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Disney's Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film
A breathtaking inside look at the making of Aladdin. From screenplay to storyboard to recording studio--featuring interviews with the animators and 200 full-color photos--every facet of Aladdin's creation is explored in fascinating detail. This is a keepsake volume that every fan of the film must have.
120 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 7, 2022
I have owned this book for many, many years and never got around to reading it until now. I must admit to being utterly spoiled by the Star Wars art books I've read in the last few years, which are gorgeous and fascinating and well-written.
This one just did not stand the test of time. I adore Aladdin and know it by heart. Every scene or line mentioned brought the visuals and the voice actors' inflection to mind. It was interesting getting to know a bit about the animators and production designers, etc., their processes and how they worked together. That said... the writing was pretty awful. Dividing the book up by character (and then not really sticking to that structure) was pretty odd. Some anecdotes get told multiple times. And weirdest of all, Robin Williams, who did so much to shape the voice and character of the Genie and added so much to the movie's magic, is never mentioned by name (though he is listed in the acknowledgements) - the whole book refers to him as the Genie, or worst of all,"the chap who signed a contract to voice the Genie and the Peddler." A quick Google reminded me that Robin Williams was very upset with how Disney used his voice in marketing and selling things related to the movie (as they'd contractually agreed not to do so) and I suppose that's why, but it's a crying shame not to talk with Williams about hisperformance and the whole thing was handled very awkwardly.
Overall, it was fairly interesting and I learned some things, but I'll be letting this one go.
This one just did not stand the test of time. I adore Aladdin and know it by heart. Every scene or line mentioned brought the visuals and the voice actors' inflection to mind. It was interesting getting to know a bit about the animators and production designers, etc., their processes and how they worked together. That said... the writing was pretty awful. Dividing the book up by character (and then not really sticking to that structure) was pretty odd. Some anecdotes get told multiple times. And weirdest of all, Robin Williams, who did so much to shape the voice and character of the Genie and added so much to the movie's magic, is never mentioned by name (though he is listed in the acknowledgements) - the whole book refers to him as the Genie, or worst of all,"the chap who signed a contract to voice the Genie and the Peddler." A quick Google reminded me that Robin Williams was very upset with how Disney used his voice in marketing and selling things related to the movie (as they'd contractually agreed not to do so) and I suppose that's why, but it's a crying shame not to talk with Williams about hisperformance and the whole thing was handled very awkwardly.
Overall, it was fairly interesting and I learned some things, but I'll be letting this one go.
June 16, 2015
I received this book for Christmas when I was probably 12 years old. I was completely obsessed with all things Disney, and Aladdin was (and remains, incidentally) my favorite Disney animated film. I loved the beautifully animated characters and the exotic setting, the thrilling music and the great story. I think I must have looked through this book a hundred times or something, and did several drawings based on the illustrations, but never actually read it until now, which I did as I'm working my way through a lot of my art books.
Um, so, the writing in this book isn't very good. In fact, it's kind of terrible in parts. But the artwork is still fantastic, and it does provide a little insight (albeit understandably dated) regarding the making of this excellent film. The organization is a little confusing, with each chapter focusing on one of nine major characters, as well as one usually unrelated aspect of filmmaking. The writing seems really disjointed and odd at times, almost like it's trying to be a really casual read, but it comes across as kind of sloppy and confusing. I understand John Culhane has a history of writing about animation, especially about Disney (to the point that one of the characters in The Rescuers was named and modeled after him), which made me wonder why and how he could write this book so awkwardly. Another interesting and kind of ridiculous thing to note is how the voice actors are all referenced by name and photograph, except for Robin Williams, who so famously provided the voice for the Genie (as well as the Peddler in the prologue scene). Apparently there were some legal issues regarding Williams's involvement with the studio at the time of writing, reportedly due to his concurrently making a film for another studio or something, but the lengths to which the author went to mention the actor without actually mentioning the actor were kind of a stretch, sometimes even quite laughable(he was once referred to as "the chap who signed a contract to do the voices of the Genie and the Peddler"). It was also kind of odd to me that there were some elements of animation unique to this film that weren't even mentioned, and which a lot of fans must surely have heard about over the years. It seems strange that a book about a film would leave out some of the artistic innovations that made it stand out when it was being produced. It did mention some of the technological achievements, but neglected to point out some of the great hand-drawn elements that make Aladdin such a beautiful work. Some of the details about the actual story and characters are inaccurate, but I'm a little bit willing to overlook that since it was written before the film was released (but not before the author saw it...). Having said all this, however, the artwork throughout (not counting the stilted captions) is still as stunning as ever. It includes some very rough sketches and character concept art, some more cleaned-up animation and model/reference sheets, and of course some beautiful finished frames, including some full-page illustrations, as well as some photos of the cast and crew. The excellent work of Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Mark Henn and other giants of Renaissance Disney animation are represented, and it's great to have so much artwork in one nice, little volume.
I loved this book SO much as a kid, but that was when all I cared about was the actual artwork and didn't bother to read the narrative that accompanied it. The art is still fantastic, but the writing itself is pretty weak, which is a real bummer. This awesome movie deserves the full Art Of book treatment, as several Disney films following it have been given.
