Book Review: Art of Coloring: Disney 100 Years of Wonder: 100 Images to Inspire Creativity

Art of Coloring: Disney 100 Years of Wonder: 100 Images to Inspire Creativity was released on March 7, 2023 and is part of the popular Art of Coloring series of adult coloring books.  This 128 page paperback book contains over 100 pages of line art to enjoy.

The book is organized into 10 chapters based on the galleries of the Disney100: The Exhibition –

• Where it all began
• Where do the stories come from?
• The illusion of life
• The spirit of adventure and discovery
• The magic of sound and music
• The world around us
• Innoventions
• Your Disney World – A day in the parks
• The Wonder of Disney
• We are just getting started

Each chapter leads with a Walt quote and a brief introduction on on one page followed by developmental poster art for the Disney100: The Exhibition Gallery the chapter is named after.   The remaining pages of the chapter feature line art dominating the pages with small captions in the corner of each two page spread with the source information for the art on those pages.

The art itself ranging from new creations such as the gallery posters for the exhibition back to the early Alice Comedies of the 1920s.   The source material comes from coloring books released over the years, concept art from various films and other promotional art for the films.  Included are pieces from shorts, animated features, live action films, the parks, and Mickey Mouse Club, and even some Broadway posters.  Disney and Pixar are represented throughout, I did not see any Marvel, LucasFilm, Muppets, etc…

I really enjoyed reading through the book and taking a closer look at the art that the Walt Disney Archives team chose to include.  I also found it interesting to see how they decided to include it.  Some pieces were full page, others a series of thumbnails, other more of a collage.

I am not one for coloring and did not want to take away from the book for my collection so I just read the introductions and captions while looking at the artwork and opted not color.    I would warn anyone considering purchasing this book, it is not a traditional coloring book and is aimed squarely at adults with the style and complexity of most of the chosen line art.

Be sure to visit our 2023 Disney Book List for reviews and links to other releases from this year.

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** A review copy of this book was provided to us