There are nearly fifty fine examples of the work of the modern dean of Disney story, Chris Sanders, the most compelling of which are his Mulan boards. But whhen in comes to contemporary mastery, the crown goes to the Brizzi brothers, Paul and Gaetan. Their Hellfire sequence from �The Hunchback of Notre Dame� and their boards for the Firebird segment of �Fantasia 2000� are so magical that they simply defy description. A thousand words would not be sufficient for any one of their renderings, and, thankfully, as many frames of carefully acted and hand-drawn animation brought them both to the screen with great success.

Work your way through one film at a time, and savor each plate. There�s so much to learn from Hans Teensma�s exquisite layout of this material. ARL Creative Director, Lila Smith, and Managing Director, Mary Walsh, have done an amazing job editing the content equivalent of Alexandria down into a Fodor�s guide, as it were, making some discerning and surprising choices that offer so much more than boulevard fare. A solid appendix identifying all members of the story team on a given short or feature is provided at the end of the book. This editorial choice is so smart; it�s much better than having the artists identified alongside the illustration, because we can first read through each board as it was intended � as a story, not as great art. Then, after having completed that trip, we�re ready to re-visit it with an eye toward the artistic craftsmanship and diverse stylings that are the signature of the many geniuses that fill these pages. A half-dozen gate-leg fold-outs add to the splendor, and a carefully chosen palette that mimics museum-wall colors make the ideal backdrop of each page.

 
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This is the hand-held equivalent of an exhibit that could have been staged at any major museum, and it�s worth every penny of the $50 retail price. Why spend as much on two pairs of mouse socks and a cup and saucer or five collectors pins when you can have a veritable vault of visual ambrosia for as much, or less if you check out online booksellers like Amazon? In truth, no museum could mount this kind of comprehensive look at any one aspect of filmmaking. The Walt Disney Animation Studio Archive Series: Story is an unprecedented accomplishment, and future volumes will have a great deal to live up to as a result. Until they arrive, there�s a full year�s pleasure awaiting you between the covers of this inaugural publication.

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