There was a lot of design panels, with so much effort and thought put into them. Even though I heartily appreciate looking at those, I don't love them like I do the background art and landscape. There was some of that, and some truly gorgeous panels at that, but I could have wished for a few more, or full page panels, rather than baby ones. There were a goodly amount of character sketches and the like, which make me so grateful they ended up with the character designs they did.

Interesting to page through, but it won't change your life or anything.

There is so much background and landscape art in the LOK art books, which is probably my favorite thing about them. The artists have such a great grasp of color and lighting, and it really shines through in their landscape panels. Just beautiful.

The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.

My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.

The spirits were so whimsical and cute, when they weren't dark and creepy beyond all belief. I especially love the radish and grumpy carrot spirits!

**Yes, this is almost exactly the same review for this volume as for The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series Book Three: Change, as I had virtually the same thoughts about both of them.**

There is so much background and landscape art in the LOK art books, which is probably my favorite thing about them. The artists have such a great grasp of color and lighting, and it really shines through in their landscape panels. Just beautiful.

The other thing that is so fascinating about these books, to me, is getting to see all the minuscule details that are so important and/or pretty, but all too often go unnoticed in the show. I also love re-watching the shows after reading the Art books and noting all the things I had missed before.

My one complaint is that I actually wish there was a little more text than there is in this series. It's about 2% text and info, which could probably be upped to at least 5%. I applaud them for making the book mostly about the art, but I like to read about some of the inspiration, inside stories, and making of.

The spirits were so cute in this volume!!! And then there was this:

"What the world needed was to see what a hedgehog crossed with a tropical fruit might look like. Now we can all sleep a little easier at night."

Yes. Yes, we can.

I think it should be said that I was wavering on whether or not to read this, mainly because me and de la Cruz's books do not get on very well together. But realizing that this a prequel to a Disney Channel Movie changed my mind right quick. And it ended up being worlds better than Frozen or The Ring and The Crown.

On to the book!

It was very slow, as the quest part of the book doesn't even start until nearly page 200. And when we do finally get there, it's not terribly exciting. But until till we get there, we spend a little (too much) time getting to know our main characters, which was nice but could have been cut down a little. I actually quite liked some of the characterization, though their "evilness" is like a puppy trying to growl and just ending up looking adorable. Though in their case, it's more laughable. But this is MG and a prequel to a DCMO, so...probably for the best. Still, when being "evil" is shoplifting rotten peaches and playing silly pranks, it's hard not to snicker.

I did have a question concerning the magic...Magic is prohibited/impossible in Isle of the Lost, but it is also, as far as I could tell, heartily discouraged in Auradon. Why? Because if you use magic, you're bound to use it for evil eventually? I'm pretty sure we had good magic users in Disney.



I couldn't figure that bit out. Oh, and it was disappointing to realize that I don't like Belle or the Beast in their later years. Childhood faves crushed:( But their son turned out pretty legit, so I guess there's that.

The most fun of this book was seeing all the characters from classic Disney movies and their descendants - Madame Mim's granddaughters, Professor Ratigan's minions, etc.

Pretty excited for the movie - though, let's be honest, I already was. #derp

I loved getting a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a cult classic and personal favorite: The Princess Bride. While at times it is slathered with sticky-sweet perfection, I truly believe that everyone had a fantastic time making the movie. I really appreciated that there was no bashing or dirty secrets revealed, even though it appears that there are none to be revealed anyways :D

The stories about Andre the Giant were probably my favorite, but the quotes from Chris Sarandon and Christopher Guest were fabulous, since they were so completely the opposite of their characters. Also, Wally Shawn's terror that he was absolutely no good for the role amused me, since he's one of the most perfect of the perfect cast. And I'd be lying if I said my jaw didn't drop at the realization that Cary was actually rendered unconscious in an used film take.

All in all, lots of fun to read! Now to re-watch the movie for the 50th time!