Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface ix
4. Acknowledgments xv
5. Introduction: “It’s All Me” 1
6. 1. “The Pet in the Family” On the Farm and in the City, 1901–1923 9
7. 2. “A Cute Idea” The Self-Taught Filmmaker, 1923–1928 39
8. 3. “You’ve Got to Really Be Minnie” Building a Better Mouse, 1928–1933 68
9. 4. “This Character Was a Live Person” The Leap to Feature Films, 1934–1938 100
10. 5. “A Drawing Factory” Ambition’s Price, 1938–1941 134
11. 6. “A Queer, Quick, Delightful Gink” On a Treadmill, 1941–1947 168
12. 7. “Caprices and Spurts of Childishness” Escaping from Animation, 1947–1953 200
13. 8. “He Was Interested in Something Else” Escaping from Film, 1953–1959 235
14. 9. “Where I Am Happy” Restless in the Magic Kingdom, 1959–1965 270
15. 10. “He Drove Himself Right Up to the End” Dreaming of a Nightmare City, 1965–1966 301
16. Afterword: “Let’s Never Not Be a Silly Company” 319
17. Notes 327
18. Index 379