entertaining and informative read. This will appeal to more than just those interested in cartoons or the graphic arts.In the past I have taken a couple of courses on comics and cartoons, as well as read several books, so I fully expected to enjoy this volume. What made it an especially good read was the writing. The vast majority of the book reads like a narrative, like a story. This shouldn't be as unusual as it is but such histories tend toward being episodic, and that doesn't really detract from those books. But making the book flow from event to event and personality to personality made it all seem so much more connected.While this will certainly appeal to those with an interest in cartoons during the first half of the 20th century primarily, it will also offer a great deal for those interested in American history as a whole. We often come to understand historic periods and events in a broad way. To cite an example that this book touches on, the Red Scare and HUAC hearings of the late 40s and 50s. Those interested in US history are familiar with both what happened and the fact that many innocent lives were harmed, livelihoods taken away just for personal political gain of those on the committees. This book illustrates in some detail how this particular industry, tied to but not quite (at the time) fully part of the Hollywood movie industry, was affected. How simply being for worker's rights could get you flagged by a vindictive studio head as a Communist, and even more so as an anti-American communist. This is just one aspect of the larger picture of US history that this specific industry history helps to illuminate.I highly recommend this to readers and fans of cartoons and early film history. I also recommend this to general history buffs as well. As a partial aside, I recently read a book titled Drawing the Iron Curtain by Maya Balakirsky Katz that offers a similar and parallel history of the Soviet golden age of animation. I also recommend that book to both readers of animation history as well as history in general. While I recommend both, I probably would suggest Mitenbuler for most readers unless your interest is primarily Soviet history and/or Jewish Studies.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.