Disney’s The Art of Frozen Book Review
‘The Art of Frozen’ by Charles Soloman is a tightly bounded book of digital, traditional, concepts and beautiful creations. Starting with the usual preface by John Lassiter and a forward by Directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, ‘The Art of Frozen’ is the perfect companion to the newly released 52nd Disney animated feature, Frozen.
Weather you’ve seen the film or not, the ‘Art of Frozen’ takes the reader through a step by step presentation, showcasing the history, conceptual art and story development of the animated feature in production; including rough character designs, colour palettes and Disney on-location research snapshots, giving the reader a full-scope of the efforts it took to create the finished film.
Chronicle books, the publisher of many Disney ‘Art of’s have found a safe, remarkable and familiar way to produce these behind the scene treats. Firmly bound and easy to navigate, each page captivates and gives a genuine sense of the creation of ‘Frozen’.
Although the finished film of ‘Frozen’ was 3D generated, The ‘art of’ series has become the haven of ‘traditional Disney’ ideology and despite what people may think from the 3D look, the amount of 2D artists at play within these pages proves that Disney (in the background at least) still house an amazing pool of talented and traditional craftsmen, draftsmen, painters, artists and animators.
The majority of the book is drawn art. Full page images, thumbnails and pictures of concept art; from early drafts, odd developments and playful alternatives. You’ll also find layout images of the beautiful snow laden mountains, the fiord and houses of Scandinavian influence. Areas of the book are dedicated to exploring the costume designs, patterns and tapestries of ‘Arendalle‘ the kingdom and people within ‘Frozen’. Snippets of the film are also added as storyboards; an exciting blend of art with the structure of narrative. A full body of text is strewn throughout the book, broken by chapters addressing specific scenes and introductions of characters. The text contains the story of ‘Frozen’s development, but the construction of the book itself loosely follows ‘Frozen’s narrative without spoilers.
If you, like me, are not a heavy reader, quotes from artists and creators of ‘Frozen’ accompany most of the pages, to give snippets of information with the related pictures of artwork.
‘The Art of Frozen’ contains the work from the following artists: Claire Keane, Lisa Keane, Victoria Ying, Jin Kim, Minkyu Lee, Cory Loftis, Jean Gilllmore, Brittney Lee, Bill Schwab, Paul Briggs, Normand Lemay, Mark Kennedy, Marc Smith, Chris Williams, Fawn Veerasunthorn, John Ripa, Dan Lund, Dean Wellins, John Ripa, Jeff Ranjo, David Wormersley, Morit Kallianpur, Mac George, James Finch, Michael Giaimo, Sara Cembalisty, Badja Bonacina, Jim Finn and many more!
The Art of Frozen is a wonderful and beautiful compendium of pre-production art. The vibrant world it explores is enough to make you want to own a copy. But beyond the pretty pictures and mouth watering colours the book chronicles the development and importance of each step in the films production. The decisions and experimentations of colour, the search for a spirited yet cold look for the ‘world of eternal snow’, took the Disney team from an ‘Ice Hotel’, to the studios of Burbank, California.
In closing, ‘The Art of Frozen’ is NOT one hundred and sixty pages of 3D snow, but rather a detailed look into the creation of a contemporary Disney classic.
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