This book reminded me of the oversized art books Disney used to published for Mulan, Pocahontas, Hercules, etc. Although not as large as those predecessors, the feeling of familiarity really comes from the content. This is a Disney book after all.

There are plenty of beautiful art to be seen. The pages are filled with sketches, storyboards, animation drawings, production drawings, background art, photos of Disney artists at work. The print quality is nice.

A lot of names are mentioned and there's no doubt Disney has some of the most talented artists around. Story artist Brenda Chapman is amazing at capturing the nuances, expressions and feelings of the characters with her storyboards. There are also production paintings from Hans Bacher that set the visual style for the film. The animation line drawings from the animators are wonderful as well. Glen Keane designed the Beast, inspired by a buffalo head he bought from a taxidermist shop.

The commentary follows the production of the film, from the history to the reception after it was screened. It even covers the updated edition for IMAX and the additional footage added. The stories and interviews are interesting and as with every movie, you'll be able to read all about the challenges of making an animated film. There's also a chapter on the Broadway adaption.

This is a great book that I can easily recommend to animation art lovers.

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Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast is available on Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | JP | CN)

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