But it also transcends the "book about the movie" genre, serving as an entertaining, educational look at the film's adventurous, spunky spirit and where it comes from. Art-minded readers will relish the early renderings of the Shrek character and fantastically brilliant images from the films, while writers are bound to be drawn in by Shrek 2 director Conrad Vernon's description of writing out a sequence for a particular scene, sketching it on storyboards and pitching it to fellow directors, producers and artists.

The book is written with the same dynamism and casual hilarity displayed in the film, featuring witty "chatter boxes," where Shrek, Donkey and other characters shoot the breeze on subjects ranging from "behind-the-scenes politics" to the Academy Awards (Donkey tells Shrek, "Don't get me wrong. Dick Clark's an okay fella, but enough with the award shows, ya know?" Shrek responds, "Dick Clark is not here! This is the Oscars"). And just like the film, this book-with a recipe for The Perfect Swamp Martini, explanation of how character designer Tom Hester designed "an animal that evoked Eddie Murphy" and other grown-up offerings-has enough adult insider humor to keep older audiences turning the pages.

Shrek (2001), an offbeat adventure featuring a big green ogre, his chatty sidekick Donkey, and the feisty Princess Fiona, turned the traditional fairy tale on its ear and helped to usher in a new era in computer animation, garnering the first Academy Award(r) for Best Animated Feature. Shrek 2, opening in May 2004, joins the inseparable trio on new comic adventures, advancing once again the art of 3-D computer animation. This lighthearted book chronicles the equally dramatic (and occasionally comic) story behind the making of the two movies. It features a trove of behind-the-scenes information and is jam-packed with illustrations-concept art, storyboards, character models, set designs, and stills. Author John Hopkins joins the filmmakers (directors, producers, animators, writers, production designers) as they describe the painstaking process of inventing and animating an imaginary world, and eavesdrops on the movies' main characters as they recount the trials and tribulations of a major production, the clash of egos, and the scenes that didn't work. With enough Shrek lore to satisfy the die-hard fan and the same off-kilter humor as the films themselves, this book is sure to have enormous appeal!

 Harry N. Abrams 0-8109-4309-3 / 9780810943094
Hardcover AS NEW CONDITION 

Price: 16.34 USD