Um, so, the writing in this book isn't very good. In fact, it's kind of terrible in parts. But the artwork is still fantastic, and it does provide a little insight (albeit understandably dated) regarding the making of this excellent film. The organization is a little confusing, with each chapter focusing on one of nine major characters, as well as one usually unrelated aspect of filmmaking. The writing seems really disjointed and odd at times, almost like it's trying to be a really casual read, but it comes across as kind of sloppy and confusing. I understand John Culhane has a history of writing about animation, especially about Disney (to the point that one of the characters in The Rescuers was named and modeled after him), which made me wonder why and how he could write this book so awkwardly. Another interesting and kind of ridiculous thing to note is how the voice actors are all referenced by name and photograph, except for Robin Williams, who so famously provided the voice for the Genie (as well as the Peddler in the prologue scene). Apparently there were some legal issues regarding Williams's involvement with the studio at the time of writing, reportedly due to his concurrently making a film for another studio or something, but the lengths to which the author went to mention the actor without actually mentioning the actor were kind of a stretch, sometimes even quite laughable(he was once referred to as "the chap who signed a contract to do the voices of the Genie and the Peddler"). It was also kind of odd to me that there were some elements of animation unique to this film that weren't even mentioned, and which a lot of fans must surely have heard about over the years. It seems strange that a book about a film would leave out some of the artistic innovations that made it stand out when it was being produced. It did mention some of the technological achievements, but neglected to point out some of the great hand-drawn elements that make Aladdin such a beautiful work. Some of the details about the actual story and characters are inaccurate, but I'm a little bit willing to overlook that since it was written before the film was released (but not before the author saw it...). Having said all this, however, the artwork throughout (not counting the stilted captions) is still as stunning as ever. It includes some very rough sketches and character concept art, some more cleaned-up animation and model/reference sheets, and of course some beautiful finished frames, including some full-page illustrations, as well as some photos of the cast and crew. The excellent work of Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Mark Henn and other giants of Renaissance Disney animation are represented, and it's great to have so much artwork in one nice, little volume.
I loved this book SO much as a kid, but that was when all I cared about was the actual artwork and didn't bother to read the narrative that accompanied it. The art is still fantastic, but the writing itself is pretty weak, which is a real bummer. This awesome movie deserves the full Art Of book treatment, as several Disney films following it have been given.
July 7, 2017
Compared to some of the other 'Art of' animation books, this one didn't seem as comprehensive. I also felt a certain level of discomfort as Robin Williams was referred to as 'the voice of the Genie' rather than by name.
July 10, 2010
I was actually able to have this book personally autographed by the author John Culhane back in 1999. I met him at a Disney Institute Animation Event in Florida. Such an amazing time!
March 9, 2020
This is a well-written and richly illustrated book on the development and making of Disney's 'Aladdin'. The book has quite an original approach: Culhane has grouped the information around the characters, for example the chapter on Abu is all about layout, while The Magic Carpet chapter tells about the computer animation and special effects. In contrast to many later art books, the focus is more on the text than on the art, even if there's plenty art to enjoy, which means that the book is both information rich and insightful. Who would have thought, for example, that in an early stage of the story Iago was the cool guy, and Jafar the explosive one? There are also some interesting bits of information on earlier Disney films of the Disney renaissance. Thus this book is a must have for all Disney fans, and particularly those lovers of Disney films from this period.
Take note that this particular softcover edition has an inconvenient page layout, with the text being place too close to the gutter.
Take note that this particular softcover edition has an inconvenient page layout, with the text being place too close to the gutter.
May 11, 2018
This was a nice collection of original artwork and fun character designs in the process of creating the animated movie Aladdin. However, as much of the other reviewers have pointed out, it reads rather awkward with choppy transitions and stories that seemed jumbled and don't flow well into each other. Often repetitive and the focus of the story shifting, it wasn't a smooth or easy time to sit and work through. Also, they oddly never refer to Robin Williams by name nor ever give him the deserved credit for how much of a contribution to the character he truly gave. It was fun to see how the character designs changed over time to become the beloved movie we have today. I would recommend it to large Disney fans but as a collector's item more than a leisurely read.
December 22, 2024
This was very detailed and good I learned a lot of things it's hard to see my country book "one hundred and thousand nights" is famous as Arabian night although the author was Iranian , It made me proud to see pictures from Isfahan has inspired setting in Aladdin but where is the credit? Also the carpet is inspired by a real life Persian carpet! Where else would I get this information it was fun and made me proud of my country Iran and our rich history and culture
August 8, 2017
Far too much focus on the (unreadably over-written) text than the beautiful beautiful art. Also, Culhane takes a reeeeally dismissive tone when alluding to Ashman's original version of the story.
July 3, 2020
436 - 2020
December 5, 2012
(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
This is a "making of" book compared to the other "art of" books released by Disney Editions for the traditional animated films like Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc. As such, there's a lot less art relative to the art books, but still plenty enough, including lots of set workplace photos and portraits of legendary animators.
It goes behind the scenes to look at how the animated film was produced. There are stories at all stages of production, from the story pitching, to casting, and finally to animating. The more interesting thing to read about are the stories on the animators, particularly Ron Clements, John Musker, Glen Keane among many others. They go in detail about the story, their work and how they feel about animation.
I can't believe how many actually made animation their love based on cartoons they watched when they were kids. Those cartoons really worked their magic. It's also a source of wonder to see those animators back then, and where they are today in the industry, decades later.
This book provides great insight into the process of making a traditional animation.
December 8, 2014
It was interesting that many of the people who worked on the creation of 'Beauty and the Beast' also helped with 'Aladdin'. It was also pretty cool to learn that the animation of Agrabah was based on a village in Iran. Otherwise, this book wasn't too interesting. It skipped around a lot between animators and told more of what was actually in the film instead of how it was created.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews