Book Review: Disney's Art of Animation - From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast

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DISNEY’S ART OF ANIMATION: FROM MICKEY MOUSE TO BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
By Bob Thomas
Hyperion (Paperback: 1991)
208 pages
ISBN: 1-56282-899-1
Availability: Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | JP)

Bob Thomas original wrote Art of Animation in 1958 when Disney wanted to give credit to the unknown talent behind his popular animated features. The book was written in two parts. The first being a brief history of Disney and his studio, the second being a making of Sleeping Beauty which was in production at the time.

In 1991, Thomas updated his book to include Disney history after Walt’s death. Unlike most books on Disney history, Thomas actually goes into some detail about the transitional period in the 80s before their blockbuster hit, The Little Mermaid. There is a good sample of Disney art with these pages, mostly cel setups and screencaps from the films, but there are also many story sketches, layouts, model sheets and concept art, making this a fun book to look through.

The Sleeping Beauty section from the first version of the book is replaced with a making of Beauty and the Beast, the current Disney film at the time of the rewrite. As far as art goes, this is the more interesting section, as it outlines the animated film making process from beginning to end, with pictures to help explain the text. This is a great behind the scenes look at animation with beautiful art from notable Disney artists like Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Chris Sanders and many more.

The hardcover edition comes with a lenticular image on the front with no dust jacket. A third edition of Art of Animation was released in 1997, this time with a making of Hercules section.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[kirikou]

The lenticular image of the harcover edition