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The Art of Zootropolis Review
Bringing The Unique World of Animals To Animated Life
The Art of Zootropolis
By Jessica Julius, preface by John Lasseter, foreword by Byron Howard and Rich Moore
Chronicle Books
£25 UK
Zootropolis aka Zootopia in the US has been the huge surprise for 2016. A brilliantly imaginative and clever Disney animated movie which has depth and character, Zootropolis has deservedly dominated the box office since it was released earlier this year. Art Of books largely fall into two categories: either a horribly tawdry cash-in, designed to capitalise on the success of its progenitor or a genuinely well-written and well-researched reflection of the film that spawned them. I am pleased to say that The Art of Zootropolis, or The Art of Zootopia for our US visitors, falls squarely into the latter category. In bringing the world of Zootropolis to life, a place where predators and prey live cheek by jowl until something happens to destroy the status quo, the filmmakers have obviously spent months and years answering every question that arises, from how certain animals can wear trousers to bigger quandaries like what Tundra Town or Sahara Square should look like. Zootropolis has had some of the finest animation minds working to answer these and many more queries and this book does give people a glimpse into the processes that they took to arrive at what the viewer sees fully realised on screen. It must have been a very difficult selection process indeed to whittle down the thousands of images to fit into a 156 page single volume. There is a wonderful mix of character and environment studies included here which helps to enhance the viewer’s understanding of the finished film itself. The attention to detail is staggering and it shows that the team took as much time creating the different environments as they did fleshing out the characters. Animation is a painstaking process and this book showcases the immense talents of the animators who work in the industry.
If readers are fascinated by character and world building, then the Art of Zootropolis offers a unique glimpse at bringing the filmmakers’ singular vision to the screen.
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