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The Chinese artist who drew Disney’s Bambi: a look at the life of the immigrant behind the illustrations
- Tyrus Wong didn’t receive credit for his work on the 1942 Disney film even though he was the lead production illustrator
- His journey to the US and his rise to Walt Disney’s studios is told through Julie Leung and Chris Sasaki’s new book ‘Paper Son’
Reading Time:2 minutes
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Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist, by Julie Leung and Chris Sasaki (illustrations). Published by Schwartz & Wade. 4/5 stars
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Growing up in Atlanta in the US, Julie Leung didn’t have many opportunities to read about inspiring Chinese-Americans.
That’s why, when she learned about Tyrus Wong – the artist who helped to create the Walt Disney film Bambi – through his New York Times obituary, she decided to tell his story.
Leung’s words in Paper Son: The Inspiring story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist are accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Chris Sasaki. She begins with Wong’s immigration to the United States in 1919, at a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in full force. The act was an immigration law that had passed in 1882 that prevented Chinese labourers from immigrating to the United States.
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Because of the act, Wong and his father have forged papers that claim they are merchant Look Git and his son Look Tai-yow. Every night on the journey, Tyrus, who even as a nine-year-old loved art, studies with care the papers that contain details about his new life.
His studies come in handy when the pair arrived in California, where Tyrus is held back and questioned. Afterwards, he is reunited with his father, who tells him they must look for opportunities, and at school, Tai-yow is Americanised to Tyrus. Eventually, he is able to enrol at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles.
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