Synopses & Reviews
From LAIKA, the studio behind the hit film Coraline, comes another marvel of stop-motion animation and creative storytelling. For ParaNorman, LAIKA's team of artists and animators built and brought to life a miniature town, a horde of zombies, and a quirky cast of characters to tell a tale of a boy with spooky talents who must save his hometown from a centuries-old curse. Featuring the amazing and detailed artwork that went into the film's creation—from character sketches and concept art to puppets, textiles, set dressing, and 3-D printed facial models—The Art and Making of ParaNorman goes behind the scenes to explore the exacting, exciting steps that are achieved frame by frame in this newest LAIKA masterpiece.
Review
"...a wonderful look inside of how a stop-motion animated film is produced."
Mania.com
Review
"an intriguing book... that reveals that, in that movie, art is not only in the medium, but also in the process. "
Animated Views
Review
"The book is a must-have for any fan of the film, artist, or art lover who'll find the array of talent inspiring. Chronicle Books does an amazing job jamming so much into 160 pages, with many pages containing full-bleed color photos and artwork. " - Christian Science Monitor
Review
"Of all the animated 'Art Of' books on the list this year, Paranorman's stands the biggest chance of being the most interesting if only because of the incredibly extravagant hands-on animation process the folks at Laika went through to bring Norman and his world to life. "
Ain't It Cool News
Review
"As far as CG has come, it still lacks the subtle charms and realistic touch that can be found in traditional stopmotion animation. The methods have been refined greatly over the last few years, as is readily evident when you explore The Art And Making Of Paranorman about the latest effort from the same studio that produced Coraline. This the usual wonderful Chronicle Art Of book, packed with photos and conceptual artwork."
FRED
About the Author
Jed Alger grew up in New England, in a town not unlike the one in ParaNorman, minus the zombies. Now he lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Travis Knight is LAIKA's President and CEO as well as lead animator on LAIKA's first feature, Coraline, and producer and lead animator on ParaNorman.
Chris Butler was head of story on LAIKA's Coraline and is the writer and director of ParaNorman.
Sam Fell is the director of ParaNorman. Before joining LAIKA, he wrote and directed Dreamwork's Flushed Away and was the director of Universal's The Tale of Despereaux.