The theatrical release of Disney’s hotly anticipated animation film Frozen is just a few short months away, as a result, we are beginning to see a lot of merchandise begin to make its way online. One of these is the cover for the Art of Frozen, a making-of book dedicated to the art, design, and creation of Frozen.
Normally, Disney’s art-of books’ covers feature never-before-seen images from the concept development stage. The Art of Frozen cover, however, doesn’t show us anything new, but rather uses the first official piece of artwork that Disney unveiled to the public last year. The art shows our heroine Anna, and her companion Kristoff, as they are trekking across the icy wilderness to find Anna’s sister Elsa.
The cover was can be found on page 30 of Chronicle Books Adult Trade Fall 2013. Honestly, if I didn’t see for myself that it was posted in Chronicle’s official publication, I would think that this cover is a fake. Doesn’t it just seem a bit bland? It’s definitely out of the ordinary than Disney’s most recent covers such as The Art of Wreck-It Ralph and The Art of Tangled.
Regarding whether this is the final cover, our writer Kyle Ostrum pointed out:
@Rotoscopers Usually the first cover unveiled is the first bit of concept art revealed, but then the real cover ends up being something else
— Kyle (@DeLuxODonnell92) August 27, 2013
@Rotoscopers IMO, it’s sly a move so that they can keep a good piece of concept art from you until the book comes out.
— Kyle (@DeLuxODonnell92) August 27, 2013
So I guess we will find out in the next few months if this cover sticks or gets replaced. (I’m really hoping for the latter here.)
The cover does reveal a little more about the book’s contents, namely the preface by John Lasseter, the forward by the film’s directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, and that the book will be written by Charles Solomon, who also wrote other animation books such as The Art of Toy Story 3, Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation, and the soon-to-be-release The Art of Disney Golden Books (which also looks incredible and gorgeous, by the way).
Here is the official synopsis of the book:
In Walt Disney Animation Studios upcoming film, Frozen, the fearless optimist Anna sets off on an epic journey–teaming up with the rugged mountain man Kristoff–to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arandelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everset-like conditions, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. The Art of Frozen features concept art from the making of the film–including characters studies and sculpts, color scripts, storyboards, and more–alongside interviews with the film’s artists about the making of this comedy-adventure.
Lastly, a few other art snippets from the book were shown on the Chronicle’s page. Two of the images are panels that (to me) represent Anna and Elsa. From what we know so far, Anna seems to represent spring, as shown below (left) with a girl showing Anna’s likeness surrounded by green foliage and flowers. Elsa’s panel (below right) juxtaposes Anna’s by using a cool blue-green color palette, harsh jagged lines, and snowflakes. The other art (middle) shows the Arandelle palace, presumably after Elsa has cursed the land with eternal winter.
Following the tradition of past Disney art-of books, The Art of Frozen is definitely going to be a must-have for any Disney or animation lover. Disney sets high standards for its art-of books, making them an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the making of their films.
The Art of Frozen will be released on November 30, 2013, just 3 days after Frozen‘s theatrical release. You can pre-order and buy the book on Amazon, using our affiliate link.
Are you going to buy The Art of Frozen?
[UPDATE 5:12 PM PST] Confirming what Kyle thought, it looks like the cover art below is just a placeholder for the real thing, as confirmed by Frozen director Jennifer Lee on Twitter. Phew. So don’t worry guys, we’re sure the real cover will blow everyone away.
@Artof_Animation actually it’s nothing like this.
— Jennifer Lee (@alittlejelee) August 27, 2013
