Lilo & Stitch: Collected Stories from the Film's Creators

I started collecting Disney's making-of books with Lion King but soon realized that with each succeeding film I was basically reading the same information over and over again and stopped getting them after A Bug's Life.So I was skeptical about getting this one but I eventually caved in after I read a bit of it in a bookstore. This isn't a typical making-of book where the author tells you step by step how the fim was created. Instead we get many short essays from the creators of the film themselves telling their experiences on making Lilo & Stitch. It's a terrific idea that reminds us of the human element in creating a film. Even better, the essays seem genuine and give us little insights into the mind of the individual creator as well as the Disney corporation. Generous amouns of pre-production art is sprinkled throughout the book and I'm going to buy a second copy to frame a few of them.If you have any interest in Disney, animation in general or Lilo & Stitch you will definitely get something worthwile out of this book. I'm actually axiously looking forward to the next making-of book from Disney again! Life is good.

At first, one may be a bit reluctant to purchase a book about the making of a movie. Oftentimes "making of" books can be bland and impersonal, reading more like a textbook with pictures than anything else.But not this book. I purchased this book because I'm one of the biggest fans of the movie Lilo and Stitch, which In my opinion is the best movie Disney has made for a long time. And Stitch is by far my favourite animated character, of any film, ever. Just thinking about him brings a smile to my face. I wanted this book to see the development of Stitch over the years, and ended up getting more than I bargained for.The very first page of this book opens you up to stunningly beautiful watercolour backgrounds, some from the movie, some entirely new. And as you read along, text is interwoven with the backgrounds like it is truly part of the picture, making for a beautiful book. But it's the content that counts, and here this book excells. This book is a collection of stories by people who were involved with the creation of the film. And every story hits a very personal note. You peer inside the very lives of the people who helped to make Lilo & Stitch a reality, and indeed get to know their very thoughts and feelings. Chris Sanders, in describing how Stitch came to life, is especially humourous, sometimes going on to tell about childhood embarassments that may or may not be related to the movie, but provide for some very good entertainment, again on a very personal level.All the creators of this film seem to carry an undeniable love for the characters they have created, and a respect and love for the Hawaiian culture and environment as well. They all were movitated people who had a clear goal in mind: to make the most out of Lilo and Stitch, and bring some nostalgia back as well. The storyline of the film is very believable, the characters almost as real as you or me, and very personal. And this book shows you how that all came to be.In reading this book I felt very close to the creators, and gained an even larger understanding and appreciation of all the work that went into Lilo and Stitch. And that's saying something because I truly didn't think it was possible to love the movie any more than I already did, but it happened. ;)I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who has seen Lilo and Stitch and love that film. Even if you only like that film, you'll love it after reading this book. It's been years since I've enjoyed reading a book so much, and of course the absolutely stunning backgrounds make it even better. Most interesting, is of course the early pictures of Stitch (who just happened to be born in the same year that I was), and how this cute little alien became what he is today. The book is very detailed, even showing the bone structure and anatomy of Stitch. One must wonder...why did they go to that length when he's only an animated character?The answer: Because they love him, and all the other characters they created. That bec

This book is a "making-of" book, but just like the movie Lilo & Stitch was a simpler, more elegant, more personal movie than most of Disney's recent efforts, this book is a more personal, more elegant making-of book than any other making-of book I've ever seen.The book is comprised of a bunch of concept art, and art-in-progress from the development of the movie, as well as personal stories of the concept and movie's creation, told by the people who went through the process. There's a genuine sense of love for the characters that's prevalent throughout the book, and the theme of simplicity, and a personal connection with the audience pervades the entire structure of this book.From Chris Sanders' first drawing of Stitch, to some really zany sketches for products based on the likeness of Dean deBlois, there's lots of stuff that's both interesting because of its relation to the movie, and interesting because it's so ... off the wall.If you loved the movie, as I did, there's almost no chance that you won't find this book insightful, and entertaining.

I've been buying "The art of..." Disney books sense they first started coming out and I must say, this is one of my all time favorites! My only concern is that most people WILL be fooled by the title, heck, I was! ; )This is just a WONDERFUL book! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! As always, it's fun to see the progression of the characters and the story! I can't recommend this enough! It's worth every penny!!

This book acts as The Art of Lilo & Stitch. And it does fulfill the art aspect of the book, but it goes way beyond for a richer print. As it is actually called: Collected stories from the creators; it makes it so fun. Is like the book breakes the ice and stops being just a gallery of beautiful watercolor progress works, but one undertands and meets the people that created such illustrations. Of course, it works better as a support of the movie, but it also works on its own, as its own piece of literature, telling the story of people working hard to make an animated work of art.