The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney Miniature) [Hardcover]

Stephen Rebello (Author)

Book Description

In a beautiful collection of animation art from Disney’s new film adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, conceptual material, sketches, layout drawings, and storyboards are carefully reproduced for avid fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

For its latest animated feature, the Disney studio has turned again to a classic. This time, rather than a children's tale, the source is Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not unexpectedly, the adaptation dumbs down and sanitizes the novel, altering its focus to place politically correct emphasis on Quasimodo's effort to overcome his deformity and gain acceptance. Further to avoid offense, the villain Frollo has been transformed from a cleric into a judge. And, of course, Disney provides a happy ending. As usual, Hyperion, the studio's publishing outlet, has produced a lavish book companion to the movie that details its history and production and includes hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations and commentary by its creators. A disfigured main character is a departure from the glamorous youngsters that typically feature in Disney cartoons, but there is little reason to think Hunchback won't continue Disney's string of box-office blockbusters, and wherever Disney's other art book tie-ins have proved popular, so should this one. Gordon Flagg --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Disney Editions (November 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078686334X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786863341
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Rebello is the author of the non-fiction books Reel Art - Great Posters From the Golden Age of the Silver Screen (largely featuring the poster collection of Richard C. Allen), Bad Movies We Love (with Edward Margulies) and Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho.' He is also known for feature articles for such magazines as Playboy, Movieline, Hollywood Life, Statement, GQ, More and Cosmopolitan. In his widely quoted celebrity interviews, he has drawn out provocative revelations from Matt Damon, Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, Drew Barrymore, Charlie Sheen, Scarlett Johansson, Clive Owen, Jerry Bruckheimer, Eva Mendes, Benicio Del Toro, Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, Lee Iacocca, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Cruise, among others. Born in Massachusetts and a Los Angeles, California resident, he is currently a Playboy magazine Contributing Editor. His screenplays include one for a dramatic feature film inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho'; the motion picture is in the works for 2010 theatrical release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice companion with lots of historic background, March 20, 2009

By 

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The ART OF THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Hardcover)

Length:: 0:26 Mins

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is inspired by Victor Hugo's literary masterpiece Notre-Dame de Paris. This art book is very heavy into character development and the historic influences. The first chapter is on Victor Hugo and his story of Notre Dame, including a short biography. There's much of how the characters are created and influenced by Victor Hugo's life, and the little changes Disney made to adapt it as a movie.

Throughout the book, there are sections introduced writing about the cultural settings. E.g. About Notre Dame, Gypsies, how people hold feasts, etc.

Character writeup are for Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Frollo (the villain) and other miscellaneous characters. There are plenty of accompanying character sketches and film stills. Characteristics for main characters are laid out, and the role they play in the film explained in detail.

There's a chapter on the architecture and the drawings are exquisite, as expected from Paris. The text explains how the buildings are designed to convey the mood suitable for the movie.

Finally, there's the talk on the overall theme of the movie, the light vs the dark. They are placed in the movie as different metaphors, like light and shadow, good vs evil. Every character in the film is an outcast in his/her circumstance.

The book's focus is on the characters and storytelling.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Disney worshippers, November 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hardcover)

Like Rebello's previous "Art of" books (Lion King and Pocahontas), this one is a joy to look at, but it's missing one thing. I wish it had more about the characters' voices. Often the actor or actress who voices a character influences the visual development of that character. The animator may model the character after the actor, or he or she may take one particular gesture from the actor and incorporate it into the character (like Belle - she kept brushing that lock of hair away from her face because her voice, Paige O'Hara, did the same thing). So including some information about the voices behind the characters would provide even more insight for those of us clamoring to know about how an animated film is made. But even with this one flaw, the book is gorgeous, especially the production stills of the interior of Notre Dame. And the concept art is great - sometimes it's wildly different from what actually shows up on screen, so you get a look at the evolution process. Oh - don't skip the index. The illustrations of how animators let off steam are hysterical! My favorite - "Quasi and Harriet". So, if you're a fan of Disney animation, get this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BEWARE WHEN YOU READ "MINIATURE"..., July 14, 2010

By 

Paco Calderón (Mexico City, Mexico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney Miniature) (Hardcover)

...they DO mean it!

To make an art book the size of a "Love Is" pocketbook makes as much sense as cramming an elephant into a hamster cage.
These volumes are meant to be huge, so its pictures can be admired in all their wonder. Fans and artists buy them to see the tiny details that may have been overlooked onscreen. But cut to this absurd "Disney miniature" size, one needs a linen prover to do so. Not a comfortable experience.