Disney Encyclopedias: By the Pixel, Not the Pound

Back in the old days, if you wanted a set of encyclopedias, you bought it by subscription and waited for each volume to arrive at stately intervals by mail. Sometimes, a shady character who smiled and perspired way too much would even knock on your door to inquire whether his encyclopedias might help Junior split the atom.

I'm glad I don't hold stock in an encyclopedia company. Everything is now available as weightless pixels on-line - and I mean everything, not just bastions like the Britannica but small, focused knowledge bases like DisneyShorts, Patrick Malone's immaculately organized encyclopedia of Disney's short animated cartoons.

If you have an interest in Disney shorts, Patrick Malone is your new messiah. He has catalogued in jaw-dropping details hundreds of Disney cartoons from 1922 through 2007.

At random, I went to 1936 and from the nearly 20 items there selected Three Blind Mouseketeers. The entry for this cartoon includes basic information like a synopsis, credits, and technical specs; where (and when) the cartoon appeared on television, video, and DVD; gorgeous screenshots and title cards; and much informed commentary (this particular cartoon has a very long comment from Ryan Kilpatrick, owner of the DisneyFilmProject.

The entire catalog of over 4000 pages is internally hyperlinked so you can jump from character to character, year to year, etc., until you become as blind as one of the Mouseketeers.

Patrick accepts donations and has attracted a few sponsors to help cover the costs of his non-profit site. The site has been around since 1997 but I've never seen Patrick in a Porsche, so I'm guessing he could still use the help.