Book Review: The Art of Frozen

Disney's Frozen is quite a visual contrast from the previous warm and lively Tangled.

First thing you should know is there are spoilers in the book. They appear in the form of storyboards as well as concept art for the finale sequence. So if you intend to watch the film, I suggest you read the book after the film.

This is a nice artbook. 160 pages. Hardcover. The concept art consist of storyboards, character designs, environment designs, props and motifs. There are also wonderful photos from the research road trip in Norway.

The environment paintings are wonderful, especially those by production designer David Womersley, Jim Finn, Lisa Keane and James Finch. Some are really scenic, such as the setting of a castle by the lake in the valley, or the aurora beyond the mountains. The designs for the town houses are also beautiful, actually quite close to the research photos which are great to begin with.

Character designs are for the main ones, Anna and Elsa, of course, and also Kristoff the ice harvester, Olaf the snowman, Hans and other miscellaneous characters. They look good, very Disney-like as compared to Pixar. They look like they can be from the same universe as Tangled. Anna and Elsa kind of look like Rapunzel from Tangled except for the very different costumes and hairstyle.

There are more than 10 pages devoted to storyboards. While good, personally I would have prefer more character and environment art.

The commentary is an enjoyable read that focuses on the story and storytelling. It really gives insight into the characters and film design, on how and why they are designed the way they are, and how they have changed from the story pitching stage to the final CG production.

It's a cool artbook worth checking out for fans of the movie.

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