Character Line-Up: A Disney Who’s Who Book Review

A few months ago I was sleep walking my way through a routine grocery store visit when I encountered a copy of Disney Who’s Who on an end cap display. I picked up a copy of the hefty paperback and casually flipped through the colorful, animation-filled pages. Approximately two seconds later, I placed the book in my cart next to a box of toothpaste and finished my shopping with a new sense of cheer. It doesn’t take much to make grocery shopping more interesting for me. Hopefully this book, or at least today’s brief review of Disney Who’s Who: An A to Z of Disney Characters, can add a little fun to your day too.

Disney Who’s Who by Disney’s Enterprises, Inc.

Overview

Let’s start with the basics. Disney Who’s Who is a four hundred page book detailing the characters from over 60 different animated Disney films. The characters are organized alphabetically by the title of their respective films and range in timeline from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Coco (2017). It’s focused exclusively on full-length feature animation, so there are no references to live-action classics like Mary Poppins or any of the more recent characters from Disney Junior. It does, however, include Disney Pixar films.

The content focuses on descriptions of the characters, some very well-known some not-so-much. There are also fun little “Did you know?” sections that share thoughtful insights and trivia-question-worthy information. The book retails for $12 in the US, but it’s currently listed on Amazon for less than $10.

excerpt from Disney Who’s Who; Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Things I love about Disney Who’s Who

So clearly I’m a biased reporter on today’s review because I love Disney and tend to enjoy the majority of entertainment options bearing the Disney logo. I may even have Mickey ears on as I type this.

No, just kidding.

(Or AM I?)

Despite my bias though, I think most movie fans in general will find something to like about this book. The content is short and sweet, which means you can jump in and out whenever you have a spare moment, rather than committing to the four-hundred page journey. That makes it perfect for reading to kids at bedtime or browsing while on a piece of work-out equipment, because you can easily read for as long or as little as you like.

Brief doesn’t mean superficial though. There’s interesting information in this book that I haven’t encountered elsewhere. (Donald’s Duck middle name is Fauntleroy?) There are also some rather deep insights into some lesser known characters that only the most die-hard Disney fans will care to know. For example, Mrs. Squibbles the five-eyed single-mom of Squishy in Monsters University loves thrash metal music. I’m not sure anybody really needs to know that, but it may cause me to watch her character with more interest in our next viewing.

excerpt from Disney Who’s Who; Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Beyond the content though, I also love the entertainment options the book provides. Stuck on what to watch on movie night? Close your eyes, thumb through the pages and see where you land. Need a creative break to clear your head? Find a character you like in the book and see if you can sketch it. Stuck in line or a waiting room somewhere? Create your own Disney trivia game from the content and entertain (or annoy?!) your friends and family members.

You get the idea. For the same cost as one ticket to a movie, you can get a book that offers way more than two hours of entertainment. It could even be a great pre-trip gift for the long flight or drive to Disney World.

Things I don’t love about Disney Who’s Who

The list of things I don’t love about this book is noticeably shorter.

The main issue is that not every Disney animated movie is included. The vast majority of major releases are present but a few, like Brother Bear, Fantasia and Tarzan are not. The package films from the 1940s such as The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad  or Fun and Fancy Free are also missing. I’m guessing most fans will not notice or miss these exclusions, but I’m mentioning it just in case. A few films also get considerable more coverage in the book than others.

And that’s pretty much it for mild complaints.

If I think of anything else, I’ll get back to you.

Disney Who’s Who; Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Happy Ending

So this is a short post, just like the book I’m reviewing. It’s fun, Disney-oriented and less than $10. If only the other entertainment options my family enjoyed were this easy!

It sounds like a sales pitch, but I don’t have any financial interest in your decision to purchase Disney Who’s Who. I do however, think it could add a little fun to your book shelf or your reading time, which is always a worthy goal.

Add a little (character) magic to your world!