Writer pens book about Mickey’s camping adventure

Ryan March has created stories for 25 years as part of the writing and editing team at Walt Disney World — and now he has written a story about the famous mouse that is featured in a book just published.

March wrote the words and longtime friend Bret Iwan illustrated “Camp Mickey and Minnie: One Wild Summer,” which tells the story of Mickey and Minnie opening a summer camp and Goofy taking matters in his own hands when he sees there are too many frogs in the lake. In the end, Goofy learns it’s best to learn how to live in harmony with nature.

March has written for magazines and newspapers, chronicled show trips, made blog posts and created video scripts — but this is his first experience writing a book.

The illustrator’s images are reminiscent of his previously released national parks-inspired Mickey Mouse screen prints. Iwan has been the official voice of Mickey Mouse for 15 years.

FILLING A GAP

This book is many years in the making, March said.

The two longtime friends started talking about the gap in storytelling books featuring Mickey for the 5- to 11-year-old age group.

“There wasn’t a lot of Mickey storytelling being done,” he said. “That was the spark of inspiration. How do we do that?”

The idea was shelved for a few years. Fast forward to 2020.

“It was the pandemic, and my wife and I couldn’t take our daughter down the street to Disney to have fun for the day,” March said. “So, what did we do? We made fun outside our house. We bought milkweed plants to raise Monarch butterflies, we watched birds, tracked (animals) in the yard.

“It was wonderful,” he said. “She was connecting with nature the way my wife and I did when we were young. Playing outside was a big part of my upbringing.”

This would be the inspiration for the book.

Iwan, an avid outdoorsman living in Pasadena, California, was behind the idea, and “Camp Mickey and Minnie: One Wild Summer” was born.

“It is a dream to work with a genuine friend,” March said. “Bret is so much more than the illustrator of the book. He is the heart and soul of this book. I would not endeavor to write a story about Mickey without going to the person who knows Mickey.

“Bret and I were talking about childhood stories and what were our favorite stories, as kids and adults,” March said. “What those stories had in common was they were filled with heart and humor but they delivered a valuable message. … All Disney stories, going back to Walt, had a message to share. … We wanted there to be someone of value that could start a conversation between kids and parents.”

March had his own conversations with his daughter, Lorelei, who is 8 and right in the middle of the targeted audience age. He read to her each part of the story, and she gave honest feedback, he said.

The writer and illustrator shared drafts with each other to make sure they were on the same path with the book.

“I felt the weight of responsibility with this book as someone who grew up a huge Disney fan,” March said. “Mickey is recognized all over the world, so to tell that story, that was a huge responsibility to be faithful to who he is. … That’s where the collaboration with Bret came in. Being the voice is so much more than reading lines; Bret knows the layers of the personalities.”

March wrote most of the book sitting in a rocking chair outside Pioneer Hall at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

“What better place to write a story about Mickey camping than a Disney campground?” he said.

March and Iwan hope to create a series of adventure books that includes all four seasons.

SHARING THE STORY

March attended the August D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California, which showcases the best in creative storytelling and innovation from across the worlds of Disney. It’s an event he usually attends in an official capacity through Disney Vacation Club, but this time, he was there as a Disney author and participated in book signings and media interviews.

As part of the book launch, March has worked with a few nonprofit organizations: First Book and the Walt Disney Hometown Museum, in Marceline, Missouri.

First Book collaborated with March, Disney and thousands of volunteers to assemble about 7,000 literacy kits, which included Disney books and other essential school supplies, for under-resourced schools in California.

“To me, this is the kind of thing that makes it all worthwhile,” March said. “Connecting books with kids. … As someone who has dedicated my life to Disney, there’s little more important than sparking imagination. … When you watch a TV show or movie, the whole world is created for you. When you read, your imagination fills in.”

This week, March is in Marceline, where Walt Disney grew up and what he used as inspiration for Main Street in the Disney theme parks. March is hosting a fundraising dinner for the museum.

“I’ll be reading the book to children at Walt Disney Elementary School in Marceline, and then I’ll be doing a book signing at the (museum) gift shop,” he said. “As someone who has been a Disney fan longer than I’ve been a Disney writer, to read a book in Walt’s childhood home is a bucket list item.”

The book is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart, as well as Sunshine Books in Clermont.