New Books in American Studies Colin Williamson, "Drawn to Nature: American Animation in the Age of Science" (U Minnesota Press, 2025)
Dec 25, 2025
Dr. Colin Williamson, a film historian and assistant professor at the University of Oregon, explores the fascinating connections between animation and science in his upcoming book. He discusses how Disney’s Fantasia drew on scientific ideas and how animators like Winsor McCay reflected cultural debates surrounding themes like eugenics and Darwinian evolution. Williamson reveals how the interplay of nature and industrialization shaped American cartoons and previews his next project on mid-century animation landscapes.
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Interdisciplinary Origins Of The Book
- Colin Williamson frames his research across early film, animation, and histories of science to spot hidden intersections.
- He followed archival rabbit holes from a Fantasia sketch to a broader pattern linking animators and scientific ideas.
Fantasia Sparked A Scientific Inquiry
- Williamson found Fantasia drawings resembling biological studies and wondered why Disney animators engaged scientific ideas.
- That discovery launched a project reframing American animation as deeply entangled with science.
Title Is A Double Play
- The title Drawn to Nature plays on both drawing and attraction to scientific nature concepts.
- Williamson asks whether the drawing medium itself predisposes animators to scientific thinking about nature.