I’m always interested in the behind-the-scenes process of animation. But when you have a film like Wish, the style of which pays homage to Disney’s vault of animated classics, I knew that reading The Art of Disney Wish was a need, not a want. Written by Stephen Rebello and Kimmer Baughman, this Chronicle Books coffee table book includes hundreds of concept art images, not only from Wish, but the films that inspired it.
(Disney/Chronicle Books)
The book starts with a Preface by Jennifer Lee, who not only wrote the screenplay for Wish, but also serves as the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film's directors (Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn) and producers (Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones) also get the story rolling with a Foreword. Due to the nature of the book, the first chapter is spent with a bit of Disney Animation History 101 to set the scene for the visual styles of previous films that directly inspired Wish, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen.
Everything at Disney Animation starts with story, and what’s exciting about The Art of Disney Wish is that it shows how the story evolved throughout its development. Early versions had not one but two villains, and Asha was at one point the leader of a resistance community living outside of Rosas. Star was a shapeshifter, often taking the form of a human. While some of that development work was recycled into the final film, at times, it’s like reading about a different movie that never got made.
Wish contains over 100 Easter Eggs and homages to other Disney animated films, and The Art of Disney Wish points a few out to readers. I recommend poring over the artwork with a magnifying glass to find even more, as quite a few of them are there. Reading it inspired me to see the film again, although I will say that some are so well-placed that I couldn’t find them despite knowing what to look for.
(Disney/Chronicle Books)
The real star of The Art of Disney Wish is the ability to pore over pieces from legendary artists of the past and the current generation of wizards making these modern classics. The work of well-known artists like Gustaf Tenggren, Eyvind Earle, Mary Blaire, Milt Kahl, and Marc Davis join the following artists in this tome about the making of Wish.
- Storyboard art by Seth Boyden, Fawn Veerasunthorn (co-director), Mark Kennedy, Jeremy Spears, Lior Lev, Emily Xu, and Tom Caulfield.
- World Development Art by David Womersley, James Aaron Finch, Lisa Keene, Brian Woods, Tia Wallace Kratter, William Mac George III, Camille Andre, and April Liu.
- Character Development Art by Meg Park, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay, Bill Schwab, Brittney Lee, Kenny Leoncito, Danny Arriaga, Dan Abraham (Once Upon a Studio co-director), Valentin Amador, Lauren Airriess, Izzy Abreu, and Renato dos Anjos.
- Effects Development Art by Dan Lund, Lior Lev, and Bruce Wright.
If you’ve already seen Wish, reading The Art of Disney Wish will help you see it again through new eyes. And if you haven’t seen it yet, as a diehard fan of Disney Animation, it will point out all of the ways it lovingly pays tribute to the artists of the past